‘Bravest of the Brave’ by Lt Gen Satish Dua: Etching name in glory
Perhaps nowhere in the world does a relatively small geographical area like Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh offer such a diverse spectrum of military operations — from the simmering tank terrain of the Samba plains just a few hundred feet above sea level to the world’s highest and coldest battlefield at Siachen, from eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between the militaries of two hostile countries to combating terrorism and insurgency in densely-forested mountains and towns shrouded in animosity.
It was here that an Indian Army soldier etched his name in glory on different battlefields, but fell to enemy bullets. It is not very common to be decorated twice for gallantry while serving in the same region and thrice is rarer still. And the nation’s highest peacetime gallantry award to be amongst them is a feat that would have few parallels.
This is the story — fascinating and inspiring — of Naib Subedar Chunni Lal of the 8th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (J&K LI), who was awarded the Ashok Chakra, Vir Chakra and Sena Medal for his actions in the vastly different operational environments of Siachen Glacier and the Line of Control (LoC), setting him apart as one of the highest decorated soldiers in India. The Ashok Chakra, awarded for counter-infiltration operations in North Kashmir in 2007, however, was posthumous.
The author, Lt Gen Satish Dua (retd), was Chunni Lal’s commanding officer when his battalion was deployed along the LoC, where he was awarded the Vir Chakra. He portrays the soldier’s journey from the humble beginnings as a farmer’s son from J&K’s Bhaderwah region to what the Chief of the Army Staff, Gen Upendra Dwivedi, in his message terms an exemplar of fortitude, courage and sacrifice.
He was all of 19 years and a rookie trooper when he was baptised by fire. In 1987, the Army launched an attack to wrest control of one of the highest posts in Siachen, thereafter christened Bana Post. Chunni Lal was the first to reach the post and carefully lobbed a grenade into the enemy bunker with just two seconds left for it to detonate. While he was awarded the Sena Medal for Gallantry, his squad leader, Naib Subedar Bana Singh, after whom the post was named, was decorated with Param Vir Chakra, the highest award for gallantry.
After touching upon his childhood and the early days of military induction and training, the book lucidly details the entire operation on Siachen, recounting the challenges, preparations, actual combat, experiences and the aftermath of the battle that had a profound impact on the tactical and strategic situation in that theatre.
The book also lists the operations with terrorists and highlights Chunni Lal’s two overseas stints with the United Nations, one in Somalia and the second in Sudan, another rare achievement for personnel below officer rank.
In the author’s own words, Chunni was a great human being, as kind to fellow humans as he was viciously violent to the enemy, and stood out as one of the bravest. The book is a simplified yet educative narrative of the little known nuggets of Indian military history and a tribute to a legendary figure, a dedicated soldier, dutiful son, and a caring family man.
Book Review