'527 Soldiers Gave Their Lives In Kargil'

'People are enjoying freedom in everyday life because of their sacrifice.'

IMAGE: Colonel R K Sharma receives the Kirti Chakra at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Photographs: Kind courtesy Colonel R K Sharma

"Kargil was the last war fought before Operation Sindoor. The young generations must know about the Kargil War," says retired Colonel R K Sharma, one of India's most highly decorated military officers.

Colonel Sharma received three gallantry medals in one year for operations against militants in the North East.

The Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra and Sena Medal -- a rarest of rare distinction for a soldier.

Having retired in 2022, a book on his life Shoorveer was released by former army chief General V K Singh.

"The objective, the task, is paramount for a soldier. That is why we join the army, not to feel fear.

"I would not have the courage to stand in front of my soldiers and have them think I am scared. It is better to die than to be a coward," Colonel Sharma tells Rediff's Archana Masih in the concluding part of the interview.

Part 1 of the Interview: 'Everything Was Against Indian Forces, But We Won'
Part 2 of the Interview: 'We Would Rain Hellfire On The Pakistanis'

You are a rare soldier to have received three of the highest gallantry awards in peacetime. It must be so satisfying to get this recognition.

I got these peacetime time gallantry awards for operations against militants in the North East serving with the Assam Rifles.

When I received the Kirti Chakra, I realised I had met Shaurya Chakra and Vir Chakra awardees, but never met a Kirti Chakra recipient.

We are all humans, therefore it is a nice feeling to be recognised and congratulated, but a soldier is back to normal work the next day.

IMAGE: Colonel Sharma with his men during the Kargil War.

Can you tell us about the operations?

I received all the awards within a year.

The Kirti Chakra for eliminating five militants in the North East.

My company -- the soldiers who fought alongside me -- got 48 awards during our tenure.

We neutralised 44 militants, captured 300 militants alive and recovered 93 weapons.

The most important thing is that we did not lose any men.

This is blessings of God.

The Shaurya Chakra was awarded for an operation that was done after a lady came crying to us accompanied with her teenaged son.

Her husband had been kidnapped by militants. They had demanded a ransom of Rs 9-10 lakhs for his release.

The ransom note carried a bullet. The practice of sending a bullet with a note meant that if you don't send the money, your relative would be killed with the same bullet.

I told the lady that if I was unable to save her husband I too would not come back alive.

We eliminated the three militants and rescued her husband who had been gagged and handcuffed inside a car.

The lady stayed in touch with me for many years.

You saved a whole family.

God above is the one who saves. We were just doing our duty.

IMAGE: Colonel Sharma, second from right, during his tenure with the UN.

What was the operation for which you received the Sena Medal?

I received a letter from militants warning me that they would kill me.

A week later an informant came and told us about them. We were able to eliminate two militants -- one of them was the person who had sent me the letter.

I must have done 500 operations in the North East with a band of courageous, daredevil soldiers.

Every night, day we used to be out. We would sit for 4-5 days in the jungles during some ops. My buddy Sunil also got a Shaurya Chakra.

In one operation, I told him to give me covering fire and engage the militant while I crawled towards them.

In the noise he could not hear my instruction, so I shouted aloud and the militant also heard me. At that moment, Sunil gave a loud war cry and just charged at the militant 20-30 meters away. He killed him.

We did many risky ops together.

Have you never felt fear?

I have met soldiers like Sunil and others who were absolutely fearless.

They would go into the jaws of death and had to be pulled back.

The objective, the task is paramount for a soldier. That is why we join the army, not to feel fear.

I would not have the courage to stand in front of my soldiers and have them think I am scared. It is better to die than to be a coward.