Thirty-eight years after he went missing, the body of an Indian Army Soldier Chandrashekhar Harbola was found in an old bunker in Siachen. Lance Naik Chandrashekhar with 19 of his colleagues were caught in an avalanche at Siachen in 1984. 15 bodies were recovered but 5 went missing. Many soldiers have died on the Siachen glacier since India launched its offensive in 1984 called ‘Operation Meghdoot’. Many Indians don’t know about the valour of the Indian Army during this operation. This is for all of them. This is the story of Siachen…

On the morning of 13th April 1984, the Indian Army launched Op Meghdoot under the leadership of Lieutenant General Prem Nath Hoon. The objective of this operation is to take control of the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir.

Backdrop of Siachen

In the year 1949, Karachi Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan regarding the establishment of a cease-fire line between the two countries but this agreement gave very vague demarcation of the Siachen glacier and a very unspecified authority over it.

• Indian interpretation was that Pakistan has authority till the Saltoro range(based on the Agreement)
• Pakistan’s interpretation was that their authority over the territory continued from point NJ9842 to the Karakoram Pass

As a result, barren lands and heights of the Siachen glacier were claimed by both countries as theirs..

         Siachen Importance 

• Siachen glacier is strategically important as far as the defense of the country is concerned. It demarcates Central Asia with the Indian sub-continent. By taking control over the Soltoro range one can easily keep an eye on the whole Siachen and is also better placed for any strategic move.
• Siachen glacier is a major source of freshwater for the Indian sub-continent. Freshwater from the Siachen glacier feeds to the Nubra river which eventually feeds to the mighty Indus which is considered a major water source for the Punjab plains

Siachen is the highest battlefield in the world. At 6000-6500 meters of height, the temperature drops to -55oc and sometimes it snows nearly 30-35 feet of snow in a day. At such heights, nature becomes more dangerous than the enemy. The average death ratio at Siachen is 1:3 which means every 3rd soldier will likely die in the mission.

The backdrop of Operation Meghdoot

In the 1970- 80s, both countries allowed several mountaineering expeditions to climb the region from their respective sides just to stake a claim on their region. One such important expedition was led by Indian Army Colonel Narinder Bull Kumar along with medical officer Captain A.V.S Gupta.

When Pakistan gave permission to a Japanese expedition to climb one of the important peaks in Siachen it triggered the Indian government that Pakistan is going to reinforce its claim over Siachen and now is the time to stake the claim on the entire Siachen glacier and if not Pakistan will do it and India will lose the strategic advance of the Siachen glacier. So, the Indian government decided to launch Operation Meghdoot to capture the whole of Siachen.

As said earlier at Siachen Nature is more dangerous than the enemy and at that time Indian Army neither had the experience nor the proper Arctic gears to climb at Siachen. So Indian Army decided on two things one to send an expedition to Antarctica just to acclimatize Soldiers to the weather and second, one delegation will go to European countries to purchase Arctic gear and equipment required to climb the Siachen glacier.

As per plan one delegation went to European countries specifically to a London-based company to place an order for Arctic gears but to their surprise, the company denied India’s request by saying that they can’t provide the required gear as it is in high demand from other country and company does not have enough manpower to cater such huge demands from two customers. The delegation got spellbound after hearing the name of the other party. It was the Pakistani Army. It got clear that Pakistani generals are also planning to capture the entire Siachen glacier and that’s why they had placed such huge orders.

Indian Intelligence had obtained intel that Pakistan has launched its own operation to capture Siachen and Its code name was Operation Ababeel. Indian intelligence also reported that Pakistan has decided to launch the operation on the 17th of April 1984. So Brigadier Vijay Channa who was the sector commander in Ladakh from 1983-84 decided to launch operation Meghdoot and start occupying positions in Siachen on Baisakhi Day, April 13, 1984, over 4 days before the Pakistanis arrived. 

