Operation Rajiv


Operation Rajiv was the codename for an Indian Army's June 1987 operation against Pakistan Army that successfully achieved its aim of snatching the highest point, called Left Shoulder, to secure the Bilafond La sector along the Actual Ground Position Line on the Saltoro Mountain Range which is the western flank of the Siachen Glacier. Prior to this operation, India had captured the Siachen in 1984 and established Sonam Post and Amar Post in the Bilafond La sector, and Pakistan responded by establishing the Quaid Post in 1986 at a higher peak called the Left Shoulder. After Pakistan fired from the Quaid Post and killed Indian soldiers at the Sonam Post in 1986, India decided to capture the Quaid Post to secure the Bilafond La sector as the Quaid post was a threat to the Indian movement on the entire western Siachen Glacier. Consequently, under the Operation Rajiv in 1987 an Indian task force, led by Major Varinder Singh, launched multiple attacks on the Pakistani troops stationed at the post in an attempt to capture it. After several unsuccessful attempts, a team led by Naib Subedar Bana Singh successfully captured the Quaid Post. Following its capture, Quaid post was renamed to Bana Post after Naib Subedar Bana Singh, who led the operation. He was subsequently awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest gallantry award, for his courage in this operation. Since then India continues to hold entire Bilafond La sector, including the Bilafond La itself.

Etymology

The operation was named after India's Second Lieutenant Rajiv Pande, who had been killed by Pakistanis during an earlier attempt to capture the peak.

Geography

Siachen and AGPL

The Siachen area, which lies in a territory disputed by India and Pakistan, is the highest battleground on earth. In 1984, India captured the Siachen area during Operation Meghdoot, and established the Sonam and Amar posts. In 1986 Pakistan established the Quaid Post, before the Operation Rajiv.
The AGPL begins at the NJ9842 peak where LoC ends and AGPL begins, and passes through the western slopes of rides west of Siachen Glacier via Gharkun peak, Gyong Kangri, Gyari, Chumik Kangri peak, K12 peak, Bilafond La, Ghent Kangri, Sia La, Sia Kangri to Indira Col in the north-northwest. To the east of AGPL is Siachen Glacier which falls from the height of 18000 ft at Indira Kol to nearly 11000 ft at its terminus near India's Siachen Base Camp. India and Pakistan have nearly 150 military posts in Siachen along AGPL with nearly 3,000 soldiers each. Nearest road is to the Indian Military Base Camp at Dzingrulma, with 5G mobile and internet connectivity, which is 72 km from the beginning of the Siachen glacier at Indira Col. Nearest civilian village is Warshi in India, 16 km downstream from the Indian base camp on the Dzingrulma-Khalsar Road.

Bilafond La sector

Bilafond La sector, the site of Operation Rajiv, is a critical mountain pass on the Saltoro Ridge, immediately west of the Siachen Glacier and south of Bilafond Peak, and serves as a strategic point controlled by India since Operation Meghdoot in 1984. The strategically most important features at the higher elevation in the Bilafond La sector in the order of decreasing elevation are the Bana Post, Amar Post, Viru Saddle, and Sonam Post, all of which are presently held by India.
  • Bana Post :
  • * Indians called it the Left Shoulder of Bilafond La before Pakistani occupied it in 1986. Pakistani renamed it Quaid Post, and India renamed it as the Bana Top or Bana Post after snatching it from Pakistan in 1987. Bana Post peak, the highest post in the Siachen region, is 2 km southwest of Bilafond La and north of K12 peak, and overlooks the route from Indian Siachen Base Camp to Bilafond La. In November 1986, Pakistani Captain Akmal Khan taking advantage of bad weather established a Pakistani military post on a dominating feature called "Left Shoulder" of the Bilafond La which they named as the Quaid post in honour of their leader Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, at higher elevation than twin Indian posts, Amar and Sonam posts, with both Indian posts being in the direct line of fire of Pakistani Qauid Post. The Quaid Post was manned by soldiers of the Shaheen Company, a part of Pakistan's Special Services Group. It was commanded by Subedar Ataullah Mohammed. In November 1986, Quaid Post was hit by a deadly blizzard which killed all of the Pakistani garrison commanded by Captain Akmal Khan except one artillery officer, Lt Zafar Abbasi who was lieutenant at that who lost his both legs and hands due to frostbite. Later on, he continued his services with artificial legs and hands until he reached the rank of Lt. Colonel and became famous in Pakistan due to his bravery. The other soldiers, who were from a Special Services group, including Captain Akmal Khan, died on the spot as the temperature hit −40.
  • Viru Saddle :
  • * It is a saddle, lying closer to and south of Bana Post at lower elevation than Bana Post but higher than Sonam Post. It is named in honor of Major Varinder Singh who was involved in Operation Rajiv in 1987 during which Bana Post was captured by India. It has no military post on it.
  • Sonam Post :
  • * It is located between Bana and Amar posts slightly northwest of Bana Post. It has the world's highest helipad. The Sonam Post is named in honor of Havildar Sonam of Ladakh Scouts who established it in 1984.
  • Amar Post :
  • * It is located south of Bana and Sonam Post on the slopes of the Saltoro Ridge at a higher elevation than Sonam Post but lower than Bana Post. Amar Post is named in honor of Indian soldier sepoy Amar Singh who displayed exceptional bravery during operations here.

