Born on 29th June 1976 at Amritsar to Mrs.
Vijay and Dr. N.K.Kalia. His schooling took
place in the D.A.V. Public School, Palampur
up to 10th Class. He passed 11th and 12th
from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Palampur. He graduated
(B.Sc. Med.) from H. P.
Agriculture University, Palampur in 1997.
He was brilliant in studies securing first
Division and winning scholarships throughout.
His height was 6 ft 2 in.
He was a naturalist with bird watching and
trekking as his favourite hobbies, besides
being excellent in cooking. He was strong
- willed and very quiet in nature, soft-spoken
and exceptionally good listener. He was religious,
very kind-hearted and always helpful to all.
He would not react or waste time or energy
to any adverse comments from others, but,
rather always involved in self-improvement.
He was selected in the Indian Military Academy,
Dehradun in August 1997 through Combined Defence
Services and commissioned on 12th December
1998. He got posting in the 4 JAT Regiment
(Infantry) in the Kargil Sector and joined
there in mid-January, 1999 after reporting
at the JAT Regimental Centre, Bareilly on
31 December 1998.
In the first fortnight of May 1999, he went
out for Patrol Duty three times in the Kaksar
area of Kargil. Hailed as the First Officer
to give information of the large-scale intrusion
of Pak Army and foreign mercenaries in the
Kargil. Volunteered himself fourth time in
place of other slightly older officer to go
to "Bajrang Post" at the
height 13,000-14,000 feet to check infiltration
along with 5 soldiers in the Kaksar area.
He was fired upon there by Pak army; these
brave soldiers kept fighting for several
hours. (Could have been injured also in the
fight with the Pak soldiers).
He ran out of ammunition and the signal equipment
went out of order
and finally got encircled by about 150-200
Pak soldiers and got captured alive by them
before the reinforcement reached at that height.
Pak army captured him and his patrol party
of 5 brave soldiers alive on May 15, 1999.
They were in their captivity for over 22
days and subjected to unprecedented brutal
torture as evident from their bodies handed
over by Pakistan Army on June 9,1999. These
soldiers did not breakdown while undergoing
all this unlimited barbarism. This speaks
volumes of their patriotism, grit,
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determination, tenacity and valor and the
whole nation is proud of them.
Pak army indulged in the most heinous act
of burning their bodies
with cigarettes, piercing ear-drums with hot
rods, puncturing eyes before removing them,
breaking most of the teeth and bones, chopping
off various limbs and private organs of these
soldiers besides inflicting all sorts of physical
and mental tortures before
shooting them dead.
Pakistan violated all international laws
by capturing them alive but their POW status
was not informed to the Indian counterparts.
They subjected them to unprecedented brutal
torture that violated the
Geneva Convention.
Captain Saurabh Kalia fought the real battle
of Kargil indeed for 22 days unarmed in the
enemys custody. His unmatchable martyrdom
in this unique way awoke the whole nation,
lit the patriotic fire in country
and had a catalytic effect on the entire armed
forces. He met his fate in a manner similar
to Abhimanyu, the heroic warrior in
Mahabharat. The torture inflicted upon Capt.
Saurabh was similar to that inflicted upon
the revered Sikh Gurus and on Sambhaji (the
son of Shivaji), by the Muslims. History has
testified that great souls have endured the
greatest physical and mental tortures. They
never gave up.
Captain Saurabh Kalias parents never
had the opportunity to see him in the uniform.
He became Martyr before his first pay arrived
in his bank account. Destiny played a cruel
joke on this great believer of Lord Bajrang
Bali (Lord Hanuman). Incidentally, he got
captured at the Bajrang Post and laid
down his life in the "Operation Vijay",
the name of his mother, Mrs. Vijay Kalia.
The last words of this valiant soldier
to his mother before going to Kargil were
"Maa, Tum dekhna ek din aisa kaam kar
jaunga ki saari duniya mein mera naam hoga"
(mother, you will see one day, I will do such
a deed that the whole world will acknowledge
that).
The whole nation saluted to this great
son of the Motherland. The
Himachal Pradesh Government, as a mark of
respect, has raised "Saurabh Van Vihar"
in a sprawling area of 35 acres besides re-
naming the road to our house as Capt. Saurabh
Kalia Marg and the area as Saurabh Nagar (earlier
known as Sugghar)
Long live Kargil war hero Capt. Saurabh Kalia.
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