Hero of Skardu: Brig Sher Jung Thapa, a man of indomitable spirit

In the snow-wrapped silence of the icy heights of Ladakh, where winds howl like ancient spirits, one man stood tall between chaos and collapse. Major Sher Jung Thapa, scion of the Gorkha bloodline, arrived in Skardu not as a saviour but as a sentinel of a dying outpost.

In December 1947, Skardu, a vital gateway to Ladakh, trembled beneath the looming shadow of rebellion. The skies hung low, snow fell relentlessly and enemy forces closed in with sharpened resolve. Behind them, the betrayal at Gilgit had already spilled innocent blood. Ahead, Major Sher Jung Thapa knew what awaited them — siege, starvation and a near-certain death.

Skardu, as the tehsil headquarters of Baltistan, was a key post between Gilgit and Leh and the Indian Army considered it essential to hold the Skardu garrison for the defence of Leh.

On February 11, 1948, the attack on Skardu began. For over six gruelling months, from February to August, Major Sher Jang Thapa withstood the attack, housed in the garrison with dwindling ammunition and food. Reinforcements by ground were ambushed en route to Skardu. The enemy, nearly 10 times their number, assaulted the fort with unrelenting fury. Supplies dwindled, ammunition turned precious, hunger became familiar yet under Major Sher Jung Thapa’s iron willpower, no man deserted and no line broke. When reinforcements failed and airdrops scattered in wind, he turned grit into strategy and defiance into survival.

Major Sher Jung Thapa rallied his weary Infantry men not with the promises of rescue but with a soldier’s blunt creed: “We hold until the last bullet”. And they did hold. This motto reflects the bravery and valour associated with the Gorkha soldiers.

The siege reached its crescendo on August 14, 1948. Exhausted, surrounded and utterly outnumbered, Major Sher Jung Thapa and his last men stood amid ruins, defending honour with bare hands and bayonets. The final resistance echoed like a roar into history’s hallowed annals.

Major Sher Jung Thapa was taken prisoner and his comrades fell, yet even in defeat, he had achieved the impossible — delaying an enemy advance long enough to fortify Leh and shift the course of the war.

For his valour, Major Sher Jung Thapa was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India’s second-highest military honour. In time, he rose to become Brigadier in the Indian Army. But the history remembers him best not by rank, nor medals but for the lonely stand he made in Skardu when the mountains watched and a nation prayed.

Brig Sher Jung Thapa (MVC) retired on June 18, 1960, yet his life of quiet inspiration continued at Sakrdu House in McLeodganj, where his youngest daughter-in-law, Rama Thapa, now keeps his spirit alive. Brig Sher Jung Thapa passed away at the Army Hospital, Delhi, on February 25, 1999, but in the silent high passes of Ladakh, his courage continues to echo, undimmed by time.

Sher Jung Thapa was born in Abbottabad, Punjab (now in Pakistan), on June 18, 1908. Soon after, his family moved to Dharamsala in Kangra district. In 1926, Sher Jung Thapa passed out of Government Post Graduate College, Dharamsala.

Sher Jung was known for his exceptional hockey skills, which caught the eye of Captain Douglas Gracey of 1st Gorkha Regiment, who himself was an accomplished player. Captain Gracey was deeply impressed by Sher Jung Thapa’s discipline and prowess and played a pivotal role in securing his commission as an officer in the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces, setting the course for his distinguished military career.

His grandfather Subedar Balkrishna Thapa and father Honorary Captain Arjun Thapa were both decorated soldiers of 2/5 Gorkha Rifles in the British Indian Army during the World War I and II, respectively. Sher Jang was married to Dhan Shobha on April 15, 1931, and the couple were blessed with eight children (Kamla Thapa, Prem Jung Thapa, Bikram Jung Thapa, Hem Jung Thapa, Sarla Thapa, Nirmla Thapa, Amar Jung Thapa, and Kokila Thapa), each carrying forward the family’s enduring values and traditions.