Amir Karim Tantray
Tribune News Service
Jammu, June 25

The never-say-die attitude and passion to serve the motherland made Param Vir Chakra (PVC) awardee Subedar Major Yoginder Singh Yadav set an example for generations to come.

The valour of Subedar Major Yadav (a sepoy during the Kargil war) was seen when in 1999 he, along with his six companions, launched an offensive on the Tiger Hill.

The only survivor of the attack, which killed more than 40 enemy soldiers and left six Indian soldier dead, Yadav strapped his broken arm and leg after he received 15 bullets and splinter injuries and rolled down to provide crucial information of an impending offensive from the enemy side.

“On a normal day, if a thorn pricks it hurts a lot. But even after receiving 15 bullets, I had no pain that day,” said Yadav. It was anything but normal on that cold, snowy mountaintop, when he saw six of his platoon die in close combat, felt 15 bullets slam into his right leg and left arm and the searing pain of shrapnel gouge his face.

Yet, Yadav’s information gave the Indian Army an upper hand and without losing any more lives, the most important Tiger Hill peak, which had seen multiple unsuccessful attempts from the Indian side till July 4, 1999, was recaptured.

Twenty years ago, Yadav was a shy, newly married teenager whose stint in the Indian Army was new but full of passion. Hailing from Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district, Yadav, who had rarely seen such barren hills, started climbing the Tiger Hill along with 24 others, led by the then Lieutenant Balwan Singh Panghal

“For two nights and a day, we climbed under fire. On July 4’s foggy evening, we neared Pakistani positions but the firing intensified. Only seven soldiers made it to the top and out of them only I survived after a solo battle,” he said.

Recapturing the moment, Yadav said “The happiest moment of my life was when I was apprised of the recapturing of the Tiger Hill immediately after my injury and I had thought to myself — even after losing so many lives we completed our mission.”

After being shifted to military hospital Srinagar in a critical condition from Kargil base camp, he was taken to Delhi base hospital on July 10, 1999, where he got the whole treatment done. It was on August 15, 1999, that the then Chief of Army Staff Gen VP Malik told Yadav that he had been awarded the country’s highest gallantry award Param Vir Chakra (PVC).

His heroism on the Tiger Hill, from where the enemy was keeping a close vigil on Srinagar-Leh National Highway, thus making the movement of Indian Army tough, earned him the PVC.

Twenty years after the war, Yadav believes memories are so fresh that it seems as if the incident happened yesterday. “I can never forget what happened during the war and it was because of that war that I am what I am today,” the Subedar Major said.

Till the time he was part of the 18 Grenadiers unit, his platoon was known as ‘PVC Platoon’. These days, he is imparting training to newly promoted junior commissioned officers at the Junior Leaders Academy (JLA), Bareilly, UP. “Soldiers get motivated by listening to the valour of Indian Army during the Kargil war and it is great to be part of an academy where I can share my experience with juniors,” Yadav added.