Colonel Narendra (Toro) Kumar | Photo credit: Times Now
New Delhi: Colonel Narendra Bull Kumar, the man who secured the Siachen glacier for India, died Thursday at the Army Research and Referral (R&R) hospital in Delhi. Kumar was 87 years old and suffered from various age-related ailments.
Kumar, one of the first officers to land on the glacier as part of the mountaineering expedition, was instrumental in convincing India’s military and political leaders of the strategic importance of the Siachen Glacier.
Kumar’s observations during his multiple visits to the glacier as a mountaineer published in the Illustrated Weekly of India in 1983 were the first public acknowledgment of the developing situation along the icy heights of Siachen.
Based on its maps and videos, the Indian Army launched Operation Meghdoot in 1984, which secured the glacier and prevented blatant aggression from Pakistan.
In 1965, Kumar received Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award. The Army honored him with the distinction of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) in all three services, an honor at the rank of colonel. He was also decorated with Kirti Chakra and the Ati Vishisht Seva medal. The headquarters of the Siachen battalion at the glacier base camp has been named “Kumar base” in his honor.
An official statement from the family and the Army is expected.
Unfortunately, Kumar lost his son Akshay Kumar, CEO of the Mercury Himalayan Expedition in September of this year. Akshay, 50, died of cardiac arrest after returning from his morning cycling workout.
