Capt Keishing Clifford Nongrum MVC

Belonging to the city of Shillong in Meghalaya, Capt Keishing Clifford Nongrum was born on March 7, 1975. His father, Shri Peter Keishing, worked at the State Bank of India while his mother, Smt Saily Nongrum, is a housewife. Capt Clifford Nongrum was part Naga, part Khasi (his father is a Tangkhul tribal from Ukhrul, Manipur), but he took his name, Nongrum, from his Khasi mother in accordance with the traditions of Khasi matrilineal society. A mound 50 metres away from the Nongrum residence apparently helped Capt Clifford make up his mind. He’d often spend hours on the mound peering down at Happy Valley a kilometre beyond, absorbed in the daily drills of the men in the Assam Rifles base.

Capt Nongrum received his high-school education from Don Bosco Technical School in Shillong and completed his graduation in political science from St. Anthony’s College, Shillong. He was a sincere, obedient, honest and hardworking child ever since his school days. Capt Nongrum had a great interest in Soccer and boxing. In 1993, he formed a club called Kiew Shaphrang Sports Club to encourage the young kids around his locality to play soccer. He was also the captain of the school football team and the game helped in honing his leadership qualities.  After finishing college, his passion to join the Armed Forces led him to join the Officer Training Academy in 1996 in the 64th SSC course. He graduated from the Officers Training Academy, Chennai (OTA) and was commissioned into the 12th battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment.

Battle of Point 4812 (Kargil War): 01 July 1999

During June-July 1999, Capt Nongrum's unit was deployed in the Batalik sector of Ladakh and was part of "Operation Vijay". The unit was functioning under the command of the 70 Infantry Brigade with the overall control being with the 3 Infantry Division. By early May 1999, Pakistani forces had intruded well across the LOC, in the Mushkoh, Dras, Kaksar and Batalik sectors. The extent of penetration across the LOC varied from 4 to 8 km in each sector. In many vital points, neither artillery nor air power could dislodge the enemy forces, who were not in visible range. The Indian forces had no option but to send up the soldiers for direct assaults which were slow and took a toll. One such mission was assigned to 12 JAK LI unit on 30 June 1999 to capture the strategically important Point 4812 in the Batalik sector. Capt Nongrum was tasked to lead the assault team for this critical mission.

On the night of 30 June/01 July 1999, Capt Nongrum set off along with his troops to assault the feature from the southeastern direction. He led his column over the near impossible vertical cliff feature, using all the field craft skills he had learnt. Capt  Nongrum and his resolute squad just went on to do the challenging task and made the ascent steadily yet stealthily to get to the enemy shelters at the top. On reaching the top, his column faced strong opposition from the enemy forces as they were well entrenched in interconnected positions carved out of boulders and could not be attacked by even artillery fire. The enemy pinned down the column of Capt Nongrum with heavy automatic fire for about two hours. Capt Nongrum realized that the enemy forces were in fortified positions and a daredevil action was needed to overrun them to make an advance towards their objective. He did not take much time to analyse the gravity of the situation and with utter disregard to his personal safety, charged through the fire zone. Closing in with the first position, he threw grenades into it and killed six enemy soldiers. He then tried to snatch the universal machine gun of the enemy from the second enemy position and received a volley of bullets.

The audacious action of Capt Nongrum not only stunned the enemy but also gave valuable reaction time to his troops to close in and finally clear the position. Though severely wounded, he refused to be evacuated and fought valiantly till he succumbed to his injuries. Besides Capt Nongrum and 3 other soldiers, who had got injured during the operation later succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. The other brave hearts included Hav Abdul Kareem, Hav Daler Singh Bhou and L/Hav Yougal Kishor. This courageous act of Capt Nongrum and his comrades finally paved the way for the ultimate capture of Point 4812.

Capt Nongrum was given the nation’s second highest gallantry award, “Maha Vir Chakra” for his exceptional bravery, indomitable spirit and supreme sacrifice. Capt Nongrum is the only soldier from the state of Meghalaya to receive this unique honour. Capt Keishing Clifford Nongrum is survived by his father Shri Peter Keishing, mother Smt Saily Nongrum and brothers Shri Jeffery Nongrum & Shri Paul Nonogrum.

The citation for the Maha Vir Chakra awarded to him reads:

On the night of 30 June/01 July 1999, in an operation to capture Point 4812 in the Batalik sector, Lieutenant Keishing Clifford Nongrum was tasked to assault the feature from the southeastern direction. He led his column over the near-impossible vertical cliff feature. On reaching the top, his column encountered strong enemy opposition. The enemy was well entrenched in interconnected positions carved out of boulders and remained immune to even artillery fire.

The enemy pinned down the column of Lieutenant Keishing Clifford Nongrum with heavy and accurate automatic fire for about two hours. On seeing the futility of own fire against the fortified enemy position, Lieutenant Nongrum, with utter disregard for his personal safety, charged through the fire zone. Closing in on the first position, he threw grenades into it and killed six enemy soldiers. He then tried to snatch the universal machine gun of the enemy from the second enemy position and received a volley of bullets.

The audacious action of Lieutenant Nongrum not only stunned the enemy but also gave valuable reaction time to his troops to close in and finally clear the position. Though severely wounded, he refused to be evacuated and fought valiantly till he succumbed to his injuries. This act resulted in the ultimate capture of Point 4812.

Lieutenant Keishing Clifford Nongrum displayed conspicuous bravery, dogged determination and raw courage in the face of the enemy and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.

• A bust of Capt Clifford Nongrum was inaugurated on May 19, 2015 at Rhino Museum, Shillong as a tribute to the only MVC awardee from Meghalaya.
• Every year, the NCC Unit of St Anthony’s College organizes a commemorative function on the death anniversary of Capt Keishing Clifford Nongrum .
• An auditorium has been named after Capt Clifford Nongrum in JAK LI center in Srinagar in his honour.