Naib Subedar Bana Singh of 8 JAK LI led the capture of Quaid Post on the Siachen Glacier in June 1987; it was later renamed Bana Top.
The ice wall at Quaid Post
Quaid Post sat on an ice mass in the Siachen Glacier area. The citation gives its altitude as 21,000 feet, with ice walls 1,500 feet high on both sides; the Ministry of Defence profile puts the height at 21,153 feet. Earlier attempts to take it had cost 8 JAK LI lives.
In June 1987, Naib Subedar Bana Singh volunteered for the task force formed to clear the post, and four others joined him. While the rest of the battalion held the defenders' attention, the group climbed the ice wall. Extreme cold caused the support group's weapons to malfunction.
Heavy snowfall cut visibility and let them get close. On the way up they passed the frozen bodies of comrades killed in the earlier attempts.
From trench to trench
Just short of the objective he split the group again. They crawled in and went from trench to trench with grenades and bayonets. The profile records seven enemy soldiers killed and the remainder fleeing. The citation says he cleared the post of all intruders.
Bana Singh came from Kadyal village in Jammu, the eldest of five brothers and three sisters in a farming family. The award took effect from 23 June 1987. Quaid Post was later renamed Bana Top.
The citation
JC-155825 NAIB SUBEDAR BANA SINGH, JAMMU AND KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTRY. (Effective date of the award : 23rd June, 1987)
[Naib Subedar Bana] Singh volunteered to be a member of a task force constitut[ed in] June last year to clear an intrusion by an adversary in the Siachen Glacier area at an altitude of 21,000 feet. The post was virtually an impregnable glacier fortress with ice walls, 1500 feet high, on both sides. Naib Subedar Bana Singh led his men through an extremely difficult and hazardous route. He inspired them by his indomitable courage and leadership. The brave Naib Subedar and his men crawled and closed in on the adversary. Moving from trench to trench, lobbing hand grenades charging with a bayonet, he cleared the post of all intruders.
Naib Subedar Bana Singh displayed the most conspicuous gallantry and leadership under the most adverse conditions.
Source: Ministry of Defence gallantry awards record. Reproduced as printed, including any errors in the original.
Cover image: Shiv Aroor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bana_Singh_PVC_%28cropped%29.jpg