9 June 1999: The Kargil War’s First Martyrs- Captain Saurabh Kalia and five bravehearts became immortal in India’s history

June 9 marks the martyrdom day of Captain Saurabh Kalia and the five brave soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during the Kargil War. On this day, the country remembers their sacrifice and pays tribute to the heroes who endured unimaginable hardships but never bowed before the enemy.

 

Capt Saurabh Kalia, born on 29 June 1976 in Himachal Pradesh’s Palampur, was only 22 years old when he was captured by the Pakistani Army in May 1999 that marked the start of the Kargil War. He became the first martyr of the Kargil war.

 

Captain Kalia was commissioned into the army in December 1998 and posted with the 4 Jat Regiment in Kargil in the middle of January 1999. In the first fortnight of May 1999, he went out for patrol duty three times in the Kaksar area of Kargil and gave information about the large-scale intrusion of the Pakistani Army in the area.

 

 

 

Kalia volunteered himself to go to Bajrang Post at a height of 13,000–14,000 ft along with five soldiers of the 4 JAT Regiment in the Kaksar area to check for infiltration.

 

Capt Kalia and the five jawans were among the first to take on the Pakistani Army intruders. After continuous crossfire with Pakistani forces from across the LoC, Capt Kalia and his team ran out of ammunition. They reported the situation to the base camp and called for reinforcements. However, before help could arrive, they were surrounded by a platoon of Pakistani Rangers and captured alive in Kargil’s Kaksar area.

 

Indian troops found no trace of the patrol party and launched a massive search operation to locate them.

 

The first news of the disappearance of Saurabh Kalia and his team was broadcast on Askardu Radio in Pakistan-occupied JammuKashmir. The bodies of Saurabh Kalia and his team were handed over to India on June 9. On June 10, the very next day, the story of Pakistan’s barbarity came to light.

 

After 22 days in captivity, the bodies of the young Army officer and five sepoys - Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram, and Naresh Singh - were returned to India, beginning a painful ordeal for their families.

 

The Pakistani army indulged in the most heinous act of burning their bodies with cigarettes, their eardrums were pierced with hot iron rods, lips and noses cut off, eyes gouged and genitals cut off among other things. Their bodies were returned with signs of extreme brutality. The six men were finally shot at the end of their captivity.

 

Such barbarity had never been witnessed before in the history of armed conflicts between India and Pakistan. India expressed its outrage over the mutilation of its six soldiers and termed it a violation of international conventions.

 

What was evident from their mutilated bodies was that none of the soldiers in Saurabh Kalia’s team broke down during interrogation despite being subjected to inhuman torture. Their sacrifice reflected extraordinary patriotism, courage, and determination, for which the entire nation remains proud.