Who is Digendra Kumar
Digendra Kumar MVC, SM, known as Cobra of the army, dispatched 48 Pakistanis single-handedly.
Born in a Jat family, in Sikar, Rajasthan. Kumar joined the 2nd battalion of the Rajputana rifles on 3rd September 1985, soon after his training was complete, he was selected in the Indian peacekeeping forces.
Operation Pawan
During Operation Pawan, Kumar and his team were assigned to patrol areas dominant in Tamil. Five Tamil militants killed five soldiers of Kumar’s team, along with the rest of the squad chased the militants to an MLA’s house, when the MLA opposed the army, the MLA was killed in an ensuing firefight along with the militants, Instead of earning praise he was remanded and penalized.
At the same time, 36 soldiers of the 10th parachute regiment were captured alive, the commanding officer handed this man the duty of saving the day. He took some 50kg ammunition, some biscuits, sailed up the river, freed the soldiers, killed 39 militants single-handedly, and destroyed an ammunition depot.
In The War Naik, Digendra Kumar was commander of the elite light machine gun group that devised a plan involving heavy-duty ropes and crampons to scale a sheer cliff face in the dead of the night. The plan was executed in sub-zero temperatures, overlooking a 5000 feet deep chasm over 14 grueling hours.
During his efforts, while he was trying to subdue the enemy, he was struck by a bullet that penetrated his arm. The plucky soldier gave a cold shoulder to the excruciating pain and continued to fight back.
The dumbstruck Pak army was still trying to recuperate from the heavy blow. He lobbed grenades and shot at the enemy while keeping his platoon motivated; ultimately moving down 48 of the enemy to recapture the crucial Tololing point.
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Cobra of Kargil
It was Naik Digendra Kumar who hoisted the Indian tricolor atop the peak at 4 AM on 13 June 1999. When the other soldiers reached the spot later, they found many dead soldiers as well as Naik Kumar who was unconscious, but miraculously alive!
His incredible feats on the battlefield and matchless contribution to the recapture of Point 4590 earned this ‘Cobra’ the nation’s second-highest gallantry award, the Maha Vir Chakra.
Peacekeeping Force in Sri Lanka
He retired from the army in 2005 and was denied disability benefits and Kargil war benefits for about two years. This, in spite of the fact that this commando had done his tour of duty as part of the Indian Peacekeeping Force in Sri Lanka (where he earned himself the ‘Cobra’ sobriquet) before the Kargil war as well.
The Cobra associated with the Indian army had assured General Malik that he would grow the Indian tricolor atop the top and he did. Now the nation has to uphold the assurances directed at the troops just as!