BRAVE-HEARTS Of INDIA.... Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey, PVC (25 June 1975, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh – 2/3 July 1999, Kashmir),was an officer of the Indian Army of the regiment 1/11 Gurkha Rifles, posthumously awarded the India’s highest military honour, Param Vir Chakra for his audacious courage and leadership during adverse times. He died during the attack on Jubar Top, Khalubar Hills in Batalik Sector, Kargil. Born on 25 July 1975 in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey, was the son of Shri Gopi Chand Pandey. The gallant officer did his early schooling from UP Sainik School based at Lucknow and subsequently joined the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) to achieve his goal of becoming an army officer. After completing his three year tenure, Pandey joined the Indian Military Academy (IMA) to complete his final phase of training and was commissioned into 1/11 Gorkha Rifles, a unit renowned for its heroics and bravery. One of the most interesting anecdotes related to Pandey comes from the time he was being questioned by the interviewing officer during his SSB. The officer had asked him as to why did he want to join the Indian Army, to which, the bright Pandey had replied: “I want to win the Param Vir Chakra.” Gopi Chand Pandey, Captain Manoj Pandey’s father: Right from his childhood, Manoj used to visualise the day he would wear army uniform and fight with the enemy and kill them. He was a fighter from the early days and used to do acts of bravery that astonished most of the elders. He would always dream of doing something unique which would enable him to have his own identity. He was a courageous man and he lived his life valiantly. He did his initial schooling in a private school in Lucknow. After the 8th standard he joined the Army School. On May 26 last year, he called us and told us he was fine. Three days later we got a letter from him. He was fighting on the Kargil front from the first day. He did not write much in the letter. One thing that he emphasised time and again was that we should pray to God that he and his colleagues succeeded in their mission. I remember when he went to join army, he was asked why he wanted to be in the armed forces. “I want to get the Param Vir Chakra,” he replied. “Is it a toy?” The officer asked. To this he said that he would prove it in the course of his career. And he did win the Param Vir Chakra, but did not live to see it. We got to know of his death when a major and two other officers visited our house on July 4 in the afternoon and broke the news to my wife and other members of our family. I was not at home at that time. I knew that my son was fighting a war. Somewhere in my heart I used to pray that the battle stops for a while so that my son would come home. But that was not to be and he died on duty. #Kargil 12 April: On the night of 2/3 July 1999 during the advance to Khalubar as his platoon approached its final objective; it came under heavy and intense enemy fire from the surrounding heights. Lieutenant Pandey was tasked to clear the interfering enemy positions to prevent his battalion from getting day lighted, being in a vulnerable position. He quickly moved his platoon to an advantageous position under intense enemy fire, sent one section to clear the enemy positions from the right and he proceeded to clear the enemy positions from the left. Fearlessly assaulting the first enemy position, he killed two enemy personnel and destroyed the second position by killing two more. He was injured on the shoulder and legs while clearing the third position. Undaunted and without caring for his grievous injuries, he continued to lead the assault on the fourth position urging his men and destroyed the same with a grenade, even as he got a fatal burst on his forehead. This singular daredevil act of Lieutenant Pandey provided the critical firm base for the companies, which finally led to capture of Khalubar. The officer, however, succumbed to his injuries. Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey, thus, displayed most conspicuous bravery, indomitable courage, outstanding leadership and devotion to duty and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army. #Operation_Vijay Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey took part in a series of boldly led attacks during Operation Vijay; forcing back the intruders with heavy losses in Battlik including the capture of Jabbar Top. On the night of 2/3 July 1999 during the advance to Khalubar as his platoon approached its final objective, it came under heavy and intense enemy fire from the surrounding heights. Lieutenant Pandey was tasked to clear the interfering enemy positions to prevent his battalion from getting day lighted, being in a vulnerable position. He quickly moved his platoon to an advantageous position under intense enemy fire, sent one section to clear the enemy positions from the right and himself proceeded to clear the enemy positions from the left. #Death Fearlessly assaulting the first enemy position, he killed two enemy personnel and destroyed the second position by killing two more. He was injured on the shoulder and legs while clearing the third position. Undaunted and without caring for his grievous injuries, he continued to lead the assault on the fourth position urging his men and destroyed the same with a grenade, even as he got a fatal burst on his forehead. His last words were “Na chhodnu” (“Don’t Spare Them” in Nepali language). This singular daredevil act of Lieutenant Pandey provided the critical firm base for the companies, which finally led to capture of Khalubar. The officer, however, succumbed to his injuries. Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey, thus, displayed most conspicuous bravery, indomitable courage, outstanding leadership and devotion to duty and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army. #Legacy Manoj Kumar Pandey was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest medal for gallantry, posthumously. His father, Mr. Gopichand Pandey, received the award from the President of India on the 52nd anniversary of Indian independence. Manoj Pandey is considered a martyr for his sacrifice to his country. He remains as a role model to people everywhere. The Army Welfare Housing Organization (AWHO) designed and constructed an apartment complex for veterans in Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh and named it for Pandey as Manoj Vihar. The army quarters near the Cardio Thoracic Center(CTC) hospital in Pune is named after Martyr Capt Manoj Pandey as ‘Capt. Manoj Pandey Enclave’ The National Defence Academy named the science block as the ‘Manoj Pandey Block’. #His_Diary Manoj used to maintain a personal dairy, where he penned down everything he learnt. In his personal diary he wrote “Some goals are so worthy, it’s glorious even to fail”. On several instances, he poured his heart out. The poetry he wrote in the memory of his doting mother read: “She is the star which shines brightly in the darkness, some one who will always give and bless.” Just below the poem, are the four lines written in bold letters, which shows the metal, out of which Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey’s Param Vir Chakra was carved: “If death strikes before I prove my blood, I promise (swear), I will kill death.” 1/11 Gorkha Rifles (IC 56959W) Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Panday took part in a series of boldly led attacks during ‘operation Vijay; forcing back the intruders with heavy losses in Batalik including the capture of Jabbar Top. On the night of 2/3 July 1999 during the advance to Khalubar as his platoon approached its final objective, it came under heavy and intense enemy fire from the surrounding heights. Lieutenant Pandey was tasked to clear the interfering enemy positions to prevent his battalion from getting day lighted, being in a vulnerable position. He quickly moved his platoon to an advantageous position under intense enemy fire, sent one section to clear the enemy positions from the right and himself proceeded to clear the enemy positions from the left. Fearlessly assaulting the first enemy position, he killed two enemy personnel and destroyed the second position by killing two more. He was injured on the shoulder and legs while clearing the third position. Undaunted and without caring for his grievous injuries, he continued to lead the assault on the fourth position urging his men and destroyed the same with a grenade, even as he got a fatal burst on his forehead. This singular daredevil act of Lieutenant Pandey provided the critical firm base for the companies, which finally led to capture of Khalubar. The officer, however, succumbed to his injuries. Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey, thus, displayed most conspicuous bravery, indomitable courage, outstanding leadership and devotion to duty and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army. Colonel Lalit Rai on Captain Manoj Pandey: On July 2 we got orders to clear up some of the enemy positions in Khalabar in the Batalik sector. We travelled for 14 hours on foot and were short of 400 metres from our aim when there was suddenly heavy fire on our column. The fire came from two directions, from the top and other from the side. At that time Manoj was with me and we had barely sixty men with us. We had lots of casualties. We split the men available. Thirty came with me and the rest went with Manoj. Being the commanding officer I chose the difficult one on the top. I told Manoj to handle the fire from the left. My own assessment was that there would be only two bunkers there. But later we found that there were six sangars. That was the last time I saw this brave officer alive. Even while he was going towards his mission, bullets were flying past us. He told me not to worry as he would be able to finish his task. Later on the soldiers told me that when he came to know that there were six sangars, he chose four for himself and assigned two to another officer. He had cleared three and was moving towards the last one when he got a bullet in the thigh and one bullet on his shoulders. The boys told him to relax as he was injured and said they would do the rest. But the officer refused and insisted on finishing off his part of the duty. He threw a grenade to clear the last sangar. There was a gap of four seconds between throwing the grenade before it exploded. There was a spurt of fire and three bullets went through his helmet and hit his head. I later saw the helmet. Before he fell he told his men: Na Chodnu (Don’t leave them). Meanwhile, the other two bunkers had also been cleared. I also reached a little later. I had been hit in my legs. We fought for three days without any food, water or anything before we could move in reinforcements. We could do it because he had done his job..... source- #copied #jai_Hind #KUHU
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 14:54:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015