‘Yeh Dil Maange More’: Vikram Batra’s Twin Brother Revisits the Life and Legacy of the Kargil War Hero in New Book

The newly published memoir by Vishal Batra and Anupma Mehta offers an intimate account of Captain Vikram Batra’s life beyond the battlefield, tracing his childhood, family bonds, military journey and enduring legacy.

More than 27 years after the Kargil War, the story of Captain Vikram Batra, Param Vir Chakra, continues to occupy a special place in India’s collective memory. A newly released book, Yeh Dil Maange More: Remembering Captain Vikram Batra, My Brother, now tells that story from perhaps its most personal perspective — through the memories of his identical twin brother, Vishal Batra.

Written by Vishal Batra with author Anupma Mehta, the 200-page book was published by Penguin Random House India under its Penguin Veer imprint in July 2026. It combines biography, family memories and personal reflections to explore the person behind one of the most recognisable heroes of the 1999 Kargil War.

A brother remembers Captain Vikram Batra

Unlike a conventional military history centred primarily on operations and battlefield strategy, Yeh Dil Maange More begins much closer to home.

Vishal Batra recalls growing up alongside his twin brother in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, sharing childhood experiences, ambitions and an unusually close bond. The brothers were born just 14 minutes apart, according to Penguin Random House India.

The narrative follows Vikram Batra from those formative years towards his eventual career in the Indian Army, while attempting to show readers the personality behind the uniform — his determination, humour, relationships and commitment to the people around him.

From Palampur to the Kargil battlefield

Captain Vikram Batra served with the 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles during the 1999 Kargil War.

His role in the battle for Point 5140 became one of the defining episodes of the conflict. After the successful operation, his use of the phrase “Yeh Dil Maange More” became closely associated with both Batra and the determination of Indian soldiers fighting in the mountains.

Batra later participated in operations around Point 4875, where he was killed in action on July 7, 1999. He was 24.

For his courage during the conflict, Captain Vikram Batra was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest wartime gallantry award.

The publisher describes the book as a deeply personal account carrying memories that conventional histories of the Kargil conflict may not capture

The man behind the military legend

One of the book's distinguishing features is its attempt to separate, without diminishing, the national icon from the young man remembered by his family.

The memoir explores childhood in Palampur, family relationships, sports and the experiences that helped shape Batra before he entered the Army.

An excerpt published in August, for instance, recalls the brothers' involvement in sports and considers how those early experiences contributed to Vikram Batra's physical and mental resilience later in life.

That perspective gives the book a different purpose from a straightforward reconstruction of the Kargil War. It asks readers to understand how an ordinary childhood and family environment helped shape a soldier who would eventually become a national figure.

A story of courage, but also of loss

The book also deals with what followed Captain Batra's death — particularly the impact on the family and on the twin brother who had shared virtually every stage of his early life.

That makes Yeh Dil Maange More as much a story about brotherhood, memory and grief as it is about military courage.

Through personal anecdotes and recollections, Vishal Batra offers readers a view of how the family remembers Vikram more than two decades after Kargil, while examining why his values and story continue to resonate with younger generations.

Why ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’ still resonates

Captain Vikram Batra's story has been retold through Yeh Dil Maange More book, documentaries and popular culture, most notably through the 2021 film Shershaah. Yet a memoir written from inside his immediate family provides something fundamentally different: memories that existed before the soldier became a national hero.

It also arrives at a time when a generation born well after the Kargil War is encountering the conflict largely through films, digital archives and historical accounts.

By bringing together the experiences of Vikram the brother, Vikram the young man and Captain Batra the soldier, Yeh Dil Maange More adds a personal layer to India's continuing remembrance of the Kargil War.

Yeh Dil Maange More book details

Title: Yeh Dil Maange More: Remembering Captain Vikram Batra, My BrotherAuthors: Vishal Batra and Anupma MehtaPublisher: Penguin Random House IndiaImprint: Penguin VeerPublication: July 2026Length: 200 pagesGenre: Biography / Memoir / Military History