Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav narrated the story of the conquest of Tiger Hill.
The whole country is celebrating Kargil Vijay Diwas today. Today marks 25 years of Kargil Vijay Diwas. The courage and valour with which the Indian Army soldiers hoisted the tricolour on Kargil on 26 July is still etched in the minds of people. The whole country is saluting the way the army soldiers hoisted the tricolour on the highest peak of Kargil while fighting the circumstances and conditions. In this war, the Indian Army soldiers drove away the Pakistani Army. Today, on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, retired Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav narrated some interesting stories related to the war.
Victory achieved at Tololing
Retired Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav recalls that day and says, ‘We got the order to reach Drass, at that time I had gone to get married. When I returned, our platoon was at Tololing Top in Drass sector. The enemy was on top, but Commanding Officer Colonel Khushal Singh ordered his platoon to climb with good leadership. We kept fighting and climbing the hill for 22 days. During this time we lost 2 officers, 2 Junior Commissioned Officers and 21 soldiers, then on 12 June 1999, the Indian Army once again recaptured Tololing. However, after this victory, the morale of the platoon was very high, seeing this, the higher commander chose to capture Tiger Hill which was the highest peak of Drass.’
Climbing the Tiger Hill begins
Talking about climbing Tiger Hill, Yogendra Singh Yadav said that ‘soldiers were selected to capture Tiger Hill. During this time, climbing was done only at night, during the day they had to hide among the hills. At that time the night temperature would go up to minus 20 and blood would drip from the face. The scene of that night is still in front of my eyes. That day, as soon as we started climbing the 90 degree straight rock, the enemies started firing. After this, only seven soldiers in the team of soldiers could climb up. After fighting for five hours, such a situation arose that even if we moved forward or even if we retreated, we would get shot in the head.’
Friends kept getting martyred but our strength did not wane
He said that ‘I also remember that moment when I was bleeding from head to torso and the friend who was giving me first aid got shot in the head. Shortly after this, another friend got shot in the chest. In this way, all the friends got martyred one by one. In their eyes, I was also a martyr. But their commander said to check everyone to see if anyone is alive. They even shot at me, but I kept bearing that pain so that they could be sure that no one was alive. Even after shooting, their human cruelty did not end. This orgy continued for a long time. After this, he asked his soldiers to attack the MMG post. When I heard the voice, I prayed to God to give me so much strength that I could give this information to my friends.’
Coins saved lives
He further said that ‘When Pakistani army fired the last bullet on my chest, there were some coins in my purse, but because of the bullet hitting the coins, I survived. Then a voice came from inside that if Yogendra has not died till now, he will not die now. At that time neither my hand nor my leg was working, but I kept on fighting. Meanwhile, when the team came from behind, they started running away. I kept chasing them for five kilometers. After this, when I came back to my comrades, I saw that someone’s head was separated, someone’s leg was separated. After this, I rolled down the hill for 500 meters and informed my battalion about it.’
The satisfaction of conquering Tiger Hill
About Kargil Vijay, he said, ‘Three days later I was in Srinagar hospital, when I opened my eyes I saw that the fan was running upstairs and there I got the information that we have conquered Kargil. I feel very proud that our battalion started this war and we also ended it. There was a sense of relief at that time, but there was also grief for our comrades who were martyred and that those with whom I was talking a day or two ago are no longer with us today.’
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