Some people die young, live forever. Shaheed Captain Vikram Batra was one of them. The poster boy of the Kargil war of 1999, Captain Vikram Batra laid down his life for his motherland on July 7 during the war. Captain Batra’s exemplary display of bravery in the face of adversity is the inspiration for gentlemen cadets and young officers of the Indian Army. Kargil War 20th Anniversary: IAF Recreates Tiger Hill Attack During 'Operation Vijay' at Gwalior Air Base, Watch Video.

Early Life of Captain Vikram Batra:

Captain Vikram Batra was 14 minutes elder to his twin brother Vishal. His father Girdhari Lal Batra was government school principal and mother Kamal Kanta Batra was a school teacher. Captain Batra also had two elder sisters - Seema and Nutan. He did his schooling from Palampur. While pursuing his graduation in B.Sc Medical Sciences from DAV College, Chandigarh, He joined the National Cadet Corps and got ‘C’ certificate. He also got the opportunity to participate in a Republic Day Parade. IAF Remembers The Kargil War 1999 On Its 20th Anniversary By Sharing Throwback Pictures Of MiG Jets.

While pursuing his Master's degree in English, he gave Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination. In 1996, Captain Batra cleared the exam and joined the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun in Manekshaw Battalion. After completing the training of 18 months, he was commissioned into the 13th battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAK Rif) of the Indian Army as Lieutenant. His first posting was in Sopore in Jammu and Kashmir where the young officer had several encounters with terrorists.

Story of Captain Vikram Batra's Bravery in Kargil War:

After the Kargil war broke out, Captain Batra’s battalion was given orders to move to Dras sector under the command of Lt. Col Yogesh Kumar Joshi. The 13 JAK Rif was placed under the command of 56 Mountain Brigade. Initially, the battalion was given orders to act as reserves to the 2nd battalion of the Rajputana Rifles which was given the task to re-capture Tololing mountain.

After the capture of Tololing, the 13 JAK Rif was assigned the task to capture Point 5140 in the Dras sector. Captain Batra who was Lieutenant at that time, was given the command of Delta company to capture Point 5140 from the southern side while Lt Sanjeev Singh Jamwal was given the command of Bravo Company which was assigned the task to capture the feature from the eastern side. Lt Jamwal chose the success signal of his company as "Oh Yeah Yeah Yeah" while “Yeh Dil Maange More” was the success signal of Captain Batra’s Company. Kargil Vijay Diwas: All You Need to Know About the Importance of This Historic Day.

The assault on Point 5140 began on June 20. The Bravo company captured the feature first, while some hour after, Captain Batra’s company also achieved his mission. After achieving the task, the young officer radioed his command post, his success signall “Yeh Dil Maange More”. During the mission, Captain Batra got seriously injured but not before killing three intruders. His company killed a total of eight intruders. Shershaah: Sidharth Malhotra to Romance Kiara Advani in a Film Based on Kargil Martyr Captain Vikram Batra.

After the capture of this feature, Batra was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain rank. Captain Batra’s battalion was then moved to Mushko valley and was assigned the task to capture Point 4875, which was strategically important as the enemy could overlook the Indian Army’s activities over a stretch of 30-40 km. Even though Captain Batra was down with fever and was recovering from the injuries which he sustained during the capture of Point 5140, he insisted to go on a mission to capture Point 4875.

During the Kargil was the young officer had a code name – “Sher Shah”. On the night of July 6 and 7, Captain Batra, led the assault party to provide reinforcements to Indian soldiers which were at area flat top feature of Point 4875. During the combat, Captain Batra displayed extraordinary bravery and destroyed the machine gun location of the enemy single handled. He was hit while evacuating his injured man to a safe location. He laid down his life for the motherland on July 7.

Interview of Captain Vikram Batra with Star News:

Param Vir Chakra Awarded to Captain Vikram Batra (Posthumously):

For his bravery, Captain Batra was awarded Param Vir Chakra (posthumously), the highest gallantry award of wartime. Point 4875 was also named as “Batra Top” in the memory of the brave officer of the Indian Army. Vikram Batra Biopic: The Reason Why Sidharth Malhotra's Film is Called 'Time to Relive – Yeh Dil Mangey More' DECODED.

After becoming an officer, when one of his friends asked him to be careful during the war, He replied, “I'll either come back after raising the Indian flag in victory or return wrapped in it. But I'll come for sure.” After his death, A hall at Service Selection Centre Allahabad is named 'Vikram Batra Block', a residential area in the Jabalpur Cantonment is called 'Captain Vikram Batra Enclave' and the combined cadet's mess at the IMA is named "Vikram Batra Mess".

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 07, 2019 07:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).