VIKRAM BATRA: A HERO'S LEGACY

CAPTAIN VIKRAM BATRA

13 JAMMU AND KASHMIR RIFLES (IC 57556)

During 'Operation Vijay', on 20 June 1999, Captain Vikram Batra, Commander Delta Company was tasked to attack Point 5140. Captain Batra with his company skirted around the feature from the East and maintaining surprise reached within assaulting distance of the enemy. Captain Batra reorganised his column and motivated his men to physically assault the enemy positions. Leading from the front, he in a daredevil assault, pounced on the enemy and killed four of them in a hand-to hand fight. On 7 July 1999, in another operation in the area Pt 4875, his company was tasked to clear a narrow feature with sharp cuttings on either side and heavily fortified enemy defences that covered the only approach to it. For speedy operation, Captain Batra assaulted the enemy position along a narrow ridge and engaged the enemy in a fierce hand –to-hand fight and killed five enemy soldiers at point blank range. Despite sustaining grave injuries, he crawled towards the enemy and hurled grenades clearing the position with utter disregard to his personal safety, leading from the front, he rallied his men and pressed on the attack and achieved a near impossible military task in the face of heavy enemy fire. The officer, however, succumbed to his injuries. Inspired by his daredevil act, his troops fell upon the enemy with vengeance, annihilated them and captured Point 4875.

Captain Vikram Batra, thus, displayed the most conspicuous personal bravery and leadership of the highest order in the face of the enemy and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.

Captain Vikram Batra, PVC (9 September 1974 – 7 July 1999) was an Indian Army officer. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest Indian military decoration, for his actions during the Kargil War; on 7 July 1999, Batra was killed while fighting Pakistani troops around Area Ledge, Point 4875, in the Kargil district of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir.

Batra was born on 9 September 1974 in a small town in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. He was the third child of Girdhari Lal Batra, a government school principal, and Kamal Kanta Batra, a school teacher. He was the elder of twin sons, born fourteen minutes before his brother, Vishal. The twins were nicknamed: 'Luv' (Vikram) and 'Kush' (Vishal), after the twin sons of the Hindu deity Rama, by their mother who was a professed devotee of Rama. He had two sisters: Seema and Nutan. As a young child, Batra received his primary education under the tutelage of his mother. He then attended the D.A.V. Public School in Palampur, where he studied up to middle standard. He received his senior secondary education at Central School in Palampur.

Besides his academic endeavours, Batra also dabbled in a variety of sports at his school, which he represented at the national level during the Youth Parliamentary competitions in Delhi. He also represented his school and college in table tennis, Karate and other such sports. In 1990, he and his twin brother represented their school in table tennis at All India KVS Nationals. He also was a green belt holder in Karate and went on to attend a national level camp in Manali.

After completing his Class XII board examinations in 1992 from Central School, he attended DAV College, Chandigarh in B.Sc Medical Sciences. At college, he joined the Air Wing of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) while he was in his first year. During the Inter-State NCC Camp, he was adjudged the best NCC Air Wing cadet of Punjab Directorate in North Zone. He was selected and underwent a 40-day paratrooping training with his NCC Air Wing unit at Pinjore Airfield and Flying Club, about 35 kilometres away from Chandigarh. During the next two years in DAV, he remained a cadet of the Army Wing of NCC. In addition, he was the president of the Youth Service Club of his college.

He afterward qualified for the 'C' certificate in the NCC and attained the rank of Senior Under Officer in his NCC unit. Subsequently, in 1994, he was selected and took part in the Republic Day parade as an NCC cadet, and when he came back home, he told his parents that he wanted to join the Army. His maternal grandfather was also a soldier in the Indian Army. In 1995, while still in college, he was selected for the merchant navy at a shipping company headquartered in Hong Kong, but ultimately he changed his mind, aspiring to do "something great, something extraordinary, which may bring fame to my country." That same year he completed his bachelor's degree, graduating from the DAV College in Chandigarh.

Following completion of his bachelor's degree in 1995, he enrolled at Panjab University in Chandigarh, where he took admission in MA English course, so that he could prepare for the Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination. He attended evening classes at the University and worked part-time in the morning as a branch manager of a travelling agency in Chandigarh.

In 1996, he passed the CDS examination and subsequently received a call for an interview at the Services Selection Board (SSB) at Allahabad and was selected. He was among the top 35 candidates in the Order of Merit. After completing a year (session 1995—96) towards the degree of MA in English, he left the University to join the Indian Military Academy.