    Prelude

1984: India's Operation Meghdoot captured Siachen

In 1984, India launched Operation Meghdoot and captured the Siachen area, and established various military posts in the area including the Sonam and Amar posts in the Bilafond La sector.

1986: Pakistan established Quaid Post

In 1986 Pakistan established the Quaid Post, before the Operation Rajiv. The Pakistani position at Quaid Post at the mountain peak gave them a clear view of the Indian movement in the Saltoro-Siachen area. The Siachen glacier, located about 15 km away to the east, could be seen from this peak with the naked eye. The Quaid Post was located at an higher altitude than the Indian posts was extremely difficult to attack, as it was surrounded by 457 m high ice walls. It had an inclination of 80° to 85° on three sides, less on the fourth side. It was very difficult for the attackers to climb up the peak without getting noticed by the Pakistani soldiers stationed at the top. The scarcity of oxygen made walking long distances difficult, as the troops had to halt every few meters to regain their breath. There were also frequent blizzards, and taking advantage of poor visibility at night was difficult due to the wind chill factor. The minimum temperatures in the area were as low as −50 °C at that time.

April-May 1987: Pakistani attack and Indian counter attack on Quaid Post

18 April 1987: Attack on Indian Amar and Sonam posts from Pakistan's Quaid Post

Before the Operation Vijay, in the Bilafond La sector the Quaid Post was held by Pakistan since 1986, and India-held Sonam Post and Amar Posts were at lower height and were accessible only by helicopter. Pakistan's control of the Quaid Post allowed them to dominate these Indian posts, and prevent supplies to them.
On 18 April 1987, the Pakistani troops at Quaid Post started firing with machine guns and rocket launchers preventing maintenance both by surface and air of Indian posts in Bilafond La. Pakistani soldiers at Quaid Post started firing on the Sonam Post and killed Indian soldiers.

29 May 1987: Indian counter-attack and death of Rajiv Pande

Consequently, the Indian Army then decided to launch a plan to evict the Pakistanis from the Quaid Post. The 8th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry was given the task of capturing the Quaid Post. On May 29, a 13-member JAK LI patrol led by Second Lieutenant Rajiv Pande was asked to identify the best approach route to the Post, and mark it with ropes. The group started climbing the ice wall leading to the Quaid Post, but were detected by the Pakistani soldiers, when it was just 30 m from the top. The Pakistanis opened fire with a heavy machine gun, killing ten Indian soldiers, including Second Lieutenant Rajiv Pande. Before they were killed, the Indian soldiers managed to establish a number of footholds on the vertical ice wall with a pick axe, and had laid a rope to the top.

June 1987: The Indian Operation Vijay

May-June 1987: Preparation and assembling the Indian task force

For India, strategically positioned Quaid Post’s capture was critical to securing the entire Bilafond La sector on the Saltoro Ridge, overlooking Indian positions like Amar and Sonam Posts. The Operation Vijay was conceived to capture the Quaid Post. Over the next few days in April 1987, the 8 JAK LI assembled a new task force led by Major Varinder Singh to capture the Quaid Post. Captain Anil Sharma was assigned as Singh's deputy. The task force included 62 people, including 2 officers, 3 JCOs and 57 soldiers. The assignment, launched on 23 June 1987, was code-named Operation Rajiv in honour of Second Lieutenant Rajiv Pande.
The task force established a base in the Bilafond La area. The 8th JAK LI had taken over the area from 5th Bihar just over a month back, and its soldiers were still in the process of getting to know the area. Because of the frequent blizzards and limited capacity of the HAL Cheetah helicopters, it took 20 days and 200 helicopter trips for the assault team to gather at Bilafond La. To ferry two people and their supplies, a minimum of 2–4 helicopter trips were required. Each helicopter trip cost 35,000.
During the rehearsals, some artillery observers had to be evacuated due to altitude sickness. A 10-man team led by Captain Ram Prakash was placed at the Sonam Post. He established an observation post ahead of Sonam.