Kargil Vijay Diwas : Nation owes its debt to Colonel MB Ravindranath - our fellow Ajeet-, the Indian Army (all forces included) and specially to those who made the supreme sacrifice in service of our nation.

Two Decades of Kargil Vijay Diwas : Salutations to the Battle heroes who made supreme sacrifice
(My blog posted on 26th July 2019)

This day, 26th July, 20 years ago, will ever be etched in the annals of the bravery of the Indian Armed forces, and befittingly the entire nation joined in  commemorating this momentous occasion in the form of विजय दिवस, which, this year,  was celebrated all across the nation with the theme, ‘Remember, Rejoice and Renew’. The valour of our armed forces in this treacherous war, thrust on us by the enemy in deceit, can best be exemplified by its comparison with the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who, in his famous poem, portrays  the bravery of the 600 men of the Light Brigade, who marched into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell, without asking the reason why, but firmly believing in the orders to do and die in service of the nation. True to the traditions of the Indian Armed forces, more than 500 (527 to be precise) sons of India - Armed Forces - made their supreme sacrifice combating the enemy trenched advantageously on the vantage point on top of the Kargil hills, while protecting our motherland to win the dreadful war, which was as treacherous a valley of death as the one faced by LordTennyson’s Light Brigade.

The entire nation, which included our Honourable President, the Prime Minister of India, the RM, and leaders cutting across party lines and so also the celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and innumerable others, joined in the celebration by paying their respects to our battle heroes and saluting the courage and bravery of our Indian armed forces, who were engaged in some of the fiercest battles to eject out the enemy - the Pakistani army - who had surreptitiously and deceitfully occupied the high-altitude posts in the Kargil area during the Operation Vijay. The indomitable spirit, indescribable determination and supreme valour with which our Armed forces battled in the peaks of death and successfully managed to flush out the enemy entrenched on top of the Kargil peak, will ever remain an army folklore for generations to come. One among those army heroes who was part of this epic battle was our very own Ajeet -student of  Sainik School Bijapur - brethren Colonel, MB Ravindranath, a very dear friend of mine.

Colonel Ravindranath was an exemplary leader and an extraordinarily brave, decorated, military officer who was the Commanding Officer of the 2 Rajputana Rifles that captured the Tololing peak, the primary battle, that changed the course of the Kargil war. The capture of the strategically significant Tololing peak - A dominant position overlooking Srinagar- Leh Highway (NH-1D) - was so very important that after it was conquered by Col Ravindranath and his men,   it was only a matter of few weeks for the Indian troops to notch up a string of successes by evicting well-entrenched Paki enemy intruders in the four nearby outposts. Colonel Ravindranath besides being an extraordinarily brave officer who led his men from the front, was also a greater human being and a man who epitomised humility. Most unfortunately Vir Chakra Col. MB Ravindranath died of a massive heart attack in Bangalore in April 2018, leaving the entire Ajeet fraternity in utter shock and disbelief. He was an alumnus (Ajeet) of the the Sainik School, Bijapur (1969-76 batch) just one year senior to us in the school.

It was on the night of 13th of June, 1999, that Colonel M.B. Ravindranath, the commanding officer of the 2 Rajputana Rifles, along with his men scaled the near vertical peak - and a valley of certain death - on which the enemy was entrenched fully armed, to fight the enemy and to eject them to claim the Tololing peak, loosing in the process several of his officers and men who had made their supreme sacrifice in service of their motherland. Colonel Ravindranath, on reaching the Tololing top and hoisting the tricolour, radioed the most awaited message to his commander of the 8 Mountain Division, Major-General Mohinder Puri, camping some 20 km away. It was the most simplest of message, which to General Puri was as profound as the message of Neil Armstrong, when he landed on moon fifty years ago. Colonel Ravindranath messaged to his commanding officer General Puri ‘Sir, I'm on Tololing Top." Until then the enemy was entrenched on top of the Tololing and was able to observe the movement of the Indian soldiers making progress excruciatingly slow. Regardless, Col Ravindranath and his dare devil troops captured the Tololing peak in the Drass Sector after a fierce, night-long hand-to-hand battle. One officer, two JCOs and seven jawans, among his men, had made the supreme sacrifice for the nation and lay dead before him on the most treacherous of rock that often tilted at 80 degrees. The only cover for Ravindranath and his men while capturing the Tololing peak were the prayers of his countrymen and their ammunition a combination of bayonet, bare hands and dare devilishly bravery. It was for good reason that the General Malik had complimented Col. Ravindranath. Once the Tololing was captured by Col Ravindranath and his men, it took just six days for Indian troops to notch up a string of successes by evicting well-entrenched intruders from four nearby outposts with names that had become the talking points across the nation - Point 4590, Rocky Knob, Hump and Point 5140, which was followed by yet another recapture of a similarly strategic height of Tiger Hills.

Books written by General Malik and General Puri on the battle of Kargil provide more insights into the bravery of Colonel Ravindranath and his men and the two appended YouTube links also bear testimony to his extraordinary contributions in Operation Vijay. Col Ravindranath is no more with us for he died of a massive heart attack last year in April but his deeds and those of his men, will remain etched in the annals of Indian history and he will continue to live in the hearts of all Indian specially the Ajeets. A million salutes to you my friend.