For Kargil kin, memories are made of faded inland letters

A few hurried lines scrawled on an inland are among the most treasured possessions for families of soldiers who were martyred in the Kargil war. On the 22nd anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, TOI talks to them about those final missives.

Last letter and body arrive home together

Lance Naik Ranbir Singh


Martyred June 16, 1999 Regiment 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles

The thrill of impending fatherhood pours out from Lance Naik Ranbir Singh’s last letter to his family living in Alama village in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. The 33-year-old had promised to throw a lavish party when his wife Savita had their son. Singh’s letter reassures his mother, “Mataji meri fikar nahin karna, bas apni sehat ka khayal rakhna. Hum sab theek thak hai. Hamari pariksha ka time hai (Mother, do not worry about me, just take care of your health. It is a test for us).” In a tragic coincidence, martyr Ranbir Singh’s body and his last letter arrived at his village on June 19, 1999. “His colleagues told us that he had written this letter around 9 am on June 16, and three hours later he died,” Savita said. She has displayed the letter on the living room wall. “My husband had made preparations to celebrate his son’s birth, but instead he left us forever.”

‘My daughter would have forgotten me’

Sepoy Buta Singh

Martyred May 28, 1999

Regiment 14 Sikh

For Amritpal Kaur, who was barely 21 when she was widowed, the last two letters from Sepoy Buta Singh are what have helped her get through some difficult times. One starts with the romantic ‘I love you’ for his wife of just over three years. The soldier, from the 14 Sikh regiment, was emotional at missing milestones in his baby daughter, Komal Preet’s life. “Komal tan hun poora boldi hovegi, mainu bhul gei hovegi, Komal da poora khayal rakhna. Komal nu laad naal padhana (Komal might be speaking properly now, she might have forgotten me. Please take care of her. Get her educated),” he wrote on May 4.

Buta, 26, was part of the advance party sent to Kargil. His letters reached the family in Danewala village in Punjab’s Mansa, 10 days before his martyrdom.

Son fulfils Havildar’s last wish

Havildar Mahavir Singh

Martyred July 5

Regiment 17 Jat

Havildar Mahavir Singh hesitantly broached the topic of marriage in his last letter to his son, Karan Singh Boora, who was undergoing military training in Bareilly, UP.

Mahavir, a havildar in 17 Jat regiment, wrote on April 16: “If you don’t mind, I wanted to share with you that I have finalised a girl for your marriage. But don’t worry, we will not marry you till you complete your Class XII.”

Unfortunately, the 40-year-old soldier attained martyrdom even before his son could complete his military training. His unit, which moved to Kargil's Mushkoh valley a few days after the letter, was assigned the task to push the enemy out from Pimple complex (Point 4875). In the fierce battle, Mahavir had lost his life on July 5. He was awarded the Sena Medal. Karan took his father’s words as his last wish. Two years later he married the girl Mahavir had picked for him.

Wife’s letter stayed unread

Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari

Martyred May 30

Regiment attachment with 18 Grenadiers

The Major kept his wife’s last letter unopened in his uniform’s breast pocket to focus on recapturing the Tololing feature in Kargil. The 28-year-old eventually sacrificed his life in the operation. The unread letter was handed over to his family along with his body on June 14, 1999.

“After winning the Battle of Tololing, when the Indian Army recovered his body 13 days later, the unopened letter was found. Adhikari had decided to read the letter in peace, but was not destined to do so,” said Brigadier Khushal Thakur (retd), who was the commanding officer of 18 Grenadiers.

On the fateful day Adhikari was 50 metres short of Tololing Top when he was hit by machine gun fire and injured. He crawled up and lobbed a hand grenade inside the bunker, killing four Pakistani soldiers. In the ensuing firefight, a bullet hit him on the chest, and he died.