Batra's battalion, the 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (13 JAK Rif), reached Dras on 6 June, was placed under the command of 56 Mountain Brigade, and was given orders to act as reserves to the 2nd battalion of the Rajputana Rifles (2 Raj Rif) during their attack on Tololing mountain. The 18th battalion of The Grenadiers (18 Grenadiers) first attacked Tololing on 22 May, but were unable to capture the peak. 18 Grenadiers made four attempts to capture Tololing, but could only succeed in securing the lower slopes, while suffering heavy casualties. Eventually, 2 Raj Rif was assigned the mission of capturing Tololing and they did so on 13 June 1999.

After the capture of Tololing, 13 JAK Rif marched from Dras to Tololing, reaching their destination in 12 hours. Upon reaching, Alpha company of 13 JAK Rif took over Tololing and a portion of the Hump Complex from 18 Grenadiers.

Capture of Point 5140

Batra's battalion was tasked with capturing the point 5140 on 17 June 1999. After the capture of Rocky Knob, located at the base of Point 5140 and about 800 metres away, The battalion's commanding officer, Joshi, fell back to Tololing, and started planning for their next objective — Point 5140.

On 18 June, the battalion carried out a detailed reconnaissance of Point 5140. Vikram Batra was put in charge of the delta company of the battalion. During the briefing, Vikram chose the words "Yeh Dil Mange More!" (This heart wants more! — from a popular advertising slogan of Pepsi) as his success signal for his company. D-Day was set for 19 June, and H-Hour at 20:30.

Under the cover of artillery fire, the two assault companies began climbing Point 5140 after midnight on 20 June. The artillery at Hump Complex had already begun its preparatory bombardment of Point 5140. The artillery guns stoped firing when the companies were 100 metres from their target.

By 0315 hours, both B and D Companies had reached the vicinity of Point 5140. B company reached the top of the feature first and assaulted from the left flank. By 0330 hours, B company had captured its objective, and at 0335 hours Jamwal radioed his command post, saying the words "Oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah!"

Batra decided to approach the hill from the rear, aiming to surprise the enemy, and to cut off their withdrawal route. Batra fired three rockets towards the bunkers on the east side of the feature, before attacking them. He and his men ascended the sheer rock-cliff, but as the group neared the top, the enemy pinned them on the face of the bare cliff with machine gun fire. Batra, along with five of his men, climbed up and after reaching the top, hurled two grenades at the machine gun post. Batra then killed three enemy soldiers single-handedly in close combat. He was seriously injured in the process, but insisted on regrouping his men to continue with the mission. He continued to lead his troops, and then charged at the next enemy position, capturing Point 5140. In all its actions, his company killed at least eight Pakistani intruders and recovered a heavy anti-aircraft machine gun. The remaining enemy soldiers fled.

At 0435 hours, Batra radioed his command post, saying the words "Yeh dil mange more!". Considerable quantities[vague] of arms and ammunition were recovered from the feature. The captured munitions indicated the enemy's strength was about a platoon. Neither B or D companies suffered any casualties in the battle. The capture of Point 5140 set in motion a string of successes, such as the captures of Point 5100, Point 4700, Junction Peak and the Three Pimple Complex.

After the capture of Point 5140, Batra was promoted to the rank of captain. General Ved Prakash Malik, the then Chief of Army Staff, called to congratulate him. All across the nation, his triumph was being played out on television screens.

On 26 June, shortly after the capture of Point 5140, 13 JAK Rif was ordered to move from Dras to Ghumri to rest, refit, and recoup. The battalion then moved to Mushkoh Valley on 30 June.

Capture of Point 4875

The next assignment for Batra's battalion was to capture the Point 4875 On 1 July 1999, Major S Vijay Bhaskar, 'A' Company commander and Lt. Col. Joshi, commanding officer of the 13 JAK Rifles, conducted their preliminary reconnaissance, after climbing to a vantage point, and formulated an attack plan. Subsequently, on 2 July, General Officer Commanding 8 Mountain Division, Major General Mohinder Puri and Brigadier Rajesh Kumar Kakkar Commander 79 Mountain Brigades and Lt Col Y.K. Joshi, Commanding Officer 13 JAK Rifles gathered at 79 Mountain Brigades headquarters, to discuss the plan.

The battalion was deployed to firebase, located in a defiladed area, approximately 1500 metres from the Point 4875. Over the two days, on 2 and 3 July, weapons carriers from the 13 JAK Rifles and 28 Rashtriya Rifles dumped ammunition and heavy weapons.

At 1800 hours that same day, artillery bombardment of the enemy positions on Point 4875 commenced, and continued throughout the whole night. At 2030 hours, under cover of artillery fire, 'A' and 'C' Companies began climbing the Point 4875. Captain Vikram Batra was lying in a sleeping bag near the Mushkoh nullah, and was down with fever and fatigue. His commanding officer had ordered him to rest even though his battalion, 13 JAK Rifles, had launched its attack on Point 4875.

