So many times strangers come up to me and tell me that I look like Vikram or ask if they have seen me somewhere. I have been asked by hundreds of people if I am related to Vikram. Each time, I know they are thinking of Vikram and I feel proud of being his brother.
Death is the ultimate truth of life but how many of us have the courage to face death with open arms? My brother Vikram was a Param Vir—Bravest of the Brave.
I salute all those soldiers who are the real Virs of this nation.
References
Siachen—1971
Param Vir-Our Heroes in Battle by Maj Gen Ian Cardozo
The Coldest war; Frozen in Fury on the Roof of the World by Barry Bearak, published 23 May 1999, The New York Times
Indian Defence Review—Strategic Importance of Siachen by Maj Gen Sheru Thapliyal, Issue Vol. 21. 1, Jan-Mar 2006
The Kargil War 1999
Param Vir—Our Heroes in Battle by Maj Gen Ian Cardozo ‘The Kargil War 1999’, Bharat Rakshak
Putting Our Children in the Line of Fire’, by Gen Shahid Aziz, The Nation, 3 Feb 2014
‘Nawaz Blames Musharraf for Kargil’, The Times of India, 28 May 2006
Kargil Planned before Vajpayee’s visit: Musharraf’, Indian Express, 13 May 2006
Acknowledgements
I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to Hony (Retd) Capt Bana Singh, PVC, Sub Yogender Singh Yadav, PVC, and Hav Sanjay Kumar, PVC, for sharing with me their brave stories with a humility that touched me to the core. I would also like to thank all those soldiers who shared with me their recollections of the painful wars they fought and the brave colleagues they lost. Also, the loved ones of dead heroes who welcomed me into their homes and let me sift through their albums and memories to help me know these PVCs better.
I am particularly thankful to Lt Gen (Retd) S. N. Sharma, PVSM, AVSM, brother of the late Maj Somnath Sharma, India’s first PVC; Subedar (Retd) Kala Singh, who had served with both the late Lance Naik Karam Singh, PVC, and the late Sub Joginder Singh, PVC; Mrs Rajeshwari Rane, widow of the late Maj Rama Raghoba Rane, PVC, Col J. P. Chopra, VrC, who was with Maj Rane in the 1947 War; Lt Aditya Tanwar and Hav R. D. Tiwari of 4 Guards for spending a precious Saturday evening and Sunday morning helping me research Naik Yadunath Singh in their Regimental Archives at Beas, 4 Guards for their hospitality and Number 1 guest room, and Brig (Retd) N. Bahri for passing on regimental lore about Yadunath; Maj Gen (Retd) R. P. Singh, AVSM, VSM, for permission to use material from his book on the late Maj Gurbachan Singh Salaria, PVC; Poonam Thapa, daughter of the late Lt Col Dhan Singh Thapa, PVC, for her time and memories; Hon Capt (Retd) Ram Chander and Hav (Retd) Nihal Singh, Sena Medal, of13 Kumaon for their vivid recollections of the Battle of Rezang La; the late Hav Abdul Hamid, PVC’s grandson Mr Jameel for sharing stories no one else knew; Mrs Zarine Mahir Boyce, daughter of the late Col Adi Tarapore, PVC, for her memories of her father, Col Bal Singh, Commandant, Poona Horse, for reading the draft on Col Tarapore, Lt Gen (Retd) Ajai Singh for his conversation about the 1965 War; Col (Retd) O. P. Kohli for his recollections of late Lance Naik Albert Ekka, PVC, and the BangladeshWar; Air Cmde (Retd) Ramesh V. Phadke for helping me know Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, PVC, better; the late Mrs Maheshwari Khetarpal, for her time (she passed away shortly after I spent a morning with her remembering 2/Lt Arun Khetarpal PVC), Mr Mukesh Khetarpal (Arun’s brother), who told me stories about his brother with a lot of love, Risaldar Maj (Retd) Nathu Singh for war narratives (he was with Arun in his dying moments); Col (Retd) S. S. Cheema, SM, and Col S. S. Punia, who fought the 1971 War along with late Col Hoshiar Singh, PVC, for helping me reconstruct the battle and specially to Col Cheema for editing the chapters on Col Tarapore and Col Hoshiar Singh; Col Vijay Kumar, CO, 8 Mahar, and Subedar (Retd) Dilip Maske for helping me understand the bravery of late Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran, PVC; Mrs Mohini Pande, Param Vir Chakra awardee late Captain Manoj Pande’s mother for sharing with me her memories of his growing years, that made her cry so many times; Brig Asthana for telling me about Manoj’s tenure in the battalion; Mr Girdharilal Batra and Mrs Kamal Kanta Batra, parents of late Capt Vikram Batra, PVC, for their time and the loving lunch they gave me in their beautiful house in Bandla Gaon, Himachal Pradesh, Vikram’s twin brother Vishal for his help and his friend Dimple for her memories of him.
