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India today honored the following Grenadiers
in the capture of Khalubar Ridge & Batalik sector.
--
Source: Hindustan Times dt 07/11/99
(The following believers in Islam were soldiers in
M company, 22nd
Grenadiers)
Grenadiers Riasat Ali, Zuber Ahmed, Hussain Ali Khan, Hassan Mohammad,
Mohammad Ishaq Khan
Lance Naiks Ahmad Ali, Zakir Hussain, Abid Khan
CQMH Annuruddin
(Others honored were
Hav Brij Bhushan Tiwari and Sep Pramod Kumar
Major Sarvanan - "Hero of Batalik"
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When Allah-O-Akbar was the victory chant of Indian soldiers in Batalik.
Here is the story of the brave sacrifice of the M company, 22nd
Grenadiers.
Source: Indian Express dt 07/10/99
BATALIK, JULY 9: It appeared to be a no-win situation for the Army on
Peak 5250 near the Khalubar ridge in the Batalik sub-sector. But only
till the determined Muslim Company of 22 Grenadiers decided to launch
an aggressive attack and repulse the Pakistani intruders. The valiant
Muslim company -- which fought for full three days -- could not have
completed it without the active
support of 1/11 Gurkha Rifles.
The enemy forces, occupying the strategic heights, were repulsing every
attack, often just by hurling boulders down at the advancing army. The
Charlie Muslim Company, led by Major Ajit Singh, was given the task of
recovering the peak. Leading a
team of 30 brave soldiers, he launched
an offensive under the cover of darkness.
They advanced on Peak 5250 to lead a fierce attack but the enemy
defences were extremely strong. Major Singh lost 10 of his soldiers in
two hours. Another 18 were injured and it was decided to make a
tactical retreat. But as they lay nursing their wounds behind some
large rocks inthe mountains, young
Naik Zakir Hussain came forward and
saluted the Major.
``We will launch another attack, sir, with your permission,'' he said,
determinedly. The company commander, hit by a rock on his head,
discussed the matter with other soldiers and took the decision.
A little after 2 a.m. another attack was launched by the considerably
depleted Muslim Company. Stealthily they climbed, and as they reached
close to the peak, with the battle-cry of ``Allah-o-Akbar', they
launched the
attack from the rear.
Once on the top, chanting `Allah-o-Akbar', the Grenadiers opened fire,
foxing the enemy, weakening their defence. But both numerically and
strategically stronger, the enemy retaliated once they gathered their
wits. Though 10 of their soldiers had already been killed earlier, the
injured 18 kept fighting with nothing more than courage and thewill to
defend the country.
And when the Pakistani reinforcements actually arrived, the Grenadiers
did not let them advance and kept fighting, both upward and downward.
``For three days the soldiers kept enemy reinforcements from reaching
Khalubar,'' said an officer.
``
Abid Hussain, another young Naik, manned the machine gun for 72
hours, lying in the open trying to stop the enemy from climbing. He was
cut to pieces by enemy fire and died with his finger on the trigger,''
the officer added.
It
was only on the third night that soldiers of the 1/11 Gurkha Rifles
began advancing forward to Khalubar. They saw how badly their brothers-
in-arms from the Grenadiers were injured, and launched the attack even
though they had climbed all night and were supposed to recover during
the day. With their `khukris' brandished, the Gurkhas launched the
final assault in daylight itself with the battle cry of `Ayo Gurkhali.'
Even though the enemy could see them, they kept advancing in the face
of heavy firing and Pakistanshelling. The Pakistani intruders, taken
aback by the ferocity of the attack, tried to flee but could not.
--
Thus was the battle for Peak 5250 in the Khalubar ridge won by India.
Lance Naik Zakir Hussain and others have been recommended for
gallantary medals. Unfortunately most posthumously. Let their sacrifice
be not in Vain. They made sure Batalik will be INDIAN FOREVER.
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Tariq Bhat/Khalubar, Kaksar & Sando Top 1999
Dressed in combat fatigues, Colonel Ajit Singh peered at Point 4812 on Khalubar ridge. His eyes ran over the knife-edged ridge and came to rest on Muntho Dhalo. At 16,000ft and close to the Line of Control, Muntho Dhalo was the Pakistan army’s supply and administrative base during the Kargil war.
Then Pak Mi-17 choppers had ferried goods and ammunition to the base for their troops on Khalubar and Kukarthang ridges, a few kilometres inside Batalik sector. Singh, then a major, had seen the choppers in action, from his vantage point on a ledge on Khalubar ridge. During the battle, Singh was in charge of the Muslim company of the 22 Grenadiers.
On the night of July 1, 1999, he led the company’s climb to Point 4812 from Junk Lungpa Nullah. The target was only one kilometre away, as the crow flies, but the steep climb multiplied the distance manifold and the night brought with it angry winds and driving rain. The slippery slopes denied them a firm footing and as rain-softened handholds gave way, some Grenadiers had fatal falls. A few were crushed under boulders that rolled down the slushy slopes. But there was a bigger danger—the chattering enemy guns on the heights.
While Singh and the Muslim company were battling one slope, three other companies of 22 Grenadiers—the Ahirs, Jats and Meenas—were climbing from other directions.
