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Garma
Garam More |
A Saga of Sacrifice & Struggle |
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By Prabhjot Singh REMEMBER the Battle of Saragarhi when Havildar Ishar Singh with 21 Other Ranks (ORs) made the supreme sacrifice while repulsing an attack by more than 10,000 Afridi tribesmen in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), now in Pakistan? The British Parliament had then arisen as one man to pay its respect to these gallant Sikh soldiers. Now, more than 102 years later, the entire nation has risen again. This time to acknowledge the triumph of the Sikhs at Helmet and India Gate ( Tiger Hill features) in the Kargil sector.
Valour is the second name of the Sikh Regiment. It has a long and distinguished history. It continues to be the highest decorated regiment in the Indian Army with 73 battle honours and 38 theatre honours. The regiment also enjoys the distinction of having in its fold the highest decorated "Battalion of Commonwealth"--- the 1 Sikh --- and the highest decorated soldier, Naik Nand Singh, who has the Mahavir Chakra and the Victoria Cross pinned to his chest. Moreover, the regiment has, in the post-Independence era, won two Param Vir Chakras, two Ashok Chakras, two Param Vishisht Seva Medals, 14 Mahavir Chakras, 5 Kirti Chakras, one Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, 10 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, 64 Vir Chakras, 22 Shaurya Chakras, 104 Sena Medals and 31 Vishisht Seva Medals --- a total of 1596 gallantry awards. Though the official history of the regiment dates back to 1846, its biological heritage has its roots in the teachings and sacrifices made by the Sikh Gurus. Imbibing the culture and chivalry of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's erstwhile Khalsa Army, the ethos and traditions of the regiment got formalised with the ' Regiment of Ferozepore Sikhs' and 'Regiment of Ludhiana Sikhs' on August 1,1846, through Capt G. Tebbs and Lieutenant Colonel P. Gordon, respectively.
And when men and officers from two of the battalions of this regiment --- 8 Sikh and 14 Sikh -- were inducted into Kargil operations, they lived up to their rich martial tradition of self- sacrifice. One had to be in Kargil to understand the inhospitable terrain where men from Indian infantry made history. The enemy -- Mujahideens and Pakistan Army regulars -- had occupied all the ridges or features. Unlike the picturesque hill stations of Shimla, Darjeeling, Manali or Chail, the higher reaches, peaks or features along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kargil, are not gentle tree and shrub peaks but jagged rocks of granite and basalt found at this end of the Tibetan plateau. These are some of the oldest and hardest rocks in the world. Devoid of even a blade of grass, most of these ridges have razor-sharp edges. The southern rock face is often a sheer cliff. The more accessible slopes have a 70 degree incline. The ridges are also narrow and a single machine gun is good enough to neutralise a 10 to one advantage in manpower at the ground level. From the positions that the intruders had occupied, they appeared to be "undefeatable". |
