Naik Deepchand, who lost both his legs and right arm in the 1999 Kargil war, still remembers clearly the victory of the Battle of Tololing. “We had only one target in mind… to defeat the enemy,” he says.
A first-generation army man, Deepchand was born on 5 April 1975 in Hisar, Haryana. While in class 12 at his school in Pabra, he received a letter to start artillery training in Nasik. Despite initial reservations from his family, he moved to Maharashtra in 1994. He credits his friends for the encouragement, as well as his grandfather who used to narrate inspiring stories of the 1965 and 1971 wars.
“Dada ji knew from my childhood that I wanted to join the army,” he tells The Quint. He is proud to be the only one to join the army from his village, and the only person to have fought in the Kargil War. He is thankful to have inspired many from his hometown to join the ranks.
His first posting was in Firozpur for 3 years. In February 1998, Naik Deepchand was posted to Srinagar. Thereafter, he went on to fight in the Kargil War. “It was very cold that day. As many as 10,000 rounds were fired by our battalion,” he has been quoted as saying about the Battle of Tololing.
Over the years, Deepchand has taught himself to ride a scooter and perform other tasks.
As of 2005, Deepchand is retired. He lives in Nasik and keeps himself engaged in social work. He also takes classes at an army training school. He lives with his wife, two sons, and an adopted daughter, now in class 7. One of his sons is currently preparing to join the NDA.
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