Execution of Operation Meghdoot

Soldiers from Kumaon Regiment and Ladakh scouts were selected for this mission. Indian Army has decided that all the troops will maintain radio silence and will not use radio devices for communication because Pakistanis can easily track them and will know about their exact locations. Captain Kulkarni and his men were dropped from a Helicopter on the Lolofond glacier on 13th April 1984 and that marks the commencement of Operation Meghdoot. It took about four days for Captain Kulkarni and his men to reach Soltoro ridge and after that, they establish their camp at Bilafond La.

                  Battle of Bilafond La

                  Despite having intense training before and also exposure to such conditions during the Atlantic recce mission, most soldiers started showing symptoms of high altitude sickness. On 17th April 1984 marks the first casualty of Operation Meghdoot, it was Lance Naik Ramesh Singh who succumbed to high altitude pulmonary edema.

Though it was decided to not use radio till all the objectives were achieved but an early casualty tested the morale of Indian soldiers and Captain Kulkarni decided to contact the base on the radio for evacuation of the dead body of the martyred soldier. As expected this chatter was picked up by Pakistanis and they started to set Operation Ababeel in motion. In the meantime, the Indian Army captured Sia la, and camps were successfully linked with the Bilafond la platoon.

On the 25th of April, Captain Kulkarni saw through his scope that some 30 Pakistani soldiers are trying to climb the ridge and approaching their position, on the same day first fire was shot by Pakistani troops but because of their lower altitude made it inaccurate. Captain Kulkarni sensed the threat approaching and decided to set up a listening post about 500 meters below their main camp to keep a watch on the enemy. Lance Naik Chanchal Singh and Lance Naik Govind Singh were given the charge of the listening post. 

The first battle of Bilafond la was fought on 23rd June when Lance Naik Chanchal Singh saw some 30-40 Pakistani soldiers some 500 meters away from their listening post. Lance Naik Chanchal Singh and Lance Naik Govind Singh started firing with their light machine guns (LMGs) and in response, Pakistani Soldiers started firing with their heavy machine guns (HMGs) and mortars making it nearly impossible to make a move between the listening post and Indian Army’s main camp.

Lance Naik Chanchal even though was shot many times climbed up to the main post and informed Captain Kulkarni about the Pakistani attack and then succumbed to his injuries. Captain Kulkarni ordered massive firing and they just started firing everything at Pakistani troops. The Pakistani side suffered heavy casualties and was beaten back. This bloody skirmish affected the morale of Pakistani troops and forced them to withdraw from the region.

Swiftly Indian Army occupied all the major mountain passes of Sia la, Bilafond la and by the end of 1987 even Gyong la and all the strategic heights of Siachen glacier. Temporary camps were soon converted to Permanent bunkers. The number of casualties from both countries is still not known.

Operation Rajiv

In the year 1987 Indian Army launched another operation with the codename Operation Rajiv. The objective of this operation was to capture the Pakistani post named Quaid-e-Azam post (named after its Founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah). This post was located at a peak that is controlled by the Pakistani Army. This peak was tactically important because it threatened Indian movement on the west side of the Siachen glacier. 

Major Varinder Singh was given the task of capturing this post, after three unsuccessful attempts, a team led by Naib Subedar Bana Singh attacked the Quaid-e- Azam post of Pakistan and captured it. This post was later renamed Bana Singh post. Naib Subedar Bana Singh was awarded Param Vir Chakra which is the highest gallantry award, for his valor in this operation.

Read More : Operation Pawan : Indian Army’s Valor on Srilankan Soil

Present Scenario

Operation Meghdoot was a huge success and India gained nearly 75 kilometers of Siachen glacier and all of its subsidiary glaciers. India also captured all the key mountain passes present in the Soltoro range Sia la, Bilafond la, Gyong la and thus giving a strong tactical advantage over the enemies

At present, India remains the only country in the world to have stationed tanks and heavy artillery up to such a height of above 6000metres. Near about ten infantry battalions are actively deployed over the Siachen glacier up to a height of 6500 meters to monitor the situation.