Narendra Kumar (mountaineer)
| Narendra Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Born |
8 December 1933 Rawalpindi, British India |
| Allegiance |
 India
|
| Service/branch |
 Indian Army
|
| Years of service | 1950–1984 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Awards | MacGregor Medal |
Colonel Narendra "Bull" Kumar (also spelled Narinder; born 8 December 1933) is an Indian soldier-mountaineer. He is known for the mountaineering reconnaissance expedition he undertook in Teram Kangri, Siachen Glacier and Saltoro Range for Indian Army in 1978 at the age of 45. If he had not undertaken this expedition, all of Siachen Glacier would be Pakistan's. That is an area covering almost 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi), but because of his expedition, India conquered all the entire area. Kumar crossed seven mountain ranges—Pir Panjal Range, Himalayas, Zanskar, Ladakh, Saltoro, Karakoram and Agil—to give India Siachen.
Narendra was born in Rawalpindi, British India in 1933. He has three more brothers who all joined Indian Army. His skirmishes with history began in 1947,when Narinder represented Punjab state at a scouts jamboree in Paris at the age of 13. The team of 50 scouts was returning by ship, when news of Independence broke over them like a tsunami. "All of us, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, decided to design a flag," he says. "We put the Union Jack in the Centre, India and Pakistan on either side." They wanted to sing a national song, but which one? So in just-broken voices, "we sang… tera sahara." One night, he thought a ship engine had failed. Next morning, he found all Muslims had been asked to disembark in Karachi. Narinder got off in alien Bombay and went to Shimla, where his parents had migrated after partition of India. Narendra's youngest brother Major K.I. Kumar ascended Mount Everest in 1985, but died after falling from 8,500 m.
Narendra Kumar entered the Indian Army in 1950. He took part in boxing, riding and cycle-polo during his years of training. He was commissioned in Kumaon Rifles in June 1954 and then became interested in winter sports and mountaineering. He earned "Bull" sobriquet at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, during the first boxing match he fought. His rival was a senior cadet, Sunith Francis Rodrigues, who went on to become the Chief of the Army Staff. Kumar lost the bout, but helped earning himself a nickname: "Bull." The nickname "Bull" comes from his tendency to charge relentlessly into whatever he does.
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