THE STORY OF INDIAN WARFARE | June 23-7, 1987: From 'Quaid' to 'Bana' - The Capture of Quaid Post

In April 1984, Indian troops beat Pakistani soldiers by just four days to occupy positions on the Siachen glacier. This set off a series of Pakistani attacks to evict them. When that failed, they too occupied a series of posts on the heights. The occupation of posts to dominate the other was a strategy followed by both nations in this two-decade-long war.

One of the lynch pins of the Pakistani positions was Quaid Post, named after 'Quaid-e-Azam' Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the father of their nation. At 22,153 feet, it was the highest peak in the area, which enabled them to see 80 kilometres away across the entire Siachen glacier. From here, they could also observe the important Indian positions on Sonam and Amar posts adjoining the Bilafond La pass, and bring down fire on the helipads used to resupply them. Held by elite troops of the Shaheen Company of 3 Special Services Group, it was commanded by Subedar Atauallah Mohammed with a squad of around 15-20 men and considered virtually impregnable.  

Occupying the remote post at that forbidding height was a difficult proposition, but the Pakistanis held on doggedly, using its heights to advantage. They relayed information about Indian movements and brought down fire on them. On April 18, 1987, Pakistani fire from the Quaid killed two Indian soldiers at Sonam Post. Quaid post had to be neutralised, and 8 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (8 JAKLI), a unit recently inducted into the area, was selected for the task.

On May 29, a 13-man patrol under young Second Lieutenant Rajiv Pande was sent to recce the best approach to the Quaid post. The ‘best approach’ was a misnomer. The post was at a height, surrounded by ice walls, a gradient of 80–85 degrees on three sides, with the fourth side covered by the Pakistanis. The young officer and his men began climbing up the 85-degree ice wall, marking the route and establishing pitons and ropes in the ice, which could be used to climb up for a subsequent assault. They climbed up the 1200-foot ice wall and reached the saddle where the post stood. As they were just 30 meters away, they were detected. A Pakistani machine gun opened up, raking the team with fire, killing ten soldiers, including Lieutenant Rajiv, who fell to his death.

The deaths of the young officer and his men put a pall of gloom over 8 JAKLI. This mood soon gave way to one of anger and revenge. Another hand-picked assault group was assembled under Major Varinder Singh Minhas (later Brigadier) and his Second in command, Captain Anil Sharma, three JCOs (Subedar Harnam Singh, Subedar Sansar Chand and Naib Subedar Bana Singh) and 57 other ranks. This operation was code-named Operation Rajiv, in honour of Lieutenant Rajiv Pande.

The assault group assembled near Sonam Post by the night of June 23. Recce patrols were sent to find the ropes placed by Rajiv and his team. They had been covered by snow and were finally discovered after a painstaking effort. They also found the bodies of Lt Rajiv and his men, still preserved in the sub-zero temperatures. The team climbed up the steep ice wall all night and reached the saddle where the post stood. Here they took cover in the freezing heights and formed up for their first assault on the post. But they were detected by the Pakistanis, who brought down machine gun fire on them. They were unable to return the fire since their own weapons had frozen solid. (It was later discovered that the Pakistanis kept a lit kerosene stove beneath the machine gun to ensure it remained warm and could continue firing). Two men were killed in the fire, and the rest withdrew, bringing with them the bodies of their comrades.

The next night (June 25-26), Major Varinder launched another attack under intense covering fire brought down on the Pakistani positions from Sonam Post. Subedar Sansar Chand and his party of five closed in to within just 50 meters of the post. He needed additional men to rush towards the Pakistani positions. But, at this critical juncture, his radio set failed, its batteries freezing in the cold. He was unable to communicate with Maj Varinder, and this attack too had to be aborted.      
     
The small band of soldiers had spent three days in the open, at those rarified heights and were exhausted. They licked icicles to quench their thirst and burrowed in the snow to avoid detection and enemy fire. Hallucinations and mental breakdowns were common, and Maj Varinder had to ask each man his name and other simple questions to ensure that their mental faculties were intact. Each had left behind a ‘last letter’ to their families, and were painfully aware of how dangerous their mission was. Even though the attack was being monitored at the highest levels, up there on those heights, the small team was virtually on its own.  

The next morning, on June 26, Major Varinder decided to attack by day itself. Two teams—one of eight men led by Major Varinder and another of five led by Naib Subedar Bana Singh— closed in again towards the post. since A blizzard was raging, and even though it was noon, it was pitch dark. The Pakistanis did not expect an attack in these conditions.

It was now or never. At exactly eleven minutes past noon, the assault went in from two sides with Varinder’s own team outflanking the post from one side, while Bana Singh’s small team of Rifleman Chunni Lal, Laxman Das, Om Raj and Kashmir Chand assaulted the Pakistani bunker on the post. As they closed in, to their horror, their weapons jammed in the intense cold. Undeterred, they charged the bunker, throwing grenades inside.  Bana Singh hurled and closed the door to compound the effect. The occupants inside the main bunker were killed, but other Pakistani soldiers rapidly counter-attacked. In the hand-to-hand fighting, six Pakistanis were bayoneted to death, and a few others jumped off the cliff.

Major Varinder was severely wounded when artillery shrapnel tore through his chest and torso, but he continued with his men. Ironically, he was saved because his blood congealed in the intense cold and prevented further blood loss. The Indians took up positions on the post and turned the Pakistani machine gun towards their own adjoining posts and raked them with fire. The kerosene stove, which the Pakistanis used to keep the gun warm, was used to cook rice, with powdered milk, the first real meal the men had in three days. Quaid post changed hands, but there were no celebrations. As Bana Singh himself put it: “no one had the energy to do a ‘bhangra’ or even emit a victory whoop.”  

The audacious capture of a post at 23,000 feet, in sub-zero conditions, after scaling a 1200-foot ice wall, and then fighting an entrenched enemy in hand-to-hand combat has few parallels. Pakistan tried repeatedly to recapture it, but three counterattacks were beaten back with heavy casualties. The post remained secure in Indian hands.  Bana Singh received the Param Vir Chakra and became a national hero. Subedar Harnam Singh was awarded a Maha Vir Chakra, while Major Varinder and Lieutenant Pande received Vir Chakras. Riflemen Chunni Lal (who would go on to become India’s most decorated soldier) and Om Raj were awarded Sena Medals for their courage in the final assault. And just a day after its capture, Quaid Post—the centerpiece of Pakistani positions in Siachen—was renamed Bana Post. And that is how it still remains.

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