Both the assault companies were leading the offensive from the right flank but the attack was also halted by very effective sniper fire and small arms from Pakistani soldiers hiding behind rocks.

At 0430 hours, the two companies deployed their automatic weapons and began to fire at the well-fortified enemy positions at the top of the feature. At around 1015 hours on 5 July, the commanding officer of 'C' company informed the battalion commander about their situation which prompted Lt Col Joshi to personally fire two Fagot missiles in quick succession from the fire base which neutralised the enemy position. The Indian troops then promptly began advancing again. By 1300 hours, these troops had captured Point 4875. They then consolidated their hold on Point 4875, however the Indian troops continued to receive enemy artillery and machine-gun fire from Pimple 2 and area North of Point 4875.

The Indian victory would not have been complete without the capture of 'Area Flat Top', an adjacent peak and part of enemy defences on Point 4875. The 13 JAK Rifles had captured Flat top feature of Point 4875 on the afternoon of 5 July after a fierce battle with Pakistani forces. But the enemy launched an immediate counterattack to take back the Area Flat Top they had lost. Capt NA Nagappa held the Area flat top against the counter attacking Pakistani force. Capt Nagappa was seriously injured and incapacitated during this battle. Taking advantage of this situation, the Pakistanis started climbing faster.

Batra, who was observing the situation from base, went to his commanding officer and volunteered. Seeing him unwell, the commanding officer did not want him to go but Batra insisted on it. That same day, the enemy launched a second counterattack on Flat Top and although the Indian troops succeeded in beating back this, too, they urgently needed reinforcements. Several of his battalion's soldiers volunteered to accompany Batra even before any Company could be ordered.

Just before leaving, Batra along with the 25 men of his Delta Company, who were to accompany him, prayed at the Durga Mata temple. It was pitch black night when they began the climb. Having heard a wireless message from the base that Sher Shah (Batra's code name) was coming, a cheer went up among the Indian soldiers on top. The commander ordered them to hold their ground until Sher Shah arrived and then he would take over.

Batra, who was still recovering from his own wounds he received in the battle of Point 5140, wanted to reach the top to rescue his fellow soldiers and carry out reconnaissance of the ledge where the enemy soldiers were. En route to the top, Batra spotted a Pakistani machine gun position firing at the trapped Indian soldiers. Crouching, he moved toward the machine gun position, hiding behind rocks whenever possible. As he reached close to the enemy's machine gun position he lobbed a grenade, destroying the machine gun position. Before first light on the 7th, the troops succeeded in knocking out two more enemy machine guns, however, firing from the ledge continued. Batra's platoon soon reached the ledge, though by this time it was broad daylight.

At 0530 hours Lt. Col. Joshi spoke to Batra and asked him to reconnoitre the area. Batra, accompanied by Subedar Raghunath Singh and Major Bhat, his artillery observation officer, took out a patrol to recce a route to re-inforce Naveen from a flank. Batra located the position of the enemy sangar on the ledge from which enemy machine guns were holding up the advance of his company. At this juncture, Batra, realising there was no way from the left or right, decided to make a direct assault in daylight itself. Under heavy fire from enemy machine guns and grenade firing launchers, Batra moved forward, screaming the battle cry of JAK RIF – Durga mata ki jai, and charged the sangar firing incessantly from his AK-47. He sustained grievous injuries in the process, yet he continued his charge, with supporting fire from the rest of the patrol, and upon reaching the very narrow entrance of the sangar and taking the enemy by complete surprise, he killed 5 Pakistani soldiers in a close-quarter battle. The attack resulted in seven Pakistani soldiers killed after which the Indians gained a foothold on the ledge. Taken by surprise by the attack, Pakistanis started retreating. Batra and his men had gained the upper hand by now. Batra pulled out a bleeding Naveen from the bunker. However, there was still an enemy machine gun nest in action on that ledge that had to be silenced. Four Pakistani soldiers including a junior commissioned officer (JCO), who was guiding the fire on the Indian soldiers fighting outside, were manning the machine gun nest. Batra charged forward alone, killing all four members of the crew.

Batra realised one of his men had been shot. He resolved to evacuate him with Subedar Raghunath Singh. Batra exposed himself to enemy fire to drag the injured soldier to safety, and in the process was shot in the chest by an enemy sniper from very close range, and a split-second later, by a splinter from an RPG which hit him in the head. Batra collapsed next to the injured soldier, succumbing to the fatal wounds.

Points.

