Heroes: Letter to a Kargill Martyr`s Family.... Capt. Vijyant Thapar

His last letter to his family

Capt. Vijayant Thapar - The Kargill braveheart who immortalised sacrifice and his love to the family in a way which only angels do. His last letter became a symbol of his supreme sacrifice. The soldier who knew that he was not coming back.....

Reaching out to his family was the most toughest phase of my life..10 years after the war had ended, I wrote his father this email which proved to be the most toughest 3 hours of my life as i could not stop crying after writing few words and my vision blurred every few seconds....but I knew I had to do, I had to make them known that what I felt.. 

So here is the mail which i have kept treasured for so many years , so invaluable...

The Mail

It said-

What i wrote :- 

Hello uncle, i do not know from where to start?? But whatever i do i am sure of one thing that i am and would always be proud of every defence person serving and protecting even a small stone in INDIA. Kargill was no mean feat in any way and i would always be grateful to everyone who did what they did in kargill.  When kargill happened i was just in class 10th, 10 years later i am 24 but every moment just lingers in my heart and mind.All i was hoping these years was to find some means by which i thank the families of the marytrs who laid down their lives for their country and today i would be saluting a father of a brave soldier capt. vijayant. i might not remember his feat vividly but his words from his last letter are more than etched in my mind. what he did was just exemplary courage .......just awesome. i might not have the same courage as him but i do know one thing that it is because of people like him that i can still sleep in peace everyday and every moment without fear. i read your interview in navbharat times in which you said that people are erasing this supreme sacrifice from the memory. can`t say about them but me and my friends would be always be indebted to him forever and ever. i am just short of words and emotions to tell you how i feel... whatever the country or the politicians feel or say, just remember that there are still people in this country who are more than grateful and we do not need a special occassion of a decade of kargill to remember. i do it everyday... my words might not fill the gap in your life but it would give me solace in the fact that i was able to thank a marytry`s family and succeeded in reaching out to one of them. i am really proud to be born in a country where there are soldiers like capt. vijayant. My salute to capt. vijayant. 

His father`s reply-

Dear Shwetabh,

   Ten years after we lost our son in the Kargil war your mail was most thoughtful. Thanks. It is this support that has sustained us through these years. Young men like Vijyant did  what the nation expected of them –their duty.  Actually, the war in Kargil brought the best in the Indian nation –those like Capt Vijyant, who fought bravely and fell honorably to redeem India `s sanctity& the countrymen who showered their love & their support for the brave hearts. We of course feel proud though we also live with the pain of a young son lost as any other parent would-every day of our life  .

 Kargil is already a distant memory. We don’t want the legacy of the young men like Capt Vijyant to fade and be lost to a coming generation of Indian, who have a right to know what their previous generation did and be inspired. With this in mind we created this web site. We therefore request u to kindly pass this site on to all ur friends & relatives. So far as u are concerned we have no doubt that as and when India needs, you, you will rise to greater heights. However for & from those heroes and martyrs a few lines;-

             WE ARE DEAD SHORT DAYS AGO WE LIVED

   SAW SUN RISE FELT SUNSET GLOW

              LOVED AND WERE LOVED AND NOW WE LIE

   ON  THE SLOPES WHERE YELLOW ROSES GROW.

              TAKE UP OUR FIGHT WITH THE FOE ,

TO U WITH FALLING HANDS WE THROW

  THE TORCH BE YOURS TO HOLD IT HIGH………………….

Thanks, Your’s

Col & MRS V N Thapar

Vir Chakra Citation

On 28 June 1999 Captain Vijyant Thapar was commanding the Leading platoon of Alfa Company, which was tasked to assault area Knoll in Drass Sector from the north during Operation Vijay While advancing, the platoon was hit by accurate enemy artillery barrage and it suffered heavy casualties. Captain Thapar organized evacuation of the casualties and quickly rallied his shell-shocked platoon for the attack. Personally leading the attack from the Northern face against enemy's Medium Machine Gun fire, which was holding up the Company's assault, he fearlessly charged at the enemy position firing from the hip and throwing grenades. During this act, he was grievously injured in the hand and stomach but continued to advance ordering his men to follow him. Roused by the actions of their young Platoon Commander barely out of the Academy, the platoon charged up the hill against the dominating enemy position. This audacious action unnerved and forced the enemy to abandon a tactically superior position. The officer, however, succumbed to his injuries.

Captain Vijyant Thapar, thus, displayed remarkable cool, raw courage and exemplary valor and made the supreme sacrifice while facing the enemy.

Capt. Vijyant Thapar...the hero whose sacrifice, legecy lives on even till today after he has gone..