SEPOY AMARDEEP SINGH, 24
16 Grenadiers
Man of His Word
Mission: He and a colleague were part of an ambushed patrol. They were killed trying desperately to reach the dead.

The same resolve was on abundant display atop the icy ridges of Kargil on May 8. Hand-picked to be a part of the first patrol sent in to detect and repulse the intrusions because of his sharp-shooting skills, Amardeep and another colleague -- also shortlisted for an award -- Havaldar Jai Parkash, faced enemy bullets at a height of 14,000 ft for four hours. When his JCO asked an injured Amardeep to evacuate his position, he refused to leave. He held fort alongside Jai Parkash while the rest of the patrol retreated. With six men lost and all communication with base cut off, their first job was to evacuate the dead. Crawling on their stomach to avoid relentless enemy fire, the two provided covering fire to each other to reach their dead colleagues. But with multiple gunshot wounds in the chest and abdomen, the two met the same fate as the colleagues they were trying to evacuate.

Amardeep loved to arrive home unannounced. The surprise on the faces of his family members filled him with glee. But on May 13 there were no surprises. "This time he gave us a shock," says Prem Singh, his grieving father. Amardeep returned home in a coffin, his body wrapped in the tricolour. Prem Singh is still trying to come to terms with the death of his son.

In the not-so-prosperous Bandh village, in the interiors of Haryana's Panipat district, Amardeep has overnight become a role model for youngsters, with village boys wanting to become heroes like him. Bandh has a tradition of sending men to the armed forces, with two dozen men in a population of 4,000 in the military.

A teetotaller and a man of his word, Amardeep would regularly send home his savings. Sitting disconsolate in the dusty courtyard of his ramshackle two-room house, Prem Singh says, "He had promised to get the house plastered." That's one promise Amardeep won't be able to keep.

-Ramesh Vinayak

CAPTAIN HANEEF UDDIN, 24
11 Rajputana Rifles
Singer Soldier
Mission: Attacked by intruders and bombarded by artillery, he and his unit, equipped only with small arms, fought to the end.

It is difficult to miss the irony, in these lyrics of a song from an album cut by a remarkable singer-soldier, Captain Haneef Uddin. Haneef lived these lyrics -- written by his younger brother Sameer -- and even sang them to his troops. His impromptu "Jazz Band" spread his zest for life and music in the mountains, welcome relief for troops cut off from civilisation and television, fighting tedium and tension. "Whether up in the hills or down here with us, his music system remained his constant companion," says elder brother Nafees, 26, a physics teacher. Fun, cheer, song and courage. Those values, his family and colleagues say, describe the young captain who died fighting on a craggy mountainside in Turtuk, Kargil, on the same day that he was commissioned into the army two years ago. The strapping young man -- he was crowned Mr Shivaji in Delhi's Shivaji College -- was multifaceted, training in computers before joining the Indian Military Academy in 1996. He was commissioned into the army on June 7, 1997.

Cutting across the snowy peaks to push for the enemy-held heights, Haneef soldiered on despite artillery bombardment. Outgunned and outnumbered, he and his unit fought to the end. His body has not yet been recovered from the perilous ridges of Turtuk, which is still in enemy hands.

Haneef's father died when he was only seven years old. His mother, Hema Aziz, a classical singer, displays the stoicism of grieving families nationwide: "As a soldier Haneef served his country with pride and dedication. There cannot be a greater statement on his valour than his death which came fighting the enemy."

The memories flood into Hema Aziz's east Delhi apartment: of the times when Haneef would come humming back after a busy day at Kerala School, his alma mater; of the times when the brothers would grapple wildly like pit wrestlers and then calm down with music; of his last call home saying he would be back for his birthday in September after collaring the enemy. Memories -- they are all that remain.

-Sayantan Chakravarty

SEPOY JASWINDER SINGH, 23
8 Sikh Regiment
Last Adventure
Mission: Injured, he crawled on, firing buying time for his patrol till he was shot dead.

Numbed today in the dusty Punjab village of Munne, Kaur recalls his last words: "There is nothing to feel scared about. I have fought against such militants in Kashmir for three years."

The youngest of three sons of Joginder Singh, a blind farmer, Jaswinder left home at 17 when the family's three-acre land holding became too small to sustain it. "He was tough and the army provided him the adventure he was looking for," says elder brother Sita Ram.

Jaswinder's final adventure came on May 21. Part of an advance patrol to probe the strategic Tiger Hill, Jaswinder was shot in both thighs. He crawled along in the snow, firing until he was shot dead.

His family is stoic. "Someone has to die to stop the enemy," whispers his father. "This is the only consolation," says Kaur, "that our tragedy can bring fortune to our country."

-Ramesh Vinayak