General Mohinder Puri on Kargil War

Lt Gen Mohinder Puri was commissioned into the Fifth Battalion of the Third Gorkha Rifles in June 1966 after completing his training at the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun. A graduate from the Defence Services Staff College, at Wellington, the Higher Command Course at the War College, Mhow and the National Defence College, Delhi, he has held numerous Staff and Command appointments. He commanded the battalion he was commissioned into from June 1984-87 at Chennai, Mizoram, Punjab and in Arunachal Pradesh, with the longest duration in South Mizoram which witnessed the signing of the accord with the Mizo National Front in mid 1986. After command of the battalion, he was posted as our Defence Adviser to Vietnam with concurrent accreditation to Cambodia and Laos. On return to India, he commanded an infantry brigade deployed on the Line of Control and the International Border. This period also saw the build up of insurgency South of Pir Panjal. In early 1998, he took over command of the “Forever in Operations” 8 Mountain Division, deployed in the Valley for counter insurgency operations in North Kashmir. After an year in the Valley, and following an adverse operational situation in Kargil, the Division was inducted into the Dras-Mushkoh Sectors to spearhead the Army’s offensive to open up the National Highway and restore the sanctity of the Line of Control. The 50 days war saw the fiercest battles fought in this sector to recapture enemy positions which became household names like Tololing, Tiger Hill and Point 4875. The Division won three Param Vir Chakras, eight Mahavir Chakras, 42 Vir Chakras and numerous other gallantry awards. In November 2002, he took over command of a Corps in the Punjab-Rajasthan Sector which was fully deployed for Operation Parakram. He proceeded to Army HQ as the Military Secretary and later side stepped as Deputy Chief of Army Staff from where he superannuated in April 2006. He has written a book Kargil: Turning the Tide which is first hand account of the War and is of particular importance to students of military history.