TIGER OF DRASS: Bravery and Leadership in combat

There are books and then there are books written about war heroes and gallantry awardees. The Tiger of Drass is one such book authored by Meena Nayyar and Himmat Singh Shekhawat. But mind you, this is no ordinary book and Meena Nayyar is no ordinary person. She’s the mother of Captain Anuj Nayyar, Mahavir Chakra, the main protagonist of this evocative book. A book launching ceremony, organised by the All Volunteers of Rashtriya Riders was recently held at United Service Institution of India, Delhi, where Lt. Gen. BS Raju, UYSM, AVSM, Vice Chief of Indian Army graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The book captures Anuj’s journey of barely twenty-three years, during which he transformed from a reserved but righteous child to a gem of a military professional. I am certain that “The Tiger of Drass” will surely enthuse readers and stir a warm sense of pride and patriotism.

City First in an exclusive interview with Himmat Singh Shekhawat, who hails from Jaipur, talks about his journey and experiences so far.

• Tell us about your life. You seem to be part of a bikers group that travels across the country visiting martyrs’ families and different units. Tell us about that too, please.

I along with Shivaditay Modi formed this biking group by the name of Rashtriya Riders with the sole intention to say thank you to the serving men/women of the Armed forces and pay our regards to the families of the fallen ones. Professionally we both are working, I am working for Make My Trip as Regional Head and Shivaditay Modi is working for Telus International as Senior Manager. All in all, we have ridden close to 30,000 km covering several borders and meeting several families of the fallen ones.

• This seems to be your first book, what got you into writing?

Yes, indeed this is our first book, basically always wanted to get into the Armed Forces however couldn’t, in hindsight wanted to do something for the Armed Forces. We were on one such ride wherein we were meeting families of the fallen ones, as per our ride plan we were meeting Capt Nayyar’s family, however, we got late due to extended weekend traffic, we only managed to reach his home at about 12 in the night and had some awesome dinner that night during dinner we had a conversation about Capt Nayyar and what kind of personality he possessed, exactly after one month after the ride we called Meena Nayyar Mam and said that we want to write a book on Capt Nayyar, her mother agreed, at first we read the letters of Capt Nayyar which he wrote from the war front. Gradually, we had emotional alignment with him and his family and then this book came into the picture.

• Where were you during Kargil? How far back does your relationship with the family (Capt Nayyar’s) go?

During Kargil War, I was in 10th standard, as I belonged to an Army background and wanted to join the Indian Army thus my inclination towards Kargil War was very strong, I was so attached to the war that I used to listen to all News Channels and recorded everything in the tape-recorder which I had during that time there was this program telecast in Doordarshan by the name of “50 days War-A tribute”, I used to record everything.

• When did you decide to write a book about Capt Nayyar? Why after 23 years?

I along with Shivaditay Modi decided to write a book on Capt Nayyar during one such ride dedicated to fallen ones, the exact date when we made the decision was on November 2, 2017. As far as 23 years go, I proudly say that I and Shivaditay Modi are the chosen ones, destiny has played an important role, never did we think that we would write anything of this stature. Now I can proudly say that the book written with all passion has turned out to be a Bestseller.

• A person born the year Kargil happened will turn 23 today. What impact do you think the story would have on them?

The impact of the story is very inspirational I must say, principally the reason I can vouch is that I have been receiving communication (Phone/text/ WhatsApp/email/messenger) that they are inspired by the deeds of Capt Nayyar. For a person who is 23, might be looking now into the professional world, this book will act as an inspiration.

• Who all have you spoken to while researching for the book? How many officers/troops?

The research for the book has been extensive, we have interviewed all officers (seniors/juniors/course mates-NDA/IMA), not only officers we have also interacted with all troops who have worked alongside him and those who have also fought alongside Capt Nayyar during the Kargil war. We have reached several people at different locations (Uri-Kashmir, DrassKargil, Udaipur, Delhi NCR). All in All more than 80-100 officers/troops were being interviewed for the bookmaking is extensive research.

• Is anyone in your family in defence? Did you ever want to join?

Yes, my father, my grandfather, my uncle, my brother, my father-in-law were from defence and I always wanted to join the Indian Army as stated above however I couldn’t, I have cleared written 4 times, all 4 times I was screened in however in the conference I wasn’t recommended in the conference.

• How far back have you dug into Capt Nayyar’s story in this book?

I, Shivaditay Modi along with the brother of Capt Nayyar (Karan Nayyar) has worked on the book which comprises his life since he was born and the time till he laid down his life. Every aspect of his life including childhood/ schooling/training/Ops in Kashmir to finally the battle of Kargil is thoroughly covered.

• How did it feel coordinating with the martyr’s mother?

It was an emotional outburst as it is very difficult to speak to the mother of a fallen soldier and that too who was only 23 years. It isn’t easy for a mother to narrate about her son but the objective of writing about Capt Nayyar and make people aware of who exactly was Capt. Nayyar kept us going.

• Did you visit the places where the war happened and Capt Nayyar sacrifice himself? What does it look like today? If you did, what did you feel about the place?

Yes, we made sure that we visited Pimple Complex in Drass of Kargil to understand the difficulties our men in uniform faced while advancing to the peaks where Capt Nayyar and his men fought valiantly and finally sacrificed themselves. It was a very emotional part of the journey as till the time you don’t visit the Pimple complex or for that matter of fact any peak where the war was fought, one can never feel the complexity our men faced while taking our territory, I can clearly say that Kargil War is the most war-mountain fought is the modern-day warfare.

• What’s your view of the 17 Jat Regiment, if you’ve ever visited them? How do they remember Capt Nayyar?

17 JAT unit is a very strong unit composed of tough military people, they have shown their military prowess time and again, their role in the war was of high stature and received accolades for their roles. I have visited them several times (Uri-Kashmir, Alwar), the visit primarily included our interaction with troops to understand Capt Nayyar in detail. As far as remembering Capt Nayyar, 17 JAT has Anuj hall which is dedicated to Capt Anuj Nayyar and his men. The hall has Pakistani soldiers’ diaries and ammunition from the wartime, in the unit there are two busts of Capt Anuj Nayyar, one at the Anuj Hall and the other one in the office area of 17 JAT. They have kept each and everything related to Capt Nayyar stored carefully.