Episode Details

Brigadier (Retd.) Surinder Singh, SM, VSM, commanded the 121 (Independent) Infantry Brigade—better known as the Kargil Brigade—during the 1999 Kargil War. He has long argued that he repeatedly warned higher headquarters about Pakistani intrusions and intelligence lapses, claims he says were later suppressed or ignored.During the conflict he was removed from command, and in the war’s aftermath he was dismissed from service—becoming the only Indian Army officer sacked without a general court-martial—over allegations related to handling classified documents, a decision he has contested for years.A decorated officer (Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal), Singh has continued to seek an official reappraisal of the Kargil record; in 2025 he petitioned India’s Supreme Court for a fresh probe and corrections to the war history.