While no one is quiet sure how and when it started, all inductions of troops on Siachen are carried out only after a stopover at a shrine dedicated to OP Baba — an unknown soldier who, as legend goes, died while fighting the enemy in the 1980s but comes back to warn troops posted on the glacier about impending dangers.

So strong is the conviction among soldiers about the ‘power’ of the Baba that no one even dares to step on the glacier without paying obedience at the shrine and seeking formal permission for the climb. The belief is that the Baba will protect them from the hazards of nature and enemy action on the glacier.

The legend originated at the high altitude Malaun post on the northern glacier where, it is said, a soldier named OP Prakash died while single-handedly fighting Pakistani troops after his colleagues were temporarily called back to the rear.

A shrine was constructed at the post after, the legend says, he started appearing in the dreams of other soldiers and warned them of impending dangers. As word about the ‘powers’ spread among soldiers on the glacier, similar shrines popped up at posts across the glacier. Taking note of the belief among soldiers, higher authorities constructed a permanent shrine to the Baba at the Siachen base camp in 2003.

“It is a firm belief that OP Baba is the guardian deity who protects them not only from the depredations of nature on the glacier but also from the enemy by forewarning them of impending dangers by appearing in their dreams,” an official plaque put up at the shrine by the Army reads.

For soldiers preparing to walk up the glacier, a visit to the shrine provides the extra bit of faith required to spend three months at the world’s coldest battlefield. “We report to the Baba before going up the post. If the Baba knows that something bad will happen to a soldier on the glacier, he will come in the dreams of the commanding officer and ask him to call the soldier back,” says a soldier who is ‘roping up’ for the 12 day walk to his post on the Saltoro ridge.

While a high protein diet is recommended by doctors on the glacier and at high altitudes, no soldier posted at Siachen consumes non-vegetarian food, due to the ‘presence’ of OP Baba. “No non-vegetarian food, tobacco products or alcohol crosses the OP Baba shrine at the base camp,” says an Army officer.