Know Lieutenant General Prem Nath Hoon's story of courage and commitment

India observes Siachen Day every year on April 13 The day is observed to commemorate the courage of Indian Army for conducting Operation Meghdootrsquo The day also honors the lsquoSiachen Warriorsrsquo who defended the country successfully in the coldest and highest battlefield of the worldThe Operation Meghdoot was launched to secure control of the entire Siachen Glacier in Jammu amp Kashmir It was led by Lieutenant General Prem Nath Hoon The move was approved by Prime Minister Indira GandhiThe first phase of the operation began in March 1984 with the march on foot to the eastern base of the glacier A full battalion of the Kumaon Regiment and units from the Ladakh Scouts marched with full battle packs through an icebound Zoji La pass for daysPlans for the occupation of Saltoro Ridge were vigorously developed by Lt Gen Hoon and it finally took place in April 1984 Since that time the Indian Army has had firm control over the hotly contested region between India and PakistanLt Gen Hoon had yet another runin with history when he oversaw the Western Army based at Chandimandir during Operation Brasstacks in 1986 and 1987 one of the largest military drills on the subcontinent This drill the largest deployment of Indian Army troops ever nearly started a war with Pakistan Together with Gen K Sundarji who was then the Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Hoon participated in Operation Brasstacks preparation and implementation as GOCinC of Western CommandIn his later years while giving interviews to mediapersons Lt Gen Hoon had maintained that Operation Brasstacks was an excuse to go to war with Pakistan He also wrote a book called lsquoThe Untold Truthrsquo in which he claimed that a coup drsquoetat had been planned by certain elements to topple the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhirsquos government in 1987Lt Gen Hoon was born on October 4 1929 in Abbottabad now in Pakistan He joined the Indian Military Academy Dehra Dun in 1947 and was initially commissioned in the Sikh Regiment in 1949 before being transferred to the Dogra Regiment a few years laterAlso readThane Cops go undercover to nab a chain snatcher in AmbivaliHe commanded the 13th Battalion of the Dogra Regiment and also served as the Colonel of the Regiment till he retired in 1987 as the Western Army CommanderLt Gen Hoon took part in the 1965 war against Pakistan on Western front in Punjab in the Sialkot and Pasrur sectors He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in 1970 and commanded a brigade in Sikkim deployed opposite Chinese forces at Nathu LaHe also served as Director General Military Operations at Army Headquarters and ChiefOfStaff Western Command Chandimandir before he took over as Western Army CommanderPostretirement Lt Gen Hoon was associated with Balasaheb Thackerayrsquos Shiv Sena and was the Director General of the Senarsquos exservicemen wing For the past several years he had been actively involved in the business of running an automobile agency