Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 18

The stories of the men who have fought wars must be recorded for posterity so that the new generation of officers learn from their experiences, do not repeat the mistakes and write history with more blood, said Kargil war veteran Brig US Bawa (retd) on Friday.

Stating this while speaking about his recently published book, ‘Mashkoh – Kargil As I Saw It’, Brig Bawa (retd) said that the focus of the book is on identifying the mistakes committed during the conflict.

“Each and every citizen should know about how the war was fought and the sacrifices made by the soldiers,” he said.

“Generally battalion histories are relegated to the museums and archives, but everyone should know about it. The book also details the problems faced by soldiers and their families after the war,” he added.

Brig Bawa had commanded 17 Jat during the Kargil conflict. He was decorated with the Vir Chakra for gallantry. His unit had been tasked to capture Pimple Complex, part of Point 4875 in Mashkoh Valley adjoining Dras.

On why he chose to write the book, he said, “There is a very eventful point in everyone’s life and in my life, it was the Kargil war. Though it gave me and by uint a lot of awards and fame, it also made me sad on losing my men.”

The book tells the stories of bravery, humour, emotions, tragic losses and hard-won victories in extremely challenging high-altitude terrain of the Kargil sector along the Line of Control in northern Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

Maj Gen Amarjit Singh (retd) said that very few books on military operations have been written by men who have fought a battle and faced bullets.

Brig Bawa said the book is based on first hand, experience, emotions and ground incidents.