Lt Praveen led Ghataks to capture 17,500-ft feature without casualty

Col Dilbag Dabas (Retd)

Lieutenant (now Colonel) Praveen Kumar Barak, a fourth generation soldier, belongs to an illustrious military family of Baland village in Rohtak district. The history of his family dates back to World War 1 — his great grand Tau Ji Jemadar (Honorary Capt) Ami Lal was among the four Haryanvis who were awarded the Military Cross during World War 1, his grandfather Havildar Munshi Ram fought the Turks and the Germans in Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) in World War 2 and his father Honorary Flying Officer Mahabir Singh is a veteran of the 1971 war with Pakistan.

Praveen was born at the Army Base Hospital in Delhi Cantonment on February 18, 1976. He grew up listening to the stories of valour of the peers of his clan and decided to follow in their footsteps. He had his schooling in stations wherever his father was posted. After senior secondary from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bangalore, he joined the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in 14th Battalion of Sikh Infantry Regiment on December 6, 1997, the fourth generation to carry forward the family legacy.

The Chorbat La Pass area on the eastern extremity of the Kargil sector lies on a massive watershed of the Ladakh range between the Indus and Shyok rivers. It continued to remain active and Ladakh Scouts thwarted many attempts by Pakistan soldiers to establish a foothold on the ridgeline by capturing Pt 5310, which was the highest point overlooking areas on both sides of the Line of Control (LOC). Soon after Pakistan intrusions were detected in Batalik subsector in late April 1999, it was decided to secure Chorbat La firmly by occupying defensive positions on both flanks on the watershed.    

On May 18, 1999, Pakistan troops were sighted moving on the ridgeline, west of the pass and then began the race to secure the Chorbat La ridgeline. To outpace the Pakistan army, 14th Sikh Battalion was ordered to capture Point 5310 (17,500 feet), which dominated the areas north and west of the ridgeline. The Commanding Officer of 14 Sikh entrusted the task to young and energetic Lieutenant Praveen Kumar to capture Pt 5310, the highest feature in Batalik subsector, by the first light of July 23, 1999. And the young subaltern accomplished the arduous task within the time frame. The exploits of Lt Praveen Kumar are well covered in the War Diary of 14th Sikh Battalion, which earned him the Vir Chakra.

After successfully commanding 11th Battalion of Sikh Regiment, Colonel Praveen Kumar is now posted as Colonel General Staff (Financial Planning) at the Western Command Headquarters. His son Prem successfully qualified and joined the National Defence Academy and is well on his way to become the fifth generation Barak in uniform. What a feat!

Baraks from Baland (Rohtak) are among the most illustrious military families from Haryana with five generations in uniform. The other four are Ahlawats from Gochhi (Jhajjar), Segans from Yamunanagar and Balharas from Bahu Akbarpur (Rohtak) to name a few.

Account of his gallantry in the War Diary of 14th Sikh Battalion reads

Lt Praveen Kumar, Ghatak Platoon Commander of 14th Sikh Battalion, was ordered by his Commanding Officer to capture Pt 5310 by the first light of July 23, 1999. After detailed reconnaissance of the routes to the objective, on July 22, 1999, at 9 pm, Lt Praveen Kumar, along with his platoon, began the arduous approach march to Point 5310. The Ghataks, led by the young subaltern, negotiated a 1,000-feet high ice wall and then carefully crossed a glaciated bowl riddled with crevasses to reach the base of Point 5310. 

Thereafter, the platoon, divided in three groups, silently attacked the objective from three directions. Lt Praveen Kumar’s group scaled a near-vertical cliff a foot a time by fixing rope ladders over a distance of 250 metres. The final push to the objective took the enemy completely by surprise as they discovered the presence of the Sikhs only the next morning. By then Lt Praveen Kumar had organised his defences, sited automatic weapons and was prepared to defend Point 5310 against any attack. Subsequently, dominating the enemy’s defences by observation and fire, Lt Praveen Kumar’s Ghatak platoon killed 15 enemy soldiers by directing accurate artillery and infantry mortar fire along the enemy’s route of maintenance, opposite Turtuk subsector. 

For capturing a tactically important objective without suffering any casualty, Lt Praveen Kumar, for his professional excellence and immense courage, was awarded the Vir Chakra.

(The writer is a veteran Gunner, 6 Field Regiment)