New Delhi: Army aspirants and enthusiasts have grown up listening to the stories of late Captain Vikram Batra, the braveheart who got martyred at the young age of 25, during the 1999 Kargil War.
Lieutenant Vikram Batra was commissioned in 13th Battalion Jammu & Kashmir Rifles of Indian Army in 1997, and later promoted to the rank of Captain.
Batra led one of the toughest operations in mountain warfare during the Kargil war. Under the leadership of Captain Vikram Batra, the Indian Army captured point 5140, with the war cry ‘Ye Dil Maange More‘.
After recapturing the point 5140, the battler volunteered for one of the toughest operations in mountain warfare in Indian history, and successfully accomplished the task. The Indian Army recaptured the point 4875, in which 25 year old Batra lost his life in the battlefield.
The mountain is named ‘Batra Top’ to honor the his extraordinary courage. Vikram Batra was also awarded with the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest and most prestigious award for valour.
Recently, the film ‘Shershaah’, Based on the true story of Vikram Batra was premiered on Amazon Prime Video. While the viewers loved the chemistry between Siddharth Kapoor and Kiara Advani who played the roles of real-life love birds Vikram Batra and Dimple Cheema respectively, here is a glimpse into the love story of Captain Batra and Dimple Cheema and how it differs from as shown in the film:
Just as shown in the film, the duo met during their graduation in the Punjab University. The two started talking to one another as friends, but soon fell in love, so much that the two even decided to get married while not even out of college. Though Dimple’s family objected their relationship, yet she stood by the dedicated Vikram, who almost even dropped his plans of joining the army, to get a job to marry her.
Vikram and Dimple often used to visit the Mansa Devi Temple in Haridwar. During one such visit, Vikram held Dimple’s Duppatta during the ‘parikrama’, saying, “Congratulations Mrs. Batra, you just got married” afterwards. This instance is shown in the film, though the the temple is replaced by a Gurudwara.
Ms. Dimple Cheema told in her various interviews, how Batra once took out blade out of his pocket, cut into his thumb and filled her maang with the blood once, when she started to get insecure about his absence. She would even tease him about being a ‘filmy guy’ later.
After Captain Batra’s martydom, Ms. Cheema chose to stay unmarried and rather live with his rich memories. 21 years on, she teaches at a school and prefers to live as Batra’s widow, as she proudly says so.