I am also grateful to the Commanding Officers/ Commandants of all the PVC paltans for giving me access to documents, citations and war diaries, and for introducing me to retired soldiers and families of the dead heroes. The stories I wrote were based on their recollections.
Thanks also to Maj Gen (Retd) Ian Cardozo, whose book Param Vir, Our Heroes in Battle was a source of constant guidance and to Squadron Leader (Retd) Rana Chinna, Secretary, United Service Institution of India Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, for giving me access to the exhaustive USI library and personally helping me find relevant war journals and books for my stories.
A sincere thank you to the Additional Directorate General of Public Information, (ADG PI), Indian Army, for providing valuable material, contact details and assistance in the project. They were a part of this book from start to finish. Thanks also to artist Rishi Kumar for stretching his work schedule to come up with face illustrations of the 21 PVCs at a very short notice.
I am particularly grateful to Col Sudhir Thakur, from 3 Engineer Regiment, for seeing this book through from start to finish with unflinching patience and for clearing every road block I encountered. Believe me, there were plenty! Sudhir was there at every step. Without him, this book couldn’t have been possible. I would also like to thank Maj Gen (Retd) N. R. K. Babu, who inspired me to keep writing, right from when I joined the regiment as a young Army wife and was a little upset about having to leave behind a career in journalism, by tasking me to write the 3 Regiment history to this project where he set the ball rolling by a personal visit when it looked like permissions for the book would not come from the Army. But then we are all from 3 Engineer Regiment, which makes them family and I tend to take them for granted.
Thanks also to Brigadier and Mrs M. K. Ajith Kumar, my adopted family, for facilitating interviews in Punjab for the stories on the late Lance Naik Karam Singh PVC and the late Subedar Joginder Singh PVC and for letting me live in their Bhatinda house, feeding me and tolerating me while I worked on their personal computer almost through the night. And to their golden retriever Toffee for licking me awake when I fell asleep at the computer.
I am also grateful to Col Rajeev Singh for finding me coveted phone numbers despite the constraints of a busy command, and Whatsapping them across with a cheerful message: Ma’am I’m faster than Google. And to my ever- smiling, wise cousin Tanu whose advice, time, house, car and driver were always at my disposal.
A grateful thanks to my old friend and former Financial Express colleague Renu Agal for introducing me to Penguin while I was living in back-of-beyond Ferozepur, the last town on the Indo-Pak border. Thanks also to my book editor at Penguin Anish Chandy for giving me this opportunity to give back to the Army something in return for all that it has given me. And to Archana Shankar at Random House for meticulously reading and rereading the proofs and for her patience and belief in me.
Thanks also to Manoj, my husband, for babysitting our son Saransh while I was away on my voyages of discovery and for being there to pick me up from airports and railway stations with a reassuring smile on his face. And to Saransh, for ensuring I complete the book in those moments of self-doubt: ‘But Mamma, I’ve told all my friends. You have to do it now. Nahi toh meri beizzati ho jayegi,’ he said. To my brother Col Sameer Singh Bisht, SM, for using his personal experience in Kargil for editing my Kargil drafts. And lastly to my dad Brigadier (Retd) B. S. Bisht, SM, VSM, for driving me to tears with those dreaded daily phone calls, gruffly demanding ‘How many chapters have you done?’ but always, always ending each conversation with an All the best beta’—something he has been wishing me all my life. I like to believe it works.
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The Brave: Param Vir Chakra Stories Page 21
