The chilly and dreary morning of November 3, 1947, woke the Kashmir Valley. Injured in his left arm after a previous episode, a young boy in his early 20s was firm in his decision to be with his cadre, who were just a few miles from Srinagar, knowing full well that the fate of the valley was hanging dead weight on them. Despite being massively outflanked seven to one by the Pakistani raiders on their approach to Srinagar, the boy was not going to surrender easily. He raised his voice, and thus his men listened to him when he had them stand their ground. Precisely, it was in Badgam, where he wrote his immortal name in the military history of India. The boy was none other than Maj Somnath Sharma.
Somnath Sharma, who was born on January 31, 1923, at Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, had a pedigree that he was so proud of, which was military. His father, Major General Amarnath Sharma, and his siblings Lt Gen Surindar Nath Sharma and General Vishwa Nath Sharma while his sister, Major Kamla Tewari, was a medical doctor, all served in the Indian Army. So, it wasn’t surprising that Somnath also decided to carry forward the legacy. As part of his education, he spent some part of it at Sherwood College, Nainital, while the rest was concluded at the Prince of Wales Royal Military College in Dehradun. His future job of being a soldier was almost predestined as the college was where he took training into military.
Commissioned into the 8th Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment (later 4th Battalion Kumaon Regiment) of the British Indian Army on February 22 1942, the very same regiment his maternal uncle Captain Krishna Dutt Vasudeva had served in.
Under leadership of Col Thimmayya, Maj Sharma fought in World War 2 in Burma with the British Army.
Battle of Badgam:
On 3 November 1947 during the early morning hours, Major Somnath Sharma led his company in an attack ordered upon Badgam, an important village near Srinagar. Though he had been injured by having his left arm encased in a plaster cast while playing hockey, Major Sharma wanted to lead his company in the attack. The village of Badgam was an important route for Pakistani raiders advancing toward Srinagar and the holding of the village was essential to protect the city as well as its airport.
Major Sharma’s Company A of the 4 Kumaon and Company D of the 1 Para Kumaon had been tasked to defend the place by Brigadier L.P. Sen. Soon, the 500 raiders surrounded them on three sides, outnumbering Major Sharma’s men, who now received merciless fire along with mortar bombardment. Yet Major Sharma stood firm, knowing that his position was crucial. He would move from one post to another, loading magazines, passing the replenishment to the men manning the light machine guns, encouraging his men to keep on fighting all this while.
As the battle turned all the more fierce, a mortar shell exploded just near ammunition supply killed Major Sharma. In his last message to headquarters moments before he was killed, he wrote: “The enemies are only 50 yards from us. We are heavily outnumbered. I shall not withdraw an inch but will fight to our last man and our last round.”
Although that stronghold was eventually lost, the heavy casualty inflicted on the raiders delayed their advance, giving precious time to Indian forces for reinforcement towards Srinagar. Major Somnath Sharma’s heroic stand at the tender age of 25 played a pivotal role in protection for Kashmir. He was posthumously awarded India’s first Param Vir Chakra for his courageous and sacrificial acts.