9th June 1999, Kargil War: Capt. Saurabh Kalia - The Indelible tale of a young martyr of India

 

Every year since 1999, India celebrates 26th July as 'Victory Day', as on this day, after the successful culmination of 'Operation Vijay', the Indian Army soldiers hoisting tricolor on Kargil hills declared victory after a three-month-long war against Pakistan. In the meanwhile, almost a month ahead of 'Vijay Diwas', the country commemorates the day when a 22 yr old fearless Army officer Captain Saurabh Kalia made the ultimate sacrifice for the country becoming one of the first ones to take on the Pakistani Army intruders along with five of his Jawans. Capt. Kalia prior to being martyred on 9th June 1999 was captured alive by the Pakistani Army in May 1999, the month that marked the beginning of the Kargil War.

 

Captain Kalia of 4 Jat Regiment was just 22 when he was taken captive by Pakistani troops on May 15th, 1999 with five of his sepoys, Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram and Naresh Singh. The Indian Army soldiers had gone on a reconnaissance off Bajrang Post in Kargil’s Kaksar area of Jammu and Kashmir along the LoC to investigate reports of an incursion. Once they ran out of ammunition after a prolonged gun battle that ran into several hours they were captured alive by Pakistani intruders and tortured contrary to all international conventions on war. All six must have had to endure an inhumane level of torture at the enemy base. After 22 days in captivity, the bodies of the young army officer and five sepoys were returned to the Indian side in a mutilated state.

 

 

 

Capt Saurabh Kalia was born to Vijaya and Narendra Kalia on 29 June 1976 at Amritsar, Punjab and had a younger brother named Vaibhav Kalia. He did his schooling and bachelor’s in medical sciences from Palampur and was excellent in academics, had also won various scholarships throughout his academic career. In Aug 1997, he got selected for the prestigious Indian Military Academy and through Combined Defense Services was commissioned on 12 December 1998.

 

Capt Kalia was commissioned into 4 Jat of the Jat Regiment, an infantry regiment known for its fearless soldiers and numerous battle and theatre honors. As his first assignment, Capt Saurabh was posted to J &K where his unit was deployed in the Kargil sector. He joined the unit as a Lieutenant and was promoted to the rank of Captain on the battlefield at the age of 22 years.

 

In the early part of May 1999, as unusual movements were noticed several patrols were conducted in the Kaksar Langpa area of Kargil district, to check for the presence of intruders. On 15th May 1999 Capt Saurabh Kalia was tasked to lead a patrol to Bajrang post. Capt Saurabh Kalia with five other soldiers set off for the Bajrang post as planned. After a continuous crossfire with Pakistan from across the LOC, Capt Saurabh Kalia and his troops ran out of ammunition. They reported this matter to the base camp and called for reinforcements. However, before the troops could arrive, they were surrounded by a platoon of Pakistani rangers and captured alive. The Indian troops found no trace of the patrol party and launched a massive search operation to locate them. Meanwhile, Radio Skardu of Pakistan announced that Capt Saurabh Kalia had been captured by Pakistani troops. This event led to the discovery of hundreds of guerrillas, who had established fortified positions on the peaks of the hills deep inside the Indian side of the Line of control.

 

 

 

Capt Saurabh Kalia and his men were in captivity from 15 May 1999 – 7 June 1999 for about twenty-two days and subjected to torture as evident from injuries to their bodies when they were handed over by the Pakistani Army on 9th June 1999. The post-mortem examination revealed that the Pakistani forces had tortured them in gross violation of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war.

 

The day, parents of 22 yr old Capt. Kalia, Vijaya, and Narendra Kalia received the body of their young son in a mutilated state, handed over by the Pakistani army to the Indian army commanders at the Kargil sector, with evidence of torture, they were to celebrate his 23rd birthday on June 29, 1999, mere thought of which frightens inner selves of an entire country, even today.

 

All the five brave soldiers along with Capt. Kalia, before being finally shot at the end of their captivity, were treated with extreme brutality and inhumanity with vital organs being cut or burnt, their eardrums were mercilessly pierced with burning iron rods, lips and noses cut off, eyes barbarously gouged out, and in the cruelest act possible, genitals were cut off.

 

Capt Saurabh Kalia was a valiant and committed soldier who laid down his life in the service of the nation. Twenty-one years passed by, since the 1999 Indo-Pakistan Kargil war, but for Captain Saurabh Kalia’s parents, who received the mutilated body of their beloved son, one of the first casualties of the war, the war for justice is far from over. They hope Pakistan be brought to book and those responsible for the act be punished under international laws as the violence meted out to the six soldiers stood against the protocols of the Geneva Convention.