After Sudan we moved to Kupwara. On the LoC, small teams of men are deployed within an area of responsibility; they are supposed to look after that place. Naib Subedar Chuni Lal was the post commander, responsible for those troops.

When he deployed himself and the firing began in the operation, soldiers from neighbouring posts were moved to assist them in eliminating the terrorists. So initially it started with a small group which got built to a larger group where the commanding officer, the company commander, played an important role but Chuni Lal was the man in focus. Under the guidance of the commanding officer and senior officers, the operations were modified on the ground so that we were able to attain the goal.

Chuni Lal was our only unfortunate loss.

Chuni Lal belonged to the most decorated battalion of the Indian Army

The 8 J&K Light Infantry is the highest decorated battalion in the Indian Army today with 252 bravery awards after Independence. Around 25 per cent of the bravery award winners are still in the battalion.

We call this battalion born in battle and purified in blood -- because this battalion was raised on December 18, 1947 in response to a call by the civil population to check the ingress of Kabailis in Poonch. It saved Poonch from falling into their hands.

In the 1971 war, it was the only battalion which could hold on to its defences west of Munawar Tawi in the Chamb sector despite all odds. Today it is the only location with us on the west of Munawar. For this the battalion was given the battle honours of Laleali and Piquet 707 and the division got theatre honours for the action of this battalion.

In 1987, this is the only battalion that has captured the highest battlefield in the world at a height of 21,153 feet. It requires nerves of steel to be deployed, move, attack, capture and survive at that position. During that operation Bana Singh got the Param Vir Chakra, we also got a Mahavir Chakra in that operation for Subedar Sansar Chand, 7 Vir Chakras, 10 Sena Medals and 70 commendation cards. Nobody has got so many awards in a single operation. That is history in itself.

After we were deployed in Poonch between 1998 and 2001, a number of operations took place. This is the only battalion that has the record of killing the maximum number of terrorists in one tenure at the LoC -- 106 terrorists. For its sterling performance, the battalion was awarded the Chief of Army Staff's unit citation in 2001.

Image: The area of Naib Subedar Chuni Lal's operation
Photograph courtesy: 8 J&K Light Infantry

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