The Muslims were the first to reach the top and to their horror found that they had landed bang in front of the enemy guns. As the enemy guns opened up, the Grenadiers took cover behind the few scattered boulders. But not all were safe.
Grenadier Shiv Kumar died a painful death when a boulder rolled over him.
Imtiaz Ahmed took a burst of machine gun fire and hung on, barely alive.
Lance Naik Sagar Ali crawled to a quieter corner, dragging a leg shredded by gun fire. The Grenadiers were, literally, sitting ducks, but they returned fire when possible.
As dawn approached, Singh clung to his narrow ledge and hatched a plan to get the Grenadiers some respite. At first light, he asked the Muslims to raise the company war cry: Naara-e-takbir Allahu Akbar [Call out, God is great]. The guns on the ridge fell silent as the Pakistanis thought their reinforcements had come.
In the lull, the Grenadiers catapulted sniper Lance Naik Abid Khan to the top of the cliff; he quickly hauled up others from the ledge. As Singh scrambled on to the top, a voice playfully hissed in his ear: “
Sir, I, too, am here”. He turned to see a grinning Tufail Ahmed. Said Singh: “I had teased him many times saying, tu Tufail nahi hain, tu fail hain [You are not Tufail, you are a failure]. But that day he brought me to tears.” No sooner had the Grenadiers firmed up on the ridge, the Pakistanis realised their mistake and fired their artillery guns with a vengeance. They also radioed the neighbouring
Point 5288 and asked for supporting fire.
Khan took a machine gun burst in the chest and fell. As the sniper murmured his last prayers lying in Singh’s arms, another volley missed a soldier by a whisker. Singh quickly pushed him behind a boulder. By now the Grenadiers were low on ammunition and were under fire from Point 5288, too.
On the night of July 2, Lance Naik Amrit Lal Meena slithered up the cliff and linked up with the Muslim company. He bought with him confidence and manna—puris and chocolate. As the famished Grenadiers tucked in, a bullet pierced Naik Azeem Ahmed’s helmet; he miraculously escaped unhurt.
By now the Pakistanis were becoming impatient over the Grenadiers’ resilience and asked their artillery to redouble the barrage. It saw effect. A burst from Point 5288 killed Jamaluddin Ahmed; he died with his finger on the trigger. As a shell peppered a soldier’s buttocks with shrapnel, another killed three Grenadiers near him.
In the silence that followed, someone shouted in chaste Urdu: “Surrender and we will treat you well. Or else all of you will be butchered.” It was the Pak officer who commanded the post. Singh screamed back: “It is you who should surrender. Our men have succeeded in climbing right behind you.” Singh was hoping that the Pakistanis would fall for his bluff.
Unknown to Singh, a
1/11 Gorkha company led by Colonel Lalit Rai, Vir Chakra, had closed in on the enemy. Under the cover of darkness Rai linked up with Singh and they decided it was better to call for a massive artillery strike than getting killed by the enemy. They radioed the units manning the Bofors howitzers and soon hell, literally, broke loose. The intruders panicked and the noose loosened. Eventually the 22 Grenadiers consolidated themselves on the ridge and handed charge to the 1/11 Gorkhas. Point 4812 was now in Indian hands.
Later, more reinforcements arrived to support the Gorkhas. Eventually the enemy was thrown off Kukarthang and Khalubar ridges and chased across the LoC. Sadly, the fierce battles in Batalik sector never caught the nation’s attention like those in Tiger Hill and Tololing in Dras sector. Many officers, too, agree that Dras sector got most of the media attention. By July 26, the LoC’s sanctity had been restored and the decision to honour heroes on August 15 left little time for the Army to properly honour those who secured Batalik.
Today, all posts in the 10,000ft to 18,000ft belt are manned yearlong. Many forward posts bordering the LoC remain cut off from the nearest base for up to seven months. Stockpiles are readied in advance and soldiers climb up the steep mountain tracks loaded with rations and weapons. When the snow falls, it is just the troops and the icy wind whistling among the lonely peaks.
Soldiers serving in these posts come from varying locations like humid coastal Kerala to searing hot Rajasthan. And on these heights they brave the enemy, avalanches and fatal high-altitude diseases like pulmonary oedema that causes accumulation of fluid in the lungs. Other health issues are frostbite, temporary amnesia, hair fall and depression. A soldier’s ears had got frostbitten when he doffed his headgear for a moment. The rarefied air brings breathing problems, too.
Captain Pradeep Chikara, who served in a forward post, said: “For more than four months there was no sunlight. You cannot enjoy food there, but then it is a matter of survival.” Lance Naik Amarjit Singh took the posting sportingly. “Tinned food, chocolate, dried fruits and nuts! I gained a lot of weight when I was at the post and put on a paunch. Now I am trying to get into shape,” he chuckled.
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Shabnam Bano wife of Martyr Rijwan 22 Grenadier (kargil)
wipes her tears at the inauguration of the ‘Vijai Veer Aawas Parisar’, a housing complex specially built for the martyrs’ and handicapped jawans.
View attachment 234827
Brig Ajit Singh (then major)
View attachment 234828
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