What does it take to serve on the world’s highest battlefield? An incredible amount of courage, a tough round of training and a dash of belief. For soldiers of the Indian Army, the long climb to posts on the Siachen glacier starts with a prayer and formal report to the guardian angel of the ‘frozen frontier’ — the legendary OP Baba.

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.

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