Sep Sunder Singh Negi

As the summer of 1999 unfolded and the Kargil conflict flared along India’s northern frontier, the 1st Battalion, Naga Regiment—then commanded by Colonel D. A. Patil—was redeployed on 11 May from the Kangan Valley to the embattled Drass sector. Once in Drass, the battalion passed under the operational control of Brigadier Surinder Singh’s 121 Infantry Brigade. Intelligence reports confirmed that Pakistani regulars and irregulars had entrenched themselves along the Tololing ridge system, a jagged chain of wind-lashed heights dominating the crucial Leh–Srinagar highway. By late June, Indian troops had retaken Tololing Top and a nearby spur nicknamed the “Hump,” yet the ridge’s pivotal bastion—Point 5140—still blocked a clear passage for friendly forces. To break this deadlock, the brigade devised a converging, three-direction assault: 13 JAK Rifles, 18 Garhwal Rifles, and 1 Naga would strike Point 5140 simultaneously. Within that plan, Alpha Company of 1 Naga received the task of scaling the south-western spur and capturing two subsidiary crags, code-named “Pyramid” and “Black Tooth.” These outcrops had to fall before the final push on the summit could begin. Among the assault group was thirty-two-year-old Sepoy Sunder Singh Negi—a seasoned high-altitude soldier despite his youth—whose resolve was matched only by his climbing skill.

 

At dusk on 22 July, Alpha Company began clawing up the almost vertical rock face. Midway up, the advance stalled: the cliff offered almost no footholds, and every exposed silhouette attracted a torrent of tracer fire from well-camouflaged sangars perched above. Recognizing that a fixed rope was the only means to move men and equipment across this sheer barrier, Sepoy Sunder Singh and volunteered to lead the route along with Sepoy K Ashuli. Ignoring the lethal fire sweeping the slope, he ascended roughly fourteen metres of bare stone, using only shallow fissures and raw determination for purchase. Reaching the crest, he quickly secured the rope and hauled up the first wave of comrades. With the section now on the ridge line, Sepoy Sunder Singh and his fellow soldiers charged the Black Tooth sangar. His light-machine-gun bursts kept the defenders pinned just long enough for a grenade to silence the position. Black Tooth fell—but in those frantic moments Sepoy Sunder Singh and Sepoy K Ashuli were struck by enemy rounds and collapsed, grievously wounded. He held on until the early hours of 23 July 1999, long enough to radio confirmation of Black Tooth’s capture to his platoon commander, before succumbing to their injuries. Alongside Sepoy Sunder Singh, Sepoy K Ashuli Mao also made the supreme sacrifice during the course of this operation. Their selfless courage not only secured the vital crag for his battalion but also paved the way for the eventual capture of Point 5140, leaving an enduring legacy of duty and sacrifice on the icy heights of Kargil. Sepoy Sunder Singh Negi was a valiant and committed soldier who laid down his life at the age of 32 years in the service of the nation.