Born: 10th May 1980
Shri Yogendra Singh Yadav was born on 10th May 1980, in Bulandshahr District of Uttar Pradesh. His father Karan Singh Yadav served in the Kumaon Regiment and participated in the Indo-Pakistan wars during 1965 and 1971. Yadav got selected in the Indian Army at the mere age of 16 years and five months.
In the early morning hours of 4 July 1999 during the Kargil War, Yadav was recruited with the 18 Grenadiers, as a part of the Ghatak Force commando platoon, charged to seize three strategic bunkers on Tiger Hill. The bunkers were situated at the top of a vertical, snow-covered, 1,000 ft cliff face. Yadav volunteered to lead the strike, climbed the cliff face, and fixed ropes that would allow further strikes on the feature. In the middle of the steep climb, they received a machine gun and rocket fire from the enemy, which killed the platoon commander and two other Indian soldiers. Injured by multiple bullets in his shoulder and groin, Yadav climbed the remaining 60 feet and reached the top. Though severely injured, he crawled and reached the first bunker and threw a grenade, killing four enemy soldiers and neutralizing enemy fire. This action by Yadav enabled the rest of the platoon, to climb up the cliff face.
Yadav then charged to the second bunker along with two of his fellow soldiers and in hand-to-hand combat, struck down four more enemy soldiers. The platoon eventually succeeded in capturing Tiger Hill. Despite being injured by 21 bullets, Yadav played a major role in Tiger Hill’s capture. The Param Vir Chakra was announced for Yadav posthumously, but soon it was discovered that he was recovering in a hospital, and it was his namesake who had been killed in the mission.
According to the Param Vir Chakra citation on the Indian Army’s website, Yadav “displayed the most outstanding courage, indomitable gallantry, and determination under extreme inauspicious circumstances”. He was the youngest recipient to be awarded the highest Indian military decoration, the Param Vir Chakra, for his action during the Kargil War as he was just 19 when he received the decoration.
“Lakshya” is an Indian feature film, which is a screen adaptation depicting the heroic deeds of Yadav’s platoon.