Heroes: Kargill - The summer of 99

I wanted to write something else on the soldiers but just randomly a thought struck up to cover the kargill war in a prose format so that people can easily understand the struggle that continued that summer in 99 . People understand and remember just a few names and places and dont understand the importance of the freedom we got during that war. For people to properly respect the soldiers a basic understanding of the bloodiest war was needed so I decided to write it all down in plain layman`s language, easily understandable to all.

Decided to pen down this war where the Army , Air Force, Navy, Media and the Public played its part.

Presenting to you the Kargill war from the eyes of the Summer of 1999. Read it and be proud about the freedom that we got -

I am the summer of 99 , the summer which turned bloody because the integrity of the nation was at stake.

The same summer when the icy peaks and inhospitable terrain was occupied by people who were not meant to be there.

The summer which turned red when the braveheart Saurabh Kalia did his duty to safeguard the boundary of the country but was captured.

A captivity which was inhuman to say the least and a torture which is given only in hell.

I salute his sacrifice which is no less in any means for he upheld his duty and traditions of the army in the highest order.

I am the summer of 99…

Capt. Saurabh Kalia

Drass, Kaksar, Batalik were in foreign hands now and help was needed.

The Air force took the lead in providing support and immediately suffered casualties.

I witnessed the MIG 27 of Nachiketa flaming out at high altitude and ejecting for flying at such height had not been tried before.

I saw his comrade Sq. Leader Ajay Ahuja following him to provide help in his MIG 21 with no regard to his own personal safety.

He lost his life when his plane was shot down and he was captured and executed in cold blood.

I am that very teary summer of 99…

Nachiketa after his release

Ajay Ahuja who was executed in cold blood by the pakistanis 

The losses of the Air force didn’t stop just here, they lost a crew of a Russian Mi 17 attack chopper.

It was not only about the air, it was the land also where the country suffered losses in conditions which make even the angels shudder.

Inspite of all that I witnessed the soldiers fight and even suffered shelling on NH 1 – the lifeline of Kashmir.

It was a choice between carrying ration or ammo and they chose the latter for there is no hunger until the nation is captive.

I still remember that telephone booth which witnessed the soldiers lining up to speak to their families to let them know they were alright for I didn’t knew I would see them again or not.

I saw the Gurkhas attack Kukarthang under Manoj Pandey despite suffering heavy casualties under Pakistani mortar and artillery fire.

I witnessed the capture of Batalik.

I am the proud moment of 99…

The struggle reached every household in the country and Kargill and Drass became household names.

The sacrifice of the soldiers united the people in grief and proud in their bravery.

The soldiers reached their villages martyred and kargill was no longer just a part of Kashmir, It was now found from the deserts of Rajasthan to the Northeast, from the plains of Punjab to the beaches of Kerala.

I was everywhere between the people of the country.

I saw the fight to take back Tololing so that NH 1 remained safe, for the loss of it would render Leh/ Ladakh cut off from the country and Siachen would be lost forever.

The fight was never easy as the 18 Grenadiers took on fog and heavy casualties with no big gun support and defending itself from artillery, mortar fire and heavy defences.

It was all about shooting in the dark virtually blind as no one knew where was the enemy.

The turning point in the war came when the Rajputana Rifles came with the Bofors to answer the foes back in the language they understood – direct hits.

Not every reinforcement is perfect as Capt. Vijyant Thapar became a martyr.

The soldier who wished to see his family from the heavens above by the time his father got his last letter.

Capt. Vijyant Thapar

The most lethal strike fighters took off from Srinagar, Avantipur and Adampur.

The Air Force operated with MIG 21,23,25,27, Mirage , Jaguars, chopper gunships with heavy limitations.

It was a choice between flying the machine safely, the dangers of being hit or hitting the friendly forces.

Bombing from 10,000 m above ground is impossible but LGB * kits made precision strikes possible.

While the Jaguars and Mig 25 identified the targets in the vast 

expanse of blinding snow, Mirage 2000 provided the strike capability, bombing the enemy supply camp at Muntho dhalo in batalik, Tiger Hill and point 4388 so that the soldiers face less resistance.

