He Joined Army for Param Vir Chakra;;Lt Pandey

he interviewer at the Services Selection Board (SSB) asked him why he wanted to join the Army? And pat came the reply: "I want to win the Param Vir Chakra."

True to his words, Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey did win the country's highest gallantry honour but posthumously.on of a small-time businessman, the Lucknow hero laid down his life while capturing Jubar Top on Khalubar Hills in the Batalik Sector during Operation Vijay in 1999. Since then, the saga of Lt Pandey has left many teary-eyed and many reminisce with nostalgia.

A brilliant student and a dedicated son, the braveheart, nurtured the aspiration of being a soldier right through his days in Sainik School, Lucknow. "He was a top boxer and never came second in academics. Even though he left home at a young age, he always missed his mother. He used to write letters and in fact had written a couple of poems on his mother," said his father Gopi Chand Pandey.

"For us, Manoj was everything and it feels like his mother and me too have passed away with his death," adds Gopi Chand in a heavy voice.

"He used to live for his mission and used to do a lot of homework before every task. He knew he couldn't risk the life of his subordinates by going for a blind attack," said Pawan Mishra, one of the closest friends of Lt Pandey.

Commissioned into 1/11 Gurkha Rifles, Lt Manoj was directed to capture Jubar Top on Khalubar Hills in the Batalik Sector, and the martyr, decided to move with his platoon right in the middle of the night to climb the steep hills for the victorious mission.

Though the path was extremely difficult, Manoj, using his presence of mind, decided to move along with his men as he knew the area was unguarded by Pakistan.

"Enemy soldiers noticed when the platoon was just few metres away from their target. Manoj had anticipated this, and before the Pakistani soldiers could set their rifles on our troops, he moved the platoon to an advantageous location and began his final assault. Soon, the Pakistani soldiers resorted to heavy firing and Manoj was hit in the leg and shoulder, but he kept advancing," said his father.

For a brief while, the rivals managed to stall the Indian attack, but Manoj's team was beyond their control. Knowing that they were only metres away from their final objective, Manoj decided to go for a final hand-to-hand assault and led the charge.

"Even though the bullets were zooming past Manoj, he managed to reach the first bunker and killed two Pakistanis. Soon, the Gurkha soldiers took over the Pakistanis, and Manoj, kept clearing bunker after bunker.

Even though he was bleeding profusely, nothing could stop him," recalled school friend Pawan, to whom Manoj used to write regularly, narrating the battleground incidents.

Just before the lieutenant reached the final bunker, a bullet pierced his forehead. But before he collapsed, he shouted "na chhodnu" (don't leave them) ordering his men not to spare a single Pakistani.

The full frontal attack launched by Lt Pandey finally led the Gurkhas to Jubar Top one of the most vital points in the entire Kargil battle.

In the last letter, which Manoj wrote to Pawan he said, "I really don't know what will happen the next moment, but I can assure you and all my countrymen that we would certainly push out the intruders at whatever cost we have to pay, may be our lives."

The letter dated June 19, 1999 reached Pawan on June 22 and before the friend could reply, the soldier had already put on his boots for the battle.Manoj died fighting the enemy on the intervening night of July 2 and 3.

And the words of his mother, truly sums up the heroic life of the soldier: "more than us, he was the son of his motherland. He was born with a special purpose."

Indeed, he was.

Pillar of strength
The ageing parents of the lieutenant feel the country has forgotten its war heroes. "These were young boys in their twenties and thirties. But not for a single moment they feared anything. Their country meant more to them than anything else. It feels bad that the same country has forgotten them.

"It doesn't affect us. Manoj never died, we are living by his name," said his father.

Martyr's diary
Manoj used to maintain a personal dairy, where he penned down everything he learnt. On several instances, he poured his heart out. The poetry he wrote in the memory of his doting mother read: "she is the star which shines brightly in the darkness, some one who will always give and bless."

Just below the poem, are the four lines written in bold letters, which shows the metal, out of which Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey's Param Vir Chakra was carved: "If death strikes before I prove my blood, I promise (swear), I will kill death."

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