Ladakh ki barfili sarhad par ek chhota sa post tha — "Post 17". Wahan sirf 5 jawan tainaat the. Unmein se ek tha Arjun Rathore, ek simple gaon ka ladka, jiska sapna tha desh ki raksha karna.
Arjun har raat apni maa ko yaad karta tha, lekin kabhi kamzor nahi padta tha. Uska ek dialogue famous tha:
"Jab tak saans hai, tab tak tiranga yahan jhukne nahi dunga."
Ek raat achanak enemy infiltration ki khabar aayi. Snowstorm chal raha tha, visibility zero. Communication system bhi fail ho gaya. Command se koi contact nahi tha, matlab decision khud lena tha.
Arjun ne apni team se kaha:
"Yeh post sirf zameen nahi hai… yeh humara vishwas hai."
5 jawan vs 20 trained infiltrators. Ladai shuru hui — thand, andhera aur goliyon ki awaaz. Ek-ek karke Arjun ke saathi girte gaye, lekin kisi ne piche mudkar nahi dekha.
Aakhri mein sirf Arjun bacha. Woh goli lagne ke baad bhi khada raha aur last grenade lekar enemy ke beech daud pada. Explosion ke baad sab khatam ho gaya.
Subah Indian Army reinforcement aayi. Post 17 safe tha.