Brigadier Devinder Singh had commanded the 70 Infantry Brigade in the Batalik sector during the Kargil war. He led the critical battle for Point 5203, which had been quickly overrun by Pakistani troops in the early days of the war. He also led the assaults on the Jubbar complex, one of the most difficult campaigns during the war.
A month before the operations broke out during a corps-level war game, Brigadier Singh had also predicted the pattern of intrusions by Pakistan Army regulars but Lt Gen Kishan Pal, the then 15 Corps Commander, doctored his battle performance report to underplay his role.
Brigadier Singh became a victim of prejudice and that cost him a war medal. He was recommended for a Mahavir Chakra, the second highest award for gallantry but was awarded a Vishisht Seva Medal, a peacetime decoration.
Shiv Kunal Verma is the author of Ocean to Sky – India from the Air (Roli Books), a pictorial on the Military World Games and two books on the Assam Rifles. Another pictorial, The Northeast Palette was a prelude to the highly acclaimed Northeast Trilogy (KaleidoIndia). He is also the author of The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why (Rupa & Co.) and Courage & Conviction, the autobiography of General VK Singh which was published by Aleph in October 2013; His latest book, 1962 – The War That Wasn’t has also been published by Aleph and is being hailed by critics as being the most definitive work on the Indo-China conflict.
Along with Dipti Bhalla, he has produced some of the most highly acclaimed films on the Services. In 1992, he shot and produced Salt of the Earth for the IAF. This was followed by a series of Naval and Army films, culminating with the film on the Kargil War. In addition he has also made The Standard Bearers (NDA) and the Making of a Warrior (IMA). The film Aakash Yodha along with the NDA film was premiered on the Discovery Channel. Having clocked hundreds of hours in a variety of aircraft, he is by far the most accomplished aerial cameraman in the country today.
A graduate of Madras Christian College, he did his schooling at the Doon School. He started his career opening trekking routes between Kashmir and the Zanskar and Ladakh regions. After a brief stint with India Today and the Associated Press he went on to direct and photograph the Project Tiger television series.
0:00 Intro
1:22 Geography of Kargil Sector
5:22 Batalik Sector, explained
8:07 Why we forgot Batalik Sector
9:28 Troop deployment before the War
16:10 The War Game
19:15 How we weakened Kargil Sector
24:07 Why Pak made plan for Kargil attack
29:06 April 1999 War Game - Before War
40:10 Caretaker PM & Maximising National Highway
44:40 Intrusion Detected - Ambush!
49:03 Reece by Brigadier Devender
57:00 India’s blunders in assessment
1:02:40 Tactically brilliant, Strategically stupid
1:07:34 Problems faced by Army initially
1:14:43 Strategy to defeat enemy without fighting
1:17:22 Debate over strength of intruders
1:22:47 When Brigadier Devinder defied Orders & saved soldiers
1:28:55 In absence of General Malik
1:30:40 Batalik Sector was toughest of all
1:35:45 General Malik’s Briefing - 10th June
1:38:52 Dirty military politics
1:43:42 General Malik’s fine leadership
1:46:40 Detailed strategy to capture 5203
1:54:35 Injustice to Soldiers of Batalik
2:04:57 We must learn lessons after 25 years
2:06:40 We could’ve saved many soldiers
