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“Why do you want to join the Army?”
“I want to win the Param Vir Chakra.”
These were the words of Capt. Manoj Kumar Pandey in his SSB
interview when he was asked about the reason of joining the Indian Army. And he
remained true on his word!
Being the part of 1/11 Gorkha Rifles, on June 11th,
1999 during the Kargil War, he lead his men to capture the Jubar top, besides a
narrow, deceptive ridge towards the backstabbing enemy, now in bunkers on the
Indian land.
Pakistanis kept of firing on Capt. Pandey’s men,
demonstrating a great daring, he gushed ahead of his troop and hailed the enemy
with bullets and a loud battle cry. Wounded by bullets on leg and shoulder, he
killed two men in the first bunker in hand combat and urged his men to clear
all bunkers and collapsed in the final bunker.
On July 3rd, as a part of Operation Vijay,
advancing to Khalubar, he was asked to clear off the enemy positions amidst heavy
shooting. Fearlessly striking the first enemy position, he killed two enemies
and destroyed the second position by killing two more. While clearing third,
bullets thrashed his shoulder and legs. Dauntlessly he continued to lead the
assault on the fourth which he destroyed with grenade and then, a shot
penetrated his forehead. ‘Na chhodnu’ were his last words which mean ‘Don’t
spare them’. This daredevil act and motivation led to the capturing of
Khalubar.
He was just twenty – four when took his last breathes!
On this day of Kargil Vijay Divas, we salute our hero who sacrificed himself for
the protection of our nation, our Mother India from the enemies.
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