Just completed this absolutely brilliant and breath taking book on the soldiers who were accorded the highest gallantry award by the Indian government i.e. the Param Vir Chakra. Written by Rachna Bisht Rawat in the form of independent stories covering each recipient of the award. She has done a painstaking job in researching the subjects, going across to the family members or the battalion to get more details on the soldiers. The narrative she has kept as moving back and forth between the situation of the war and their past childhood, but it is quite engrossing.
Most of the Param Vir Chakra were given posthumously and few lived to tell their tale. The stories starts from 1947-18 war over Kashmir with Pakistan, touches briefly on Indian soldiers' deployment as part of the UN force in Congo, the disastrous and unplanned Indo-China war of 1962, the second Kashmir war of 1965, the Indo-Pak war of 1971 which resulted in Bangladesh independence, the retaking of the Saltoro ridge in Siachin glacier in 1987, again another disastrous and unwarranted interference by Indian soldiers in Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force and the Kargil war of 1999.
All stories have goosebumps moment in them, but in my view the most daring and courageous feat is that of Bana Singh who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra for the retaking of Saltoro ridge in the Siachen glacier in 1987 a war which was fought at 18000 feat in sub zero temperatures where man can hardly breathe for a few minutes at the most. The most daring breath taking and courageous feat ever in history of mankind.
These are stories of soldiers who are ill equipped with poor equipment, clothing, helmets, bullet proof jackets, boots, ammunition etc. but who had abundance of courage to not let down their duty.
Goodreads review 5/5
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