Guarding the fighters during the strike missions were the MIG29 who made sure that the enemy F 16 did not venture any close.

I am the striking summer of 99…

I saw 7500 sorties by the planes, striking targets and airlifting tons of logistics.

I saw 300 guns, mortars and MBRLs fire daily in the whole area which was occupied.

Night time artillery fire

Capt. Vikram Batra came to the fore when his 13th J&K captured point 5140 after emerging victorious at Rocky mount.

It was the most crucial period of war and the ones which turned the tide of war in India`s favour.

I am that part of Kargill.

It was not easy taking back tough terrain from the enemy so a unison of sorts was formed.

I saw Tiger Hill pounded by 120 guns simultaneously so that it

could be freed, it was a fight that went on for the next 13 hours.

The firing by the guns seemed to the roar of a 100 lions readying for attack.

The Grenadiers attached Tiger Hill and only Yogender Yadav survived and despite being seriously wounded got the word back about the coming reinforcements.

It was a bloody battle.

The 17th Jat took on 3 pimples complex and lost Capt. Anuj Nayyar to a RPG while he cleared point 4875.

The Gurkhas lived up to their name of being the fearless ones and took on Khalubar where Manoj Pandey laid down his life clearing enemy bunkers.

He certainly killed death before accomplishing his goal to emerging victorious.

Manoj Pandey

His Dil maange more and he became a martyr freeing the bunker complex.

He was Capt. Vikram Batra.

Vikram Batra

Rifleman Sanjay Kumar stalled the enemy machine guns with his bare hands so that his comrades can move forward and finish the enemy.

The hills resonated with the war cries, right from Sarvada Shaktishaali, Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akal, Raja Ramchandra Ki Jai to Durga Mata Ki Jai, Jat Balwan Jai Bhagwan, Ayo Gorkhali and many more.

I lost 527 brave souls of India and 100s wounded or disabled 

for life.

My soldiers did what nobody expected, giving enemy soldiers 

proper burial when their own army refused to take them.

They respected the sanctity of the LOC and never crossed it 

even though it seemed the easier way to end the war and minimize losses.

They also lost lives and body parts to landmines which the 

fleeing foes planted when they were given ultimatum to clear my land.

I am that summer of 99…

The media became force multipliers , forming an opinion to the world that we are right in taking back our land.

Covering every little bit of news even as the enemy shells 

thudded in the hills around it, not knowing which shell has their name written on it.

They brought the war to your homes while the country wanted 

to know that what was going on the war front.

The medals too got their recipients – The Param Vir Chakra, 

The Maha Vir Chakra and The Vir Chakra.

The navy proved to be another silent yet effective defender.

30 warships kept vigil near Karachi so that the enemy did not 

try anything fancy or else a repeat of 1971 could be done.

They never got their due but took it in their stride – defending 

the nation.

Everyone honoured the heroes alongwith me.

The people jammed roads to pay respects to the martyrs and welcome the heroes back.

The children opened their piggybanks and hearts for the 

soldiers making sure that they too contributed their bit.

Over 5 lakh letters flowed into the Army HQ by children from

all age groups…during and after the war.

I lost so many brave soldiers in the struggle that even till today 

I bleed…

I salute their sacrifice even till today.

I am that bloody summer of 99.

I am the summer of Kargill..

*LGB- Laser Guided Bombs. Kits used to turn dumb bombs into smart ones with pinpoint accuracy

MBRL- Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers.

Vijyant thapar`s last letter home

Major R S Adhikari's sister Mamta, stands in silence after laying a wreath on the mortal remains of her brother. Major Adhikari made the supreme sacrifice in Tololing.

Capt Jayashree saluting the mortal remains of her husband, Major Vivek Gupta, who was killed in the Army operations.

R. Viswanathan

and many many more such heroes.......

My only aim to write this- those who dont know what it takes to preserve freedom and have no clue how much the country sacrificed in terms of the soldiers in claiming our land back should definitely read this. Other than this, this is meant to uphold the bravery and courage of the armed forces so that the soldiers dont fade into oblivion...never.

