Daily Times

“Great deeds are done when men and mountains meet this is not done by jostling in the street”. (William Blake)

This is the story of Lalik Jan, the quintessential soldier and a true denizen of the mountains whose rendezvous with martyrdom atop a mountain post proved the above dictum true. A true son of the mountains he belonged to an ancient Brushishki speaking race inhabiting the ethereally beautiful Yasin valley whose martial stock is regarded with respect by different historians and sociologists. Lalik Jan’s village, Hondur, lies nestled amongst the Hindukush mountains at an altitude of 8500 feet in the ethereally beautiful valley of Yasin in the Ghizar district of Gilgit. The village is as much an idyllic abode for romantically inclined as an eyrie of the ruddy coloured brushishski speaking folk. Immersed in such heavenly beauty now lies the grave of the Havildar Major, Lalik Jan, Nishan-e-Haider, the recipient of the highest gallantry award of the country.

Lalik Jan was born at Morang a sleepy little mountain hamlet located short of Darkut. His birth was heralded by a massive avalanche accompanied by a thunderstorm, still remembered with awe by the village folk. Perhaps it was the harbinger of the stormy soul of Lalik Jan who in memory of that storm added “Dohat” in front of his name. (Dohat in Brushishki means storm). Lalik Jan was a free spirited, bold and irrepressible lad in his childhood. Due to the straitened economic circumstances of his family he could not be sent to school like other children. He loved climbing mountains and was a most expert cragsman who climbed precipitous slopes with ease. He used to squelch his way up the snow-covered slopes and come glissading down the glaciers without a frisson of fear in his heart.

He was growing into a true iconoclast who used to chide superstitious beliefs of locals like avoidance of travelling on Sundays. He nursed anger at social inequities and longed to get himself and his people out of a state of penury and ignorance. The story of his joining army is also indicative of an independent streak in his personality. His father sent him on an errand to Taoos a nearby town; he instead of returning home made his way to Gilgit where he presented himself before recruitment committee and got enlisted in Northern Light Infantry. This was typical of a 16 years old headstrong lad who loved taking independent decisions.

Lalik Jan, according to his close friend and his cousin Zorawar Khan, was an extremely sensitive soul who masked his sensitivity behind a stern exterior. He nursed a pathological antipathy for inequality of any kind and openly spoke disparagingly of those influential people of his area whose hypocrisy lay masked in their Good Samaritan pretensions. He was a keen participant in village social life and community development. Always a generous contributor to philanthropist cause he once openly berated a local councillor for his profligacy with public donations, when he was trying to garner financial support for a project. His cousins still recall with glee the discomfiture of the corrupt councillor whom he accosted in his typically blunt style and stentorian voice, “I swear upon my honour that I will contribute ten times more than all of you combined provided you prove that you spent each and every penny of last donations on some worthwhile project”.

He distinguished himself in his early military career by doing his courses in top grade. He mostly held appointments of eminence at regimental level and was serving as Company Havildar Major of his company in a Northern Light Infantry Regiment when the skirmishes broke out on Line of Control in Kargil sector in 1999. Company Havildar Major Lalik Jan soon after arrival in the war zone volunteered for the hottest sector in battalion area of responsibility and was transferred to a difficult company. The adventurer in him found his vocation at last at the most threatened post of the battalion where enemy had started launching attacks after attacks with a battalion strength. It was virtually a David versus Goliath match with Lalik Jan’s post of twenty two men pitted against a complete battalion of enemy.

His last stand allowed the relief force to trudge up the serrated crest line to effect a link up with the post. The enemy was beaten back and the post Lalik Jan defended is still a part of Pakistan

He enthused his men with his raw courage and conducted aggressive defence with textbook dexterity. His daring attack ahead of main defensive positions against an enemy patrolling party resulted in heavy loses to enemy in terms of men and weapons. His post being the most dangerously exposed amongst the entire defences bore the maximum brunt of enemy’s frenzied attacks. After several days of continuous fighting he was given an option for relief which he declined to accept. The enemy artillery had temporarily blocked all logistical sustenance and the men under their intrepid leader held the waves upon waves of enemy company level attacks at bay. The enemy artillery, air and direct firing weapons were targeting this post and pulverizing the jagged rocks like a juggernaut. There was the smell of cordite everywhere turning even the water deposits in rocky crannies into poison.

The fusillade of enemy direct firing weapons eventually started taking its toll as the twenty two men started becoming targets of its maddening fury. They had managed to repulse seven main enemy attacks in last 48 hours. The indomitable Lalik Jan kept moving from trench to trench, egging his wounded colleagues to fight on. Indian fury knew no bounds as they found this small post resisting their implacable pressure with dedication. After ten continuous days of relentless combat most of the Jawans embraced martyrdom while others lay seriously wounded. Now Lalik Jan was the sole able bodied member of the post alongwith two semi mobile but injured colleagues i.e Sepoy Bakhnal and Lance Naik Bashir. The post was temporarily cut off from rear and a relief operation was underway. He now had an option to fall back but he declined by reassuring the relieving force that he would hold on till their arrival.

Lalik Jan held on tenaciously to the third trench on his post while the first two were being run over by the leading elements of attacking enemy troops. In this final gladiatorial struggle he received bullets in his chest while trying to lob a grenade towards enemy intruders. These four hours found his life ebbing away yet he kept on firing at enemy. His last stand allowed the relief force to trudge up the serrated crest line to effect a link up with the post. The enemy was beaten back and the post Lalik Jan defended is still a part of Pakistan. Lalik Jan embraced martyrdom the way he lived, joyously, proudly and fighting against the injustice. The country conferred the highest gallantry award, the Nishan-e-Haider on him, a befitting recompense for his supreme sacrifice and courage in the service of the country.

The writer is a PhD scholar at NUST