Manoj Kumar Pandey was born on 25 June 1975 in Rudra village of Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh to Chand Pandey and Mohini Pandey. He was the eldest of his siblings. He did his early schooling at Sainik School, Lucknow. He wrote in his personal diary that he always dreamed of wearing the uniform of the Indian Army. After completing his schooling, he joined the National Defense Academy (NDA), Khadakvasla.
After completing his graduation, Manoj Kumar Pandey joined the Indian Military Academy (IMA) Dehradun for the final phase of his training, after which he was posted in the 1st Battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles (1/11 GR). This battalion was famous for its bravery. Apart from sports, Manoj Kumar Pandey was particularly adept at boxing and body building.
11 Gorkha Rifles (1/11 GR) was the battalion that was deployed in Siachen Glacier when the Kargil war started. In the summer of 1999, the Pakistani army surreptitiously occupied the vacated posts of the Indian Army. India came to know about this infiltration on 3 May 1999. After this, on 25 May, on the orders of the Indian government, the Indian Army started Operation Vijay to drive out the Pakistani intruders, in which the Indian Air Force also played an important role. In this war that lasted for two months, India drove the Pakistanis out of its territory.
Khalubar ridge line was the area where Pakistanis had infiltrated. 1/11 GR was tasked to clear this area of infiltrators. Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey was the number 5 platoon commander of this battalion. His platoon’s mission was to eliminate the enemy positions so that his battalion could move towards Khalubar easily. On the intervening night of 2 and 3 July 1999, Captain Manoj Kumar left for Pahalwan post situated at an altitude of 19700 feet via Khalubar.
As soon as Captain Manoj Kumar’s team moved forward to attack, the enemies from both sides of the hill took advantage of the heights and started firing. Amidst heavy enemy fire, Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey did not get frightened at all and led his entire battalion to a safe place. Manoj Kumar Pandey fearlessly moved forward with the slogan Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali and cleared two enemy bunkers and captured them. While clearing the third bunker from the enemies, a shower of bullets hit his shoulder and legs. Fearless and without caring about his serious injuries, Manoj Kumar Pandey continued to bravely face the enemies, but eventually his body gave up on the battlefield and he was martyred at the age of 24.
Under the command of Captain Manoj, the soldiers took control of six bunkers and killed 11 enemies. Apart from this, a stockpile of weapons and ammunition including an air defense gun was also captured. Apart from Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey, six other soldiers of 1/11 GR were also martyred during this entire operation. Other martyred braves of 1/11 GR included Havildar Jhank Bahadur Rai, Havildar BB Dewan, Havildar Ganga Ram Rai, RFN Karn Bahadur Limbu, RFN Kalu Ram Rai and RFN Arun Kumar Rai. Eventually Khalubar was captured and Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey changed the direction of the Kargil war with the supreme sacrifice.
Published at : 03 Jul 2024 07:35 PM (IST)