Page 314 - Leadership in the Indian Army

Bedori, Ledwali Gali and Hajipir pass was free of the enemy. On 1
September, Bakshi moved his tactical HQ to Hajipir pass.
The battle of Hajipir pass is a saga of courage, determined leadership and

valour. Its capture was an important victory for India, and a big blow for
Pakistan. The credit for the success went to Dayal, who had led his men
resolutely, and to Bakshi, who had not only conceived the bold plan, fraught
with risk, but had executed it brilliantly. Had the attack failed, there is little
doubt that he would have been held responsible, since he had gone ahead
with it without permission from the higher authorities. He had taken a grave
risk, but it had paid off. In battle, a commander must be prepared to take

risks, and Bakshi proved this quite conclusively. He was awarded the Maha
Vir Chakra (MVC), the country’s second highest gallantry award. Having
already won the Vir Chakra earlier, he became the only Indian to have won
both the awards. Major Ranjit Singh Dayal was also awarded the MVC for
his courage and gallantry in capturing the Hajipir pass. Incidentally the
Muslim porter who had guided Dayal to the pass continued to work for the

Indian Army for several decades as a mate (supervisor) in the Labour
Procurement Organisation, which provides porters and ponies to carry
stores for troops operating in difficult areas in Jammu and Kashmir.
After the capture of Hajipir pass, 68 Infantry Brigade expected to get
some time off, but this was not to be. On 2 September, the divisional
commander ordered Bakshi to capture Bisali (Point 11229), which was the
highest feature on the western side of the road joining Uri and Hajipir.

However, it had little tactical significance, and Bakshi requested that he be
permitted to press on to Kahuta. His request was denied and he was told to
capture Bisali first. 6 Dogra had relieved 1 Para at Hajipir pass on 3
September, and was now available for further operations. The CO of 4
Rajput, Lieutenant Colonel Sudershan Singh, requested that the task of
capturing Bisali be assigned to him, since the other two battalions, 1 Para

and 19 Punjab, had already had their share of glory during the Hajipir
battle. This was accepted by Bakshi, who also gave 4 Rajput two additional
companies from 6 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles. 1 Para was to be used in
phase two of the brigade attack.
4 Rajput launched the attack on Bisali at 2200 hours on 4 September, with
artillery support. At about 0330 hrs on 5 September, the Commanding
Officer reported that he had captured the objective and phase two could be

cancelled. The assaulting troops were exhausted, and having captured the