Vikram Batra's family demands mention of war history in textbooks

Palampur, July 26(ANI): Parents of Tiger Hills Hero Captain Vikram Batra, who laid down his life fighting on the snow-capped peaks of Kargil, have demanded the inclusion of war history in school texts for posterity.

On Sunday as the country celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Kargil victory, Captain Batra's father G.L. Batra said "They should get a place in social science or history books that are included in the syllabus of school children. A chapter on Kargil should be included in history books with references to martyrs."

His mother, Kamal Kant Batra, said that a statue built in his memory in Palampur Himachal Pradesh required refurbishing.

"The statue that has been put up is not taken care of. The stadium is also not looked after which makes us feel sad," she said.

A statue has been erected at a prominent public square in his memory and a local stadium renamed after him, but the memorial gathers dust and the stadium has become a refuge for pigeons.

Sitting by a window of their modest home in the Himalayan town of Palampur, the young martyr's parents still spend hours gazing through his album.

The Kargil conflict, as most analysts term it short of a war, brought the Indian Army as many as four Param Vir Chakra's (PVC), the nation's highest wartime gallantry award.

Since the deployment of 13 JAKRif in Kargil on June 1, 1999, Vikram Batra were instrumental in the recapture of a number of over 17,000 feet high peaks, - Point 5140, Point 5100, Point 4700 Junction, Three Pimples, Point 4750 and the ultimate Tiger Hill. Vikram Batra and his platoon slayed at least 13 enemy troops and captured a heavy anti-aircraft gun.

During Operation Vijay, Captain Batra wrote a letter to his father from warfront saying, "I'll either come back after raising the Indian flag in victory or return wrapped in it."

The Army honored the 24-year-old Captain Batra of 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAKRIF) who was one among the Param Viras by naming 17,000 feet high peak, Point 4875 in Kargil region, after him.

The face-off in the Kargil Mountains nearly brought nuclear-capable India and Pakistan to the brink of their fourth full-scale war.

The Indian Army backed by the Air Force, could evict the intruders from the icy heights only after a nearly three-month long haul. (ANI)