When you go home, tell them of us and say

For their tomorrow, we gave our today.

Heroes: Know these medals

Republic Day means different things to different people. For children and families it means holidays while for the armed forces that day its a chance to showcase their strength while the valour of the chosen few from the armed forces is recognised and rewarded by way of bravery awards.

Lucky are those who can personally receive the medal otherwise its their family members who receive it and the audience and spectators are told about their feats of utmost courage and sacrifice against all odds. " Heroes" series presents to you the list of all such medals and their importance. The information has been compiled from the net and is meant to serve as a quick reckoner only.

1. Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy whether on land, at sea, or in the air.

2. Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) is the second highest military decoration in India after the Param Vir Chakra and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air.

3. Vir Chakra ( Vr. C.) is presented for acts of gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land or at sea or in the air.

Peacetime awards-

1. Ashoka Chakra ( AC) - is India's highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peace time equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for the "most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice" other than in the face of the enemy.

2. Kirti Chakra (KC) is awarded or valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Maha Vir Chakra.

3. Shaurya Chakra (SC) is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Vir Chakra. It is generally awarded for Counter-Insurgency operations and actions against the enemy during peace-time.

Wartime/Peacetime gallantry and service awards-

1. The Sena Medal ( SM) is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." It can be awarded for gallantry or it can also be for distinguished service carried out by any soldier, not in the face of the enemy.

2. Nausena Medal is awarded for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Navy.

3. The Vayusena Medal is usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done. However it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same numbers as the Vir Chakra. Awarded for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Air Force.

Wartime Distinguished Service

1. Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal is India's highest Wartime Distinguished Service decoration. It is awarded for the highest degree of distinguished services in an operational context. "Operation context" include times of war, conflict, or hostilities.

2. Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM) is awarded for a high degree of distinguished services in an operational context.

3. Yudh Seva Medal is awarded for a high degree of distinguished services in an operational context.

Peacetime Distinguished Service

1. Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) is a military award and is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order.

2. Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces.

3. Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the Indian armed forces.

Heroes: The 24 bravehearts of India

These children displayed courage and exceptional heroism in saving the lives of others without caring for their own. They are the National Bravery Award winners of 2015. Know more about their deeds of courage and what makes them true heroes-

Although efforts were made to bring out their full heroic stories but there are children whose full story could not found and compiled. For them a general description of their heroic deed has been given.

1. Kumari Resham Fatma ( Bharat Award) - She was waylaid by her 38-year old maternal uncle. The man she had known her whole life was now wielding a knife. He forced her into a waiting car and asked her to marry him. When she refused, he held her hair, pulled her towards him and holding up a big plastic bottle, calmly started pouring acid on her head. Through the searing pain that shot through her head, arms and thighs, Resham managed to push him and jump out of the car. She ran, and was chased by her uncle for several minutes until she managed to get into an auto and head straight to the police station.

2. Gunjan Sharma (Geeta Chopra Award) – She displayed exemplary valour in saving her friends from the clutches of the abductor. Pleaded with gunman to take her alone hostage and let the others go. Gunjam went with the kidnapper on foot towards Nagaland while giving time to the other 10 children and the driver of the van in which she was travelling , time to escape.

3. Master Devesh Kumar ( Sanjay Chopra Award) - He was shot in the stomach after chasing down goons who were making away with jewellery stolen from the school principal. “I will always chase bad people and protect the weak,” he says.

The rest all are Bapu Gaidhani Awardees -

4. Master Rumoh Meto - He risked his own life to save his cousin Mega who was nearly electrocuted. The incident occurred when Regional Quality Monitoring Team, Guwahati was monitoring the project Implementation work at Hunli under Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran implemented by Indo Power Project Limited, Kolkata. Mega somehow got stuck to the 33 kv live wire, and remained so for about 30 seconds before Rumoh Meto could pull him away in his second attempt.

5. Late Kumari Riya Chaudhary - She stood in front of her father and took the bullets aimed at him. “There was a property dispute in the family and the goons came with guns and started shooting. My daughter saw this happening and she came and shielded me from the bullets. She died instantly” , says her visibly grief-stricken father Suresh Pal.

