Captain Vijyant Thapar | Kargil War

Captain Vijyant Thapar (Dec 26,1976– June 29, 1999) was an officer of the Indian Army of
the regiment 2 Rajputana Rifles, posthumously awarded the India's third highest military
honour, Vir Chakra for his audacious bravery during the Kargil War. He fell leading an
attack of 2 Rajputana Rifles at Tololing (Black Rocks -KNOLL) during the Kargil War on
29 June 1999. He was 22 years old. He was a fourth generation officer in his family.

Childhood:

Thapar was born on 26 Dec 1976 at Nangal Punjab. His father, Colonel V.N Thapar, was the son and grandson of army officers.Thapar was commissioned in the Maratha Light Infantry, and commanded a battalion of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles. At the time of his birth, his father was posted at Pathankot with an Armored Brigade. The young child was promptly named 'VIJYANT' after the name of the main battle tank of the army. His uncle was an ace fighter pilot also at Pathankot. Vijyant always wanted to be in the Air Force or Army. His favorite toys were guns. As a child, he would wear his father's peak cap, take his cane and march around like an officer.He studied at Tara Hall, St. Mary's Academy (Meerut), St Josephs Academy, Army Public School, and finished his schooling from DAV College Chandighar. He graduated from Khalsa College Delhi. His childhood was spent among soldiers, guns and tanks and watching formations of fighters shriking past a few hundred feet above his house.He was a happy-go-lucky boy full of life and naturally enjoyed outdoor activity. A good swimmer he later took to bodybuilding. He was called 'Robin'. The carefree years of his early life were spent in an ancient mansion at Barrackpore, a military cantonment near Calcutta. The lasting memory of his childhood was Robin running around in the sprawling garden, with his two dogs
chasing butterflies, catching dragonflies and doing mock charges on "Langoors" (baboons)-who were actually friendly.

In the evening, he would be in the Paltan (Battalion), watching wrestlers, boxers and other sportsmen. At the age of four or five, he had already fired a pistol sitting in his father's lap. He worked single-mindedly to fulfill his ambition to join the Forces. One day his hard work paid off. He was selected in Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

The Kargil War:

Vijyant moved to Dras with his unit under Col. M.B. Ravindernath, commanding officer, and his company commander Major P. Acharya. The battalion was then given the task of capturing Tololing. Earlier attempts to capture Tololing by other units had failed with heavy losses. After the initial assault by Major Mohit Saxena was held up, on the night of 12 June 1999, Capt Vijayant Thapar led his platoon to capture a Pakistani post called Barbad Bunker. A photo in the newspapers shows him sitting with soldiers and captured arms that the fleeing enemy left behind. His letter after the battle describes the scene with dead Pakistani soldiers lying all around and his disappointment at not being able to catch two enemy soldiers alive.After the historic victory at Tololing (termed as the turning point of the War), Vijyant was tasked to capture Three Pimples, Knoll in Black Rocks Complex, an ugly mountain sandwiched between Tololing and Tiger Hill. It was a full moon night and the enemy had good visibility. Moreover, this was an impregnable position to capture. The troops of 6 Northern Light Infantry (Pakistan) had all the advantages. Well entrenched in strongly prepared positions, well
stocked and with only one narrow 'knife edge' ridge to cover, with precipitous slopes on both sides, and ravines thousands of feet deep, devoid of cover and almost vertical climbs at an altitude of 15000 ft and temperatures of -15*, it was indeed an impossible mission However, men of the unit were fired by the success at Tololing and were raging to go. The attack started with a fierce artillery barrage of a hundred guns, with Vijyant's platoon leading. The enemy responded with an equally intense and accurate bombardment on the attacking troops. In this artillery attack, Robin lost some of his men and some more were injured
causing the attack to be disrupted. However with his indomitable spirit and tremendous urge to capture Knoll, he got together the remnants of his men and moved through a ravine and rejoined his company. In the melee earlier, Vijyant's platoon had gotten separated from his company. While the exchange of fierce fire was going on, Vijayant reached his company, which had already secured a small foothold on Knoll.By this time, his company commander Major P. Acharya had been killed. At this news, Vijayant's anger was explosive. He surged ahead along the narrow ridge with his colleague Naik Tilak Singh. Both of them started engaging the enemy merely 15 m away. There were two enemy machine guns firing towards them. After about an hour and a half of fierce exchange of bullets and abuses, Vijyant decided that he had to finish the enemy. In a brief lull in
firing he rushed ahead to do so but a burst of fire struck him on his head. He fell in the arms of his comrade Naik Tilak Singh. It was after that the men of his company charged and fully captured Knoll. That night had cost the Indian Army 3 officers killed, 3 severely injured, 10 Ors killed, and 42 wounded. All objectives were captured.For this act of outstanding bravery and his ultimate sacrifice, Capt. Vijyant Thapar was awarded the Vir Chakra a gallantry award by the President of India, K. R. Naraynan, which was received by his 82 year old grandmother.Shortly before he went into the attack, he wrote a last letter to his parents. This letter epitomises the soldierly virtues of the Indian Army and shows the values of an inspired Indian. This has motivated a whole generation of Indian soldiers and youth alike. He was just 22 years old. Noida, his hometown, gave him a memorable farewell with about hundred thousand people attending his last rites. The Army dedicated to him the helipad at Dras, which is known as Vijyant Helipad

http://www.captainvijyantthapar.com/ is the official website of Captain Vijayant Thapar. All the information of his life can be obtained from this website.