Naik Hari Bahadur Ghale SM

Naik Hari Bahadur Ghale hailed from Dugal Khola village in Almora district of Uttarakhand. He joined the army after completing his school education and was recruited into the 2nd Battalion of the Naga Regiment, one of the youngest regiments of the Indian Army. The second battalion (2 Naga) was raised on 11 February 1985 at  Haldwani, with the motto of the regiment being Parakramo vijayate meaning "Valour triumphs" and the battle cry being Jai Durga Naga meaning "Victory to Durga Naga".

Battle of Point 4875 (Kargil War): 05-07 Jul 1999

During July 1999, Nk HB Ghale’s unit 2 Naga was deployed in the Drass sector of J & K along the LOC. In May 1999, the Indian Army detected a massive infiltration by the Pakistani military and paramilitary forces in the Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army quickly mobilized its forces to drive out the Pakistani infiltrators from Indian territory and launched "Operation Vijay". By 05 July 1999, the Indian Army had carried out many successful operations and reoccupied various militarily significant positions. After the capture of the 'Tiger Hill' on 05 July 1999, the next major objective was to capture Point 4875, a feature that dominated the national highway from Mugalpur to Drass, a stretch of approximately 30 km. A feature called 'Rocky Knob' linked it with 'Tiger Hill' and provided an approach to the main administrative base of the enemy. Pt 4875 was divided into many parts which were held by the enemy and included Whaleback, Pimple 1 and Pimple 2, Pt 4875 Southern Slope, and Flat Top and the Northern side was named as Twin Bumps and Saddle. The attack was planned in two phases with the elements of 17 Jat, 12 Mahar, 13 JAK Rif, 21 Para(SF), and 2 Naga. 

In Phase-I, 17 Jat was to capture 'Pimple 1' and 'Whale Back' from the south by 05 July. 13 JAK Rif was to capture 'South Spur' from the southeast in the same timeframe. In Phase 2, 17 Jat battalion was to capture 'Pimple 2' and 13 JAK Rif was to capture 'Flat Top' by 07 July. 2 Naga battalion was to capture 'Twin Bumps' by first light of 07 July and exploit towards the northwest. After successful achievement of the objective in Phase 1, Phase 2 commenced on the night of 05/06 July with Nk HB Ghale and his comrades launching a fierce attack on enemy positions. Despite stiff enemy opposition, Nk HB Ghale and other soldiers of 2 Naga made steady progress and captured the objective as planned by 07 July. Subsequently, the capture of 'Twin Bumps' by 2 Naga enabled them to launch a raid on the enemy mortar position and destroy it. This firm base was again used to launch attacks on 'Rocky Knob' 'Hump' and 'Tip' by the 2 Naga battalion. Thus the capture of 'Twin Bumps' by Nk HB Ghale and his comrades played a pivotal role in the success of subsequent operations. However, during the battle, Nk HB Ghale and many of his comrades got seriously injured and later succumbed to their injuries. Besides Nk HB Ghale, the other martyred soldiers of 2 Naga during the entire operation included Hav Molan Pun Nagar, Nk Anand Singh, Naik Devender Singh, Lance Naik SC Prasad, Sep S Gerneithang, Sep Sanjay Gurung, Sep RK Pradhan, Sep Mohan Singh, Sep Suresh Chhetri, Sep Rajesh Gurung, Sep Kailash Kumar, Sep NGBB Mayon, Sep Himmat Singh, Sep Kishan Singh, and Sep Jai Singh Negi.  

Thus the Battle of Point 4875 was one of the most significant battles, where Naik Hari Bahadur Ghale fought valiantly and achieved the objective at the cost of his life. Naik Hari Bahadur Ghale was a valiant and committed soldier, who led from the front and laid down his life in the line of his duty. Naik Hari Bahadur Ghale was given the gallantry award, “Sena Medal” for his courage, devotion to duty, and supreme sacrifice.

Naik Hari Bahadur Ghale is survived by his wife Smt Saraswati Maya.