6. Late Kumari Monika - She went to the Alaknanda river and there she saw a 10 year boy slipping and galling into the river. Without caring for her own life, she jumped in and saved the boy but couldn`t save herself and was washed away.

7. Kumari Zeal Marathe - Badly wounded children wailing for help, injured teachers unable to move but succour nowhere in sight. She was stuck amid this horror when the school bus in which she was travelling with 45 others met with an accident. Lucky to get away with minor wounds, she jumped out of the window and gathered people to remove the injured from the bus. Acting swiftly, she somehow entered the mangled bus and found the diary from the teacher's handbag. She first called the parents whose kids were seriously injured. “I could see my friend's hand sliced into two, there was glass coming out of people’s faces, one teacher’s skull seemed to have cracked and there was a lot of screaming and moaning and I could also see that I was the only one unhurt. Now, I could either cry or try to do something about it,” she said.

  8. Master Hiral Jitubhai Halpati - He saved others from drowning.

  

     9. Late Master Gaurav Kumar Bharti - He died trying to save others from whirlpools.

10. Master Sahanesh R - He saved schoolchildren who met with an accident while returning home. The accident occurred when the bus driver tried to avoid hitting a motorcyclist who was overtaking a car. The bus fell into a paddy field beside the road. Trapped inside, the children started screaming and shouting. Breaking the front glass of the bus, Sahanesh pulled the students and the driver out of the bus. Sahanesh and his brother received some injuries in the accident. Sahanesh saved several lives with his resolute, courageous and timely act.

11. Kumari Ashwini Bandu Ughade - She won the award for her “extraordinary bravery” by saving her sister from a ferocious leopard. Ashwini and her sister Rohini were returning from a neighbouring farm after collecting mangoes when the leopard attacked the latter.The leopard had caught Rohini’s head in its jaws and her legs in its paws. “ I hit the leopard on its head with mangoes and pulled her out of the animal’s jaws following which it fled,” she says.

12. Master L. Brainson Singh - He saved his younger brother from electrocution. His brother Wayengamba, was playing in the courtyard. He was trying to make a long rope by connecting a piece of ordinary rope with a live wire let down from a loose connection on the wall when he got electrocuted. Seeing his brother lying on the floor, Brainson immediately rushed to the spot and tried to move him but he too felt the shock. Brainson kicked off the wire yet again which was lying beneath Wayengamba so violently that he fell down with a sprain on his leg and bruises on his cheeks, but he succeeded in his effort.

13. Master G. Tooldev Sharma – He was watching television with his parents. He went to the washroom near the bamboo fence of his courtyard where he noticed a 3-year old boy falling into the pond located 30 feet away from his house. Tooldev immediately rushed to rescue the little boy from the 6 feet deep pond. Catching hold of his shirt's collar with one hand, Tooldev held onto a bamboo pole on the side of the pond. As he didn't know swimming, he shouted loudly for help. Both of them were then pulled out by his parents and neighbours.

14. Kumari Ripa Das (the youngest awardee) - There was a devastating fire at Bankar, were three shops, two houses were gutted. During that time Ripa’s mother, her elder sister and one year old brother was sleeping in their house. On getting fire alarm, mother and elder sister left the house to safety, leaving behind Ripa and her brother in the blazing house.But due to prompt action and bravery of Ripa came out of with her brother holding in her lap and managed to save herself and her brother.

15. Master Balram Dansena - He saved others from drowning

16. Master Rajdeep Das - He saved others from drowning.

17. Master Anjith. P - Anjith’s fete which brought him the award was his brave rescue of two children aged 15 years and 13 years, who had sunk into a marshy pool while fishing, barely managing to save himself.

18. Master Aqil Mohammad NK- He has been conferred the award for rescuing a four-year-old boy who had been caught in the strong currents in the Chaliyar river and was drowning.

