Lance Havildar Ram Kumar Lamba VrC

Lance Havildar Ram Kumar Lamba hailed from Devawas village in Tosham tehsil of Bhiwani district in Haryana and was born on 01 April 1965. Son of Shri Charan Singh Lamba and Smt Danpati Devi, he was passionate about serving in the Army since his childhood. Eventually following his passion, he joined the Army on 01 Aug 1985 at the age of 20 years. He was inducted into 18 Grenadiers battalion of the Grenadiers Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its valiant soldiers and various battle honours. After serving for some time, he got married to Ms Kamla Devi and the couple was blessed with a son  Nagender Singh.

Tololing Operation (Op Vijay) : 02/03 June 1999

During May/June 1999, L/Hav Ram Kumar Lamba’s unit was deployed in the Drass sector. On 3 May 1999, enemy intrusions were detected and "Operation Vijay" was launched by the Indian Army to evict the intruders from Indian territory.  18 Grenadiers battalion was inducted in the Drass area on 19 May 1999 under the command of 121 Inf Bde and were operating along with 1 Naga and 8 Sikh battalions. These battalions along with 28 RR less a company operated under 121 Inf Bde till 22 May when HQ 56 Mountain Brigade assumed the command of the Drass area.  18 Grenadiers troops under the command of Col Khushal Thakur were tasked to launch an attack to capture Tololing on 02 June 1999.  The attack under the leadership of Lt Col R Vishwanathan in the night of 02/03 June 1999, took the enemy by complete surprise as it came along a very difficult approach and terrain at an altitude of over 15,000 feet. L/Hav Ram Kumar Lamba was part of the team that undertook that operation. 

On 03 June 1999, L/Hav Ram Kumar Lamba was tasked as part of an Assault Group, for an attack on the tactically important Tololing ridge in the Drass sector. The well-stocked and fortified post of the enemy-backed infiltrators was in a treacherous mountainous terrain covered with snow at a height of over 15,000 feet. When the 'Assault Group' was close to the objective, the enemy opened fire. With utter disregard to his personal safety, L/Hav Ram Kumar crawled close to the enemy sangar from which Universal Machine Gun fire was being directed. When he was close to the objective, he received a gunshot wound on the shoulder and waist. Unmindful of his injuries, L/Hav Ram Kumar inched close to the sangar and lobbed a hand grenade killing one of the occupants and injuring the other two. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, he killed the other two occupants also but thereafter succumbed to his injuries. His dare-devil act inspired and motivated his men to charge onto the enemy thus gaining vital ground on Tololing Ridge which facilitated the capture of Point 4599. Besides L/Hav Ram Kumar Lamba, the other martyred brave hearts during the operation included Lt Col R Vishwanathan, Sub Randhir Singh, Naik Samunder Singh, Grenadier Munish Kumar, and Grenadier Pravin Kumar.

L/Hav Ram Kumar Lamba was a gallant and committed soldier, who laid down his life in the service of the nation, following the highest traditions of the Indian Army. L/Hav Ram Kumar Lamba was given the gallantry award, “Vir Chakra” on 15 August 1999, for his outstanding grit, determination, devotion to duty and supreme sacrifice. 

Lance Havildar Ram Kumar Lamba is survived by his wife Smt Kamala Devi and son Nagender Singh.

The Citation for the "Vir Chakra" awarded to him reads:-

On 03 Jun 1999 during Operation Vijay, a Battalion assault was launched by 18 Grenadiers on Toloing in the Drass Sector, to evict the Pakistan-backed infiltrators located in a well-stocked and fortified post at over 15000 feet.

Lance Havildar Ram Kumar was also in the Assault Group. When the Assault Group was close to the objective, the enemy opened fire. With utter disregard to his personal safety, Lance Havildar Ram Kumar crawled close to the enemy sangar from which Universal Machine Gun fire was being directed. When he was close to the objective, he received a gunshot wound on the shoulder and waist. Unmindful of his injuries, Lance Havildar Ram Kumar inched close to the sangar and lobbed a hand grenade killing one of the occupants and injuring the other two. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, he killed the other two occupants also but thereafter succumbed to his injuries.

Lance Havildar Ram Kumar made the supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Army and valiantly fought with the enemy during an assault in Tololing.