Bhikha Ram Choudhary

Biography

Sepoy Bhikha Ram Choudhary hailed from the Pachpadra tehsil of Barmer district in Rajasthan, where he was born on 16 January 1977 into a farming family of the arid Thar region. Drawn to the discipline and pride of soldiering, he was enrolled into the Jat Regiment on 26 April 1995 and was posted to its 4th Battalion. In the summer of 1999 his unit was deployed in the Kaksar sector during Operation Vijay. On 15 May 1999, he was part of a patrol led by Captain Saurabh Kalia that moved out to check the forward posts and detect enemy intrusion. The small party came under heavy and sustained crossfire from well-entrenched Pakistani positions, and after their ammunition was exhausted the soldiers were overpowered and taken into captivity. Sepoy Bhikha Ram endured more than three weeks of brutal torture in captivity, refusing to yield. His mortal remains were returned on 9 June 1999, bearing unmistakable signs of the grievous suffering he had withstood. He laid down his life at the age of twenty-two, and is remembered with profound respect for his courage and his refusal to break in the face of the enemy.