This chapter narrates the inspiring story of Major Somnath Sharma and the Battle of Badgam. In late 1947, Pakistan launched Operation Gulmarg to capture the Kashmir Valley. To defend the region and protect strategic locations, Indian troops were sent to Srinagar. On 31 October 1947, D Company of the 4th Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment arrived under the leadership of Major Somnath Sharma. Even though his left hand was in a plaster cast due to an injury, Major Sharma insisted on being on the battlefield with his men.
On 3 November 1947, Major Sharma and his ninety soldiers were on a patrol mission in Badgam, a village situated very close to the crucial Srinagar airfield. Suddenly, they were surrounded and attacked by around 500 heavily armed infiltrators. Realising that losing Badgam would allow the enemy to capture the airport and take over Srinagar, Major Sharma decided to hold the ground at all costs. He fearlessly moved across open ground, directed defensive fire, guided Indian aircraft by laying cloth strips, and personally filled ammunition magazines for his machine gunners.
When ammunition ran dangerously low and Brigade headquarters advised him to retreat, Major Sharma sent a famous message stating that he would not withdraw an inch and would fight to the last man and the last round. Shortly afterwards, a mortar shell landed on his position, and he was killed instantly. Inspired by his extraordinary courage, his soldiers continued fighting bravely for six more hours until Indian reinforcements arrived to secure Srinagar.
Major Somnath Sharma sacrificed his life at the young age of twenty-four to save Kashmir. For his unmatched gallantry, devotion to duty, and supreme sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, becoming the very first recipient of India's highest military decoration.