There have been heroes aplenty over the years who have sacrificed their lives to protect the Indian lands. Those who put on the uniform never let the country down, they fight till they no more can.?
Every once in while, there have been such men and women in this country's history, men and women who were born to do something extraordinary. Capt. Vikram Batra was clearly one such man - one in a billion!? ?
A real life hero, Batra?made the supreme sacrifice while capturing Point 4875 during the Kargil conflict of 1999.?During the Kargil invasion of 1999 by Pakistan, (at the time) Lt. Batra, 13 JAK Rifles, and his Delta Company were ordered to recapture peak 5140 on June 19, five weeks after the war began.?
Nicknamed Sher Sha of Kargil, Lt. Batra showed exceptional courage and intellect to capture the peak. He single-handedly killed three enemy fighters in dangerous close-range combat. Regardless of his injuries, Captain Batra regrouped his men to pave the way for Indian soldiers to advance further in the Kargil war.
'Yeh Dil Maange More' is our company's success signal, he said to the camera with a smile. It was the confident smiling visage of this hero that calmed the nation, which made its one billion people believe that everything will be okay.??
The capture of Point 5140 set in motion a string of successes for the Indian army. A few days later Lt. Batra was assigned to an urgent mission to recapture peak 4875. With an 80-degree slope to the peak where the Pakistani army sat with a clear view of the climb, this was nothing less than a death trap.
In the early morning hours of 7 July 1999, he commanded a mission to rescue an injured officer. During the rescue attempt, he was killed in action while clearing enemy positions.?
It was 21 years ago that he lost his life fighting for our country, but heroes never die, and PVC Capt. Vikram Batra lives on. His bravery, his sacrifice, his intelligence, his charm, and that infectious smile, they all live on in our hearts.