Published: April 17, 2020 7:29:43 pm
The late Colonel Navjot Singh Bal, SC.
— Mandeep Singh Bajwa
It takes a singular breed of men to make it to the Special Forces. They tend to be extremely stress-resistant, competitive to a high degree, self-reliant, self-evaluative and stoic in the face of tremendous difficulties and adversities. Colonel Navjot Singh Bal had all these qualities in ample measure and many more besides.
After passing out from Army Public School, Delhi, he joined the National Defence Academy in 1998, and was commissioned into 2 Para (Special Forces) in 2002. In an operation in the higher reaches of Kupwara's Lolab Valley, Bal closed in on two terrorists along with his team-mate and killed them at close range. He was awarded the Shaurya Chakra. Bal also served with the United Nations mission in Congo.
Bal took over command of 2 Para at Bangalore in March 2018. Before that he was General Staff Officer Grade 1 in the operations branch of Headquarters Northern Command. In that capacity he took part in the planning of the cross-LOC surgical strikes. Extremely fitness conscious he experienced pain in his right arm which was diagnosed as a rare form of cancer.
The doctors carried out amputation of his right arm to check the spread. Undeterred he…
