It is perhaps never that a war is really won, for somewhere there is always a loss. And when the conflict is over, the blood and the bravery fill the mind with both pain and pride. July 26, 2015 marks the 16th anniversary of one such heroic conflicts — the Kargil war. A formidable battleground 12,000 to 18,000 ft high, two months of intrepid fighting, around 3,000 injured and 533 Indian soldiers dead - this war fought in the world’s tallest mountains remains one of the most gruelling conflicts the Indian Army has ever waged.

And among the many men who displayed exemplary fortitude and patriotism, 75 martyrs were from Uttarakhand in which Doon valley alone lost 18 brave-hearts. Thirty of these were given awards for gallantry. Uttarakhand has the maximum martyrs in the conflict.

There was twenty-nine years old Major Rajesh Adhikari from Nainital who led a 10-man team on a mission to capture a 16,000 ft high bunker in the crucial Battle of Tololing in Kargil. Victory was won but Adhikari lost his own life. Adhikari was conferred posthumously, the Maha Vir Chakra- the second highest Indian military honour.

“On 30 May 1999, as a part of battalion operation to capture the Tololing feature, Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari was tasked to secure the initial foothold by capturing its forward spur where the enemy held a strong position. The enemy position was located in a treacherous mountainous terrain covered with snow at a height of about 15,000 feet.

While Major Adhikari was leading his company towards the objective, he was fired at from two mutually supporting enemy positions with Universal machine guns. The officer immediately directed the rocket launcher detachment to engage the enemy position and killed two enemy soldiers in close quarter combat. Thereafter, the officer, displaying presence of mind under heavy fire, ordered his medium machine gun detachment to take position behind a rocky feature and engage the enemy. The assault party continued to inch their way up.

While so advancing forward, Major Adhikari suffered grievous bullet injuries, yet he continued to direct his sub-unit. Refusing to be evacuated, he charged at the second enemy position and killed one more occupant, thus capturing the second position at Tololing which later facilitated capture of Point 4590. However, later he succumbed to his injuries. Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari displayed exceptional valour, outstanding leadership in the presence of the enemy and laid down his life in the highest traditions of the Indian Army” reads his MVC citation.

Another slain hero from the State was Dehradun’s Major Vivek Gupta, also awarded with the MVC after his death, who died on June 12, 1999 after defeating infiltrators in two bunkers on perilous frozen slopes of the Drass sector. In command of a company of the 2nd Rajputana Rifles, he had launched battalion-sized attack on the Tololing Top and along with his fellow soldiers killed seven combatants before being ripped by a volley of enemy bullets. Major Vivek displayed awe-inspiring grit and love for his country in the battle and it was in Dehradun after his father settled in the city that he, as an effervescent college student, resolved to join the Indian armed forces.

The Vir Chakra (posthumous) citation of martyred Naik Brij Mohan Singh spells out his saga, ‘Realising the gravity of the situation and displaying outstanding leadership qualities and initiative, Naik Brij Mohan Singh led his squad in a suicidal mission to save his comrades by assaulting the verticals snow covered slopes of Sando Top...The entire operation resulted in the elimination of five enemy soldiers and also saving the lives of his comrades.’ And with these are the extraordinary stories of many heroic men, who put their lives on the line so that our future could be fine. As they say, soldiers never die; they only become immortal.