I was walking slowly along with my team, carefully scanning the entire area. The enemy could be anywhere. Who knew which rock could turn out to be the last one we crossed, or where the enemy sat, ready to pounce upon us. So we treaded carefully at every step.
We had not gone far when we started getting out of breath. The lack of oxygen at this altitude was crippling for the best of us. So we moved bit by bit, resting every now and then to catch our breath and stabilize our bodies.
In a few minutes, we came upon a cliff which seemed impossible to climb. It was imperative for us to go to the other side if we wished to reach Tiger Hill. We threw a rope up and it got stuck somewhere. Then we climbed up the rock, uphill along the steep climb, with the help of that rope. I was the first to pull myself on top of the cliff. Once there, I looked around, ensuring clear ground around me and carefully tied the rope to a cliff. Then the other jawans climbed up, helping each other.
The little sound made by our feet touching the rock and dislodging a few small stones in the process was rather loud in the deathly silent night. As the stones fell, they also made a piercing sound. At night when it is quiet all around, even a low sound sounds like a loud one.
I noticed that the sky had started getting lighter and guessed it was close to dawn. All of a sudden, the soldiers from the Pakistani bunkers on both sides of the cliff started firing at us. By that time, just about seven of us had managed to climb up. The rest were curtailed due to the heavy firing from both the sides.
Our route was now cut off. The rest of the party was unable to climb up. And those of us who were up there already, were unable to go either left or right. The seven of us climbed up further ahead and saw a large plain area. There were two bunkers right in front of us.
We took position and started firing. Within moments, we had managed to kill the Pakistani soldiers in those bunkers in direct, face to face firing. We could finally see the Tiger Hill ahead of us.
In our quick recce of the area, we could estimate about a hundred and fifty Pakistani soldiers stationed around us. When they heard the sound of our firing, they also started firing at us very heavily.
Indian soldiers are not taught to step back, and in the given situation, moving forward meant sure death. We were surrounded on all sides. In such a situation, when death seems to be the only option, fear vanishes. After all, we were soldiers who had been living in the midst of heavy firing for quite some time now.
I was not afraid of death. All I prayed for now was to not die before winning back Tiger Hill.
Excerpts from Capt (Hony) Yogendra Singh Yadav’s book, ‘The Hero of Tiger Hill: Autobiography of a Param Vir’ (Srishti Publishers).
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