• Vikram Batra, affectionately known as "Sher Shah" among his comrades, was born on September 9, 1974, in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.
• He joined the Indian Military Academy in 1996 and was commissioned into the 13th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles.
• During the Kargil War in 1999, Lieutenant Vikram Batra displayed exceptional bravery and leadership, becoming a symbol of valor and sacrifice for the nation. His heroism and selflessness earned him the nickname "The Lion of Kargil."
• Vikram Batra's leadership was characterized by his exceptional courage, strategic thinking, and unwavering commitment to his comrades and mission.
• He led his troops from the front and was instrumental in capturing crucial enemy positions, including Point 5140, under hostile conditions.
• His fearless demeanor and inspirational leadership instilled confidence and motivation in his fellow soldiers, leading to decisive victories in the war zone.
• Beyond his military duties, Vikram Batra was actively involved in various philanthropic activities aimed at serving society and uplifting the underprivileged.
• He participated in blood donation drives, organized educational initiatives for children in remote areas, and provided assistance to families affected by natural disasters.
• Vikram Batra's compassionate nature and dedication to humanitarian causes reflected his belief in making a positive impact on the lives of others. His legacy of service extends beyond the battlefield, embodying the true spirit of altruism and generosity.
• Vikram Batra showed remarkable innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in his military strategies and operational tactics.
• He devised innovative approaches to combat challenges and achieve military objectives, adapting to changing battlefield conditions with agility and creativity.
• His ability to think outside the box and implement unconventional methods earned him accolades and contributed to the success of critical missions during the Kargil War. 
• Vikram Batra's innovative thinking and strategic acumen set him apart as a visionary leader on the battlefield, inspiring his comrades to overcome obstacles and achieve victory against all odds.
• Vikram Batra embodied the finest leadership qualities, including courage, integrity, resilience, and selflessness.
• He led by example, always placing the welfare of his troops above his own and inspiring them to overcome adversity with determination and valor.
• His leadership style was characterized by clarity of vision, decisiveness in action, and unwavering commitment to the mission and values of the Indian Army. Vikram Batra's exemplary leadership set a benchmark for excellence and inspired generations of military personnel to lead with honor, courage, and integrity.
• Vikram Batra's acts of valor and sacrifice resonated not only within India but also garnered international recognition and admiration.
• His exemplary courage and selflessness inspired people around the world, symbolizing the spirit of bravery and heroism in the face of adversity.
• Various international organizations and military institutions have honored Vikram Batra for his exceptional service and contributions to global peace and security. His legacy continues to inspire individuals across borders, transcending cultural and geographical boundaries to unite people in admiration and reverence for his extraordinary deeds.
• Throughout his military career, Vikram Batra encountered numerous challenges, including hostile combat environments, enemy fire, and extreme weather conditions.
• Despite the inherent risks and dangers, he never wavered in his resolve and remained steadfast in his commitment to his comrades and mission.
• Vikram Batra's ability to overcome obstacles and persevere in the face of adversity exemplified his indomitable spirit and unwavering determination. His unwavering courage and resilience in the face of daunting challenges serve as a testament to his strength of character and unwavering commitment to duty.
• Vikram Batra's life teaches us invaluable lessons about courage, sacrifice, and selflessness.
• His unwavering dedication to duty, exemplary leadership, and willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country serve as an inspiration to all.
• His legacy reminds us of the importance of upholding values of honor, integrity, and service in our own lives and communities. His life and legacy continue to inspire individuals to strive for excellence, make a positive difference, and leave behind a lasting legacy of honor and service.
• Vikram Batra's legacy as a national hero and role model endures, inspiring future generations to embody the principles of bravery, leadership, and service.
• His courage, sacrifice, and selflessness continue to inspire individuals to strive for excellence and make meaningful contributions to society.
• Through his exemplary life and actions, Vikram Batra leaves behind a legacy of valor, patriotism, and selfless service that will continue to inspire and uplift humanity for generations to come. His legacy serves as a guiding light, inspiring individuals to uphold the highest ideals of honor, courage, and service in their own lives and endeavors.
• As we reflect on the life and legacy of Vikram Batra, we are reminded of the profound impact that one individual can have on the world.
• His story challenges us to examine our own values, priorities, and commitments, inspiring us to live with purpose, courage, and compassion.
• Through personal reflection, we can internalize the lessons of Vikram Batra's life and strive to emulate his spirit of bravery, leadership, and service in our own lives. His life and legacy continue to inspire individuals to strive for excellence, make a positive difference, and leave behind a lasting legacy of honor and service.
• Vikram Batra's life exemplifies the highest ideals of bravery, leadership, and selflessness, leaving an indelible mark on the annals of Indian military history.
• Let us honor his memory and legacy by embodying the values of courage, integrity, and service in our own lives and endeavors.
• May Vikram Batra's spirit of valor and sacrifice continue to inspire and guide us as we strive to build a better, more compassionate world for future generations.