19. Master Midhun PP - He rescued an eight-year-old who had fallen into a well. 

20. Master Stevenson Lawriniang- He saved others from drowning.

21. Late Master Mesak K. Remnalalnghaka - He died trying to save others from whirlpools.

22. Ms. Mhonbeni Equng - She managed to save her grandmother—considerably bigger than her—from drowning.

23. Master Labhanshu – Saved 2 people from drowning in Haridwar.

24. Master Vishal Becharbhai – He did not know how to swim but had jumped into water to save complete strangers from drowning. “My father always told me to protect those who were not as strong as me and when I saw those two little children drowning, I just had to jump in. I didn’t know who they were,” he said.

     

     We salute and honour their bravery.

TATA #Bolt: The Gamechanger

The TATA Bolt..the upcoming new offering from TATA motors. It’s a hatchback that has been packed with a lot of power. I was lucky enough to visit the Bolt Arena at Saharaganj Lucknow and get a early feel that what`s its about the car. So let me tell you how I define this car- It’s the Tata Zest in a much smaller package and a bit easy on the pocket. If you missed out on the TATA Zest due to any chance , here`s redemption time as TATA have used the same technology in the Bolt too.

So here are some features which would be the gamechanger for TATA in the Hatchback segment-

1. Engine / Modes

Its what really drives the car around- The heart. It has a 1.2L Revotron Engine which gives it a power of 84 BHP. The Diesel Variant would be a 1.3L Quadrajet engine giving a power of 75 BHP. Some people might not know that the Revotron engine used in this has been developed under the supervision of Narain Karthikeyan, India`s first Formula 1 driver. With this you can be rest assured that you would be getting the maximum power out of the machinery without compromising on the mileage. 

When it comes to mileage- there are 3 available modes (Same as Zest)- Economy, City (or cruise mode) and Power. As the name suggests the max fuel efficiency would be with the Economy mode, for city driving use the Cruise mode so as to balance between power and fuel efficiency. Power mode is useful for that burst of energy on long empty stretches of road when you feel that you need to floor that accelerator just a bit more to go into that Need for Speed mode.

2.Safety

No carmaker of today compromises today on safety and the Bolt is no exception. With such power modes available in the bolt and the other cars of today, safety becomes of paramount importance. To address the point of safety, the BOLT comes with ABS, Airbags and seat belts for the passengers.

3.Space

Sometimes you can hear people talk about the “बड़ी वाली गाड़ी” (the big car) not because it’s a showoff, mainly most of the times its because of the perception that a big car means more leg room space and comfortable sitting for the occupants of the car. With hatchbacks its always a issue to find that perfect comfortable car and that has been taken care by the Bolt. There is enough room for the people sitting in the front as well as the back. I had apprehensions first about the room available for the people sitting at the back but later on tried and believe me that there is comfortable leg space for a 5`7” person like me. Its spacious and comfortable. With 210 litres of boot space that should be enough for your belongings. Want more?? Just fold the back seats and you get more.

Might look small but has a lot of legspace

4.Interiors

The steering wheel has everything at your fingertips with the music system controls and the other ones too integrated into the wheel. The finish is all smooth all around with occupants comfort being kept in mind. As with this angled handrest which I noticed ( was there in the Zest too), the level of comfort with all things at the comfortable level as opposed to the horizontal one we are used to seeing in most of the hatchbacks.

                            

5. Entertainment

Who wants a boring drive on the roads. To make sure that you don’t get bored and enjoy the ride to the fullest there is the Harman Kardon system for entertainment with voice recognition features to make sure that the car follows your commands related to infotainment and you don’t have to use the buttons to use it. The Map Navigation system is one feature that has been integrated into the car and now you don’t have to spend those extra bucks to buy one for the car.

6.Looks

The Bolt is all a compact car and does not take up much road space. The styling is further enhanced by the awesome grill design and the smoke screen head lamps. The curves of the car and the design of the headlamps is eye catching. The car seems to stay true to its name – Bolt. Small yet powerful like lightning.

The main reason why I feel that TATA Bolt would be a gamechanging hatchback because it has all the features of the Zest Sedan at the price of the hatchback. When you can get so much at so less a price, why would you leave it? Will you? I would surely love to get my hands on its test drive.

“This post is a part of the Get. Set. Bolt. activity at BlogAdda”.