No one has the courage to tell him that his company commander is no more and that his body is yet to be retrieved.

Sepoy Dnozolia of 1 Naga wants revenge. He is 20, fluent in English and best known for his perpetual smile. When he set out on May 25 as part of the Alpha Company to secure a mountain feature, little did he know that by nightfall, he would be in hospital with splinters in his legs and both hands amputated.

Havaldar Vishnu Prasad, 18 Grenadiers, is a veteran of many operations as a member of the crack SAG (Special Action Group). A couple of months ago, he was in Manasbal on an operation against militants when MajorA P Singh lost his life to a rocket attack and he suffered splinter wounds. After recovering, instead of going home on leave, he joined the regiment for operations in the Kargil sector.

On May 28, he suffered gunshot wounds and splinter injuries that blasted the flesh off his left leg. In this condition, he walked for six hours to Mattayan. ``The enemy out there is no motivated rabble,'' he says. ``They are trained and toughened professionals with excellent state-of-the-art equipment and with the added advantage of being well entrenched on strategic heights. Their marksmen can target a little beedi (hand-rolled tobacco) at night. For us, the odds are very high, but then we are also battle hardy.''In the soldier's view, ``The present battle is of planning, recce and strategy-a battle of commanders. We do not lack equipment, motivation, training or leadership-where we are at a disadvantage is in the element of readiness and surprise. But with hausla (courage) and protsahan (motivation), we shall overcomethat, too.''

Havaldar Dayal Singh of 10 Garhwal Rifle belongs to Rudraprayag and has seen action in Manipur and Srinagar (in counter-insurgency operations). He can barely control his rage remembering the action in which one died and eight were wounded out of a platoon of 24.

``On May 10, we were asked to establish a post on a feature that was 14,000 feet high. No one can climb like a Garhwali since we think nothing of going up to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri. We reached our objective in less than the stipulated time and opened our radio set to inform the unit. Promptly after that, the enemy jammed our lines and relayed a return message in Punjabi-`I am the commanding officer of the Sikh Regiment. We have already cleared this post, so you should now move to the neighbouring feature.' Unsuspecting, we fell into the trap and on reaching the next feature after three days of hardship, we faced a firing squad. One boy got a bullet in the middle of his forehead and that was the first time I sawinstant death-he could not even say `Ma'. We opened fire and continued firing till the enemy stopped advancing. It is just himmat (courage) that saved us.''

Dayal was one of the first battle casualties.

Sepoy Tejinder Singh of 8 Sikh is well on his way to recovery after major surgery to remove splinters from his leg and chest, which he sustained on May 27. At 20, he hasn't been away from Gurdaspur much before, and the mere mention of his mother brings tears to his eyes. He hasn't written home yet about his battle wounds-he just wants to go home and surprise them.Captain S Ashok of 1 Naga is 26, loves playing volleyball with the troops and is a computer buff. There is pride in his voice when he speaks of the agility and stamina of the hill tribes in his regiment. He and his boys set off from Dras on May 24 for an overnight climb to occupy a certain feature that was believed to be occupied by 5-10 enemy soldiers. After a 10-hour walk, they faced a strength of 30. In the exchange of fire, they killed sevenenemy soldiers. Says Ashok, ``We saw them fall and then there was no fire from that side. They were all in Pakistani military uniform. We also encountered soldiers in black Pathan suits. With patience and strategy this battle is ours-how long can they sustain themselves in isolation?''

Ashok led his troops from the front and suffered grave injuries. He had liver lacerations due to splinter injuries and has been on the respirator since surgery. His twin sister calls up every day from Chennai to tell him how proud the family is of their tough Naga.

There are many more like these brave soldiers who speak of an enemy strength far greater than appreciated, of operating in the glaciated terrain without acclimatisation, of a burning desire to attain objectives, of managing for long periods without food and water because despite carrying loads of 40-50 kilos per head, their priority is ammunition, not food. They often eat ice to quench their thirst and carry one sleeping bag between three and take turns tosleep.

But what they regret the most is the hardship they face in retrieving a wounded or dead colleague. ``The enemy watch the area like hawks because they know that an Indian soldier will never abandon his colleague,'' says Ashok.

--WFS