Ten years after Captain Vijyant Thapar died a hero’s death while capturing an impossible peak in the Drass sector, his father will make a final pilgrimage to the spot to honour his son’s last wish. In his last letter, Vijayant, who fell after taking the 4,700 metre high ‘Knoll’ peak in Drass had wished that his father could “come and see where the Indian Army fought for your tomorrow”.

For the past 10 years, his 68-year-old father Col (retd) V K Thapar has been honouring his son’s last wish by undertaking a laborious trek up the mountain in Drass. With the 10th anniversary of the battle coming up on July 26, and age steadily catching up, the retired officer says that he will make one final visit to the spot.

“Age is catching up and I may not be able to go anymore. I wish to make a last trip to the spot and the 10th anniversary is most befitting,” Col Thapar says. His son fought battles at Three Pimples and Tololing before he took part in the assault on Knoll as part of the 2 Rajasthan Rifles unit.

“By the time you get this letter I’ll be observing you from the sky enjoying the hospitality of apsaras,” read the final letter Vijyant wrote to his family minutes before going in for the final assault, adding that he had no regrets and would join the Army again if reborn as a human.

While a grateful nation awarded him a Vir Chakra and the helipad in Drass was named after Vijyant, his father keeps the memory of the brave soldier alive by honouring the two wishes that were in the last letter — visit Drass and keep on giving money every month to Ruksana, a girl in Kupwara who lost her father to militants, for her education.

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