Batalik Terrain, Tasking Needed Divisional, Not Brigade Op, Recalls Brig Devinder Singh |

A quarter century of the Kargil war is an occasion to remember how tough the task was to evict intruders from Batalik, Dras and Kargil in 1999. Editor in Chief Nitin A. Gokhale revisits the area with half a dozen veterans to recall the battles, the tragedies and triumphs. In Episode I of the series, he is in conversation with Brig Devinder Singh, commander of 70 Brigade which won back the Batalik sector against all odds.
Part I of our series on # Kargil #india #indianarmy #pakistan
The India-Pakistan conflict of 1999, popularly known as the Kargil war, was actually fought in many sectors such as Batalik, Dras, Mushkoh, and sub-sector Hanif, but many of the fierce battles in sectors other than Dras (Tololing, Tiger Hill battles were fought in this sector for instance), did not get the same salience or coverage from the media. The reason: All these areas with varying but tough terrains were not near the highway.
Most of the peaks, upwards of 15000 feet in the Batalik Sector, had to be reached by walking up the streams and nallahs. The jagged mountain peaks made the going tough for soldiers. Helicopters could not fly because of the narrow valleys and steep mountains. Of all the sectors, Batalik had the least attention even from higher headquarters in Northern Command. Brig Devinder Singh, commander of the 70 brigade was given charge of the sector within days of the first signs of trouble. The resources he was provided with were meagre and hastily put together. There was no artillery support in the initial stages of the war and there was no clarity or consensus on what was the strength of the enemy sitting atop the formidable peaks.
The sector, split by nallahs and steep ridgelines can be roughly divided into four sub-sectors. Brig Devinder Singh remembers how difficult it was to control operations in all the four sub-sectors simultaneously since radio communication was non-existent in the initial days and subsequently affected due to screening and jamming. Result, the commander had to divide the brigade headquarters into three and he himself had to be on the move most of the time. Travelling to one sub-sector meant spending three days in remote areas, often cut off from the headquarters and not knowing what was happening elsewhere.
And yet, thanks to the intrepid and brave soldiers and officers of units like 1/11 Gorkha Rifles, 12 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and innovative staff officers under him, Brig Devinder Singh ensured that the 70 Brigade, understaffed, devoid of adequate resources or support, evicted nearly 800 Pakistani troops and recaptured all areas by the time the war ended on 26 July. His calm and collected leadership ensured first success for India before good news started coming from Dras. The Brigade also took the first prisoner of war-Naik Inayat Ali of 5 Northern Light Infantry-proving for the first time the involvement of the Pakistani Army in the operation.
Military historians such as Lt Gen YM Bammi have observed: “Though the Brigade earned one Prama Vir Chakra, two Maha Vir Chakras, four Yudh Seva Medals, 24 four Vir Chakras…the analysis of operations indicates that cases were either left out, or not suitably rewarded.”
A quarter century later, Brig Devinder Singh, is no longer affected by the ‘injustice’ meted out to him and his team for whatever reasons but has certainly not lost the ability to speak his mind.
Travelling with our Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale to the areas which had no roads in the months when he led the 70 brigade in 1999, but are now well connected right upto the Line of Control (LoC), Brig Devinder recalled minutest detail of every battle. Listen to their conversations recorded on location at Batalik and under the shadow of the towering Khalubar range.

[@RajkumarYadav-wf9jo]

Salute to Brg Devendar Singh who minimised the soldier casualty holding responsibility

[@twisted_fire_starter]

Sir, maybe you should start by showing pics of the soldiers who died on the peak u cover. The price we paid we can only repay by Atleast remembering them 🙏🏾

[@debadityagautam8513]

Fully agree with you.

[@apachetamizha]

Good to Brigadier Devinder sir, Kargil war hero. He is an alumni of NDA. He is an Army Aviation Corp pilot.

[@ashishkumar-yo8lx]

I always used to hear about the battle in khalubar Ridge line ... thanks for showing the exact place 🙏

[@ranajoygoho2114]

Its not Pak, its POK.....good that the Brigadier reminded you.....

[@Hatred2003]

I can see Assam regt war cry 🦏

[@hamzaafridi7628]

Kargil was a great operation by Pak army however it was not handled well politicly. Let me give you some fact checks about the area in question. 1) we are still sitting at the highest point overlooking Thang and Taksi to the East. 2) Still dominate Bilargu and Tangal heights along glacier 3) Chorbat La heights 4) Silmo heights overlooking Lalung 5) Heights over looking Phuro Dear Sir, all of those and others are well beyong LOC. Please note that we are still occupying those heights since 1999 to date. PAKISTAN ZINDABAD. For a tester, please see my you tube community post.

[@Gorkhali_01]

The locations you have listed lie on the Pakistani side of the LoC. Try fooling your fellow Pakistanis with these theories. Chorbat La is no longer in Pakistani control. Use Google Earth, you can see Indian permanent fortification right on top of it. Every peak pakis occupied on our side of the LoC was either vacated or was cleared by us. For more details, you can refer to the books of Pakistani writers who have written extensively on this. 1. Witness to Blunder by Col Ashfaq Hussain 2. 50 days that shook Pakistan by Nasim Zehra 3. Ye khamoshi Kahan Tak by Gen Shahid Aziz. Will help to remove your delusions and bring you back to reality.

[@oneworldoneworld7013]

Very informative but Nitin you need to show a bit.more respect to those who appear on the show.

[@nitingokhale184]

Where is the disrespect?

[@oneworldoneworld7013]

This is a style issue. Your acknowledgments or grunts during the interview is a feature. That said informative interview

[@tangocharlie6577]

i dont see any disrespect

[@navneet8269]

Kya English bolne wale sipahi hi lare the kargil main ? Hindi main to kuch hai hi nahi aap ke pass..

[@ameetk4587]

Good person but very bad explanation method... Aaa oouu puuu