Gorichen to Siachen

Book excerpt: Far too many books have been written as to how India secured the Siachen glacier and won the close race against Pakistan by a margin of a couple of days. However; here is a narration with a difference; it is the very personal experience of the Commanding Officer of the Battalion (19 KUMAON) who were the pioneers to scale these icy heights. The Nation has always been proud of this achievement but what is generally not known is the hard work and the sacrifice that go into such arduous and physically daunting missions. The adage that “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war” is well brought out in the book as we realise that routine training stood the Unit in good stead throughout its stay on the Glacier. Here we have the first-hand account of the untold saga of 19 KUMAON, a young Battalion in 1984, as to how it took an opportunity by its horns to etch its name into the history books. The role of combat leadership at tactical level in the most challenging circumstances also emerges quite clearly. This narrative, which is suitably substantiated with first hand accounts and photographs, sets the record straight about the pioneering achievement of Unnis Kumaon.