I was born in 1949 in Kadyal district of Jammu province. My father was a farmer, though many of my uncles had joined the army. My father used to tell me that army life is very prestigious. He wanted me to join the army because a farmer's life is very harsh.

I remember when I was a kid, I used to be so happy each time I saw off-duty army officers or jawans visit our village.

What was your motivation to join the army?

I wanted to do something for my country. That is why I joined the army.

Why did you join the Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry, JAKLI?

It was the state force of Jammu and Kashmir, so being a Kashmiri I naturally joined the J&K forces.

When were you first posted on the Siachen glacier?

On April 20, 1987.

Did you practice mountain climbing before being posted in Siachen?

I was trained at the High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg and also at another school at Sonamarg. My battalion was trained there.

Though the altitude is not as high as in the Siachen area, we learnt mountain warfare, how to climb, how to fight in the snows, how to move on a glacier.

When I was in Gulmarg, there were three battalions -- 10 Dogras, 8 JAKLI and 5 Guard. Mountain training is imparted to formations from all over India, but more particularly to this Mountain Brigade which was specially established by the Government of India to look after the Siachen glacier. It is not only an opportunity for the battalions to be trained, but also to acclimatise at relative high altitudes.

Then we moved to the base camp of the glacier which is located at 18,000 feet. It takes seven days to be fully acclimatised. During this period we move to the base camp for the day and come back the next day. This is No 1 camp.

When you were posted to Siachen in April 1987, was the 'Quaid' Post already occupied by the Pakistanis?

Yes, they had occupied it earlier. Around that time, the Pakistanis started firing on our patrols and helicopters from the post. My commanding officer and the brigade commander decided to send a patrol to locate the position of the Pakistanis and how many of them were manning the post.

On May 29, 1987, a 8 JAKLI patrol was sent for a reconnaissance of the possible approaches to the 'Quaid' Post. The patrol leader was Lieutenant Rajiv Pande. He had 10 men with him. Unfortunately, they were sighted by the Pakistanis commandos. Most of them, including Lieutenant Pande, were killed.

Image: A helicopter drops supplies for troops in Siachen
Photograph, courtesy Colonel Ashok Choudhary

Also see: A map of the Siachen area

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