Jai Vardhan Bahuguna (1948 — 10 October 1985) was a leading mountaineer of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and a military personnel. He lost his life in an Indian Army expedition to Mount Everest in October 1985, in which four other army officers were also killed. This was his second attempt.

Early life

The third son of Mr. and Mrs. Surya Datt Bahuguna, Maj. Bahuguna was born in Dehradun (E.C Road) where he spend his childhood days and was educated at Allen Memorial School, Mussoorie. After getting commissioned into the Bengal Sappers (Later 1 Para) in the Indian Army, Maj. Bahuguna followed in his brother, Maj.

Harsh Vardhan Bahuguna Major Harsh Vardhan Bahuguna (1939 – April 18, 1971) was a leading mountaineer of India and a military officer. He was an instructor of skiing and mountaineering at the High Altitude Warfare School, Gulmarg and had successfully climbed ma ...

's footsteps to take up mountaineering. He was a member of several expeditions including Kanchenjunga. He was also selected for the Second Indian Antarctic Expedition which sailed from Goa in December 1982. Several engineering tasks were executed including construction of two shelters provided by CBRI Roorkee and layout of a runway. He was awarded the Sena Medal for his dedication and performance.

Attempt at Mount Everest

His first attempt at Mount Everest in 1984 was in an expedition that is better remembered for putting the first Indian woman, Bachendri Pal on the summit. It was decided that the other members of the expedition, i.e. Maj. Bahuguna, Maj. Kiran Inder Kumar, Magan Bissa and Dr. Minoo Meta would form the second summit party which would make summit only if resources permitted. The second summit party opted to give their reserve oxygen to Bachendri Pal, so that she could summit the peak. The 35 member Army expedition of October 1985, was Maj. Bahuguna's second attempt to scale the peak. The expedition ended on a tragic note with the death of five members. First, Maj. Kiran Kumar fell along the south east ridge route. He suffered head injuries and died on the spot. Four days later four other members – Maj. Jai Vardhan Bahuguna, Capt. Vijaya Pal Singh Negi, Maj. Ranjit Singh Bakshi and Lt. MUB Rao – died in one of the worst mountaineering tragedies. Maj. Bahuguna died shortly after the arrival of the rescue squad. He was 37 years old at the time of his death. Newspaper reports had then attributed the cause of death due to dehydration, injuries and exposure to cold after being stranded for four days. The freak Himalayan weather made rescue and salvage operations impossible. He was awarded the

Shaurya Chakra The Shaurya Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, sometimes posthumously ...

posthumously.

Tribute

Maj. Jai Vardhan Bahuguna died at

South Col The South Col is a sharp-edged col between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the highest and fourth-highest mountains in the world, respectively. The South Col is typically swept by high winds, leaving it free of significant snow accumulation. Since 1950 ...

, very close to the spot where his elder brother, Maj.

had died fourteen years before. As a tribute to both the brothers, the auditorium at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering has been named after them as 'Jai Harsh Bahuguna Auditorium'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahuguna, Jai 1948 births 1985 deaths Indian mountain climbers Mountaineering deaths on Mount Everest Sportspeople from Dehradun Indian military personnel Indian Army officers Military personnel from Uttarakhand Mountain climbers from Uttarakhand