[3][4] Besides his academic endeavours, Batra also dabbled in a variety of sports at his school, which he represented at the national level during the Youth Parliamentary competitions in Delhi.

[8] After completing his Class XII board examinations in 1992 from Central School, he attended DAV College, Chandigarh in B.Sc Medical Sciences.

[10][11] He was selected and underwent a 40-day paratrooping training with his NCC Air Wing unit at Pinjore Airfield and Flying Club, about 35 kilometres away from Chandigarh.

[11] Subsequently, in 1994, he was selected and took part in the Republic Day parade as an NCC cadet, and when he came back home, he told his parents that he wanted to join the Army.

[7] In 1995, while still in college, he was selected for the merchant navy at a shipping company headquartered in Hong Kong, but ultimately he changed his mind, aspiring to do "something great, something extraordinary, which may bring fame to my country.

[15] Following completion of his bachelor's degree in 1995, he enrolled at Panjab University in Chandigarh, where he took admission in MA English course, so that he could prepare for the Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination.

[9][10][16] He attended evening classes at the university and worked part-time in the morning as a branch manager of a travelling agency in Chandigarh.

[17] After completing a year (session 1995–96) towards the degree of MA in English, he left the university to join the Indian Military Academy.

[21] On completion of this training he got his first posting at Sopore in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, an area with significant militant activity.

[33][34][35] 18 Grenadiers made four attempts to capture Tololing,[36][37] but could only succeed in securing the lower slopes,[38][39] while suffering heavy casualties.

[55] He and his men ascended the sheer rock-cliff, but as the group neared the top, the enemy pinned them on the face of the bare cliff with machine gun fire.

[24] On 26 June, shortly after the capture of Point 5140, 13 JAK Rif was ordered to move from Dras to Ghumri to rest, refit, and recoup.

[62][63] Both the assault companies were leading the offensive from the right flank but the attack was also halted by very effective sniper fire and small arms from Pakistani soldiers hiding behind rocks.

[61] At 0430 hours, the two companies deployed their automatic weapons and began to fire at the well-fortified enemy positions at the top of the feature.

[59][65] The Indian victory would not have been complete without the capture of 'Area Flat Top',[66] an adjacent peak and part of enemy defences on Point 4875.

[67] The 13 JAK Rifles had captured Flat top feature of Point 4875 on the afternoon of 5 July after a fierce battle with Pakistani forces.

[71] That same day, the enemy launched a second counterattack on Flat Top and although the Indian troops succeeded in beating back this, too, they urgently needed reinforcements.

[72] Having heard a wireless message from the base that Sher Shah (Batra's code name) was coming, a cheer went up among the Indian soldiers on top.

[70][73] En route to the top, Batra spotted a Pakistani machine gun position firing at the trapped Indian soldiers.

[75] Batra, accompanied by Subedar Raghunath Singh and Major Bhat, his artillery observation officer, took out a patrol to recce a route to re-inforce Naveen from a flank.

He sustained grievous injuries in the process, yet he continued his charge, with supporting fire from the rest of the patrol, and upon reaching the very narrow entrance of the sangar and taking the enemy by complete surprise, he killed 5 Pakistani soldiers in a close-quarter battle.

Captain Batra with his company skirted around the feature from the East and maintaining surprise reached within assaulting distance of the enemy.

On 7 July 1999, in another operation in the area Pt 4875, his company was tasked to clear a narrow feature with sharp cuttings on either side and heavily fortified enemy defences that covered the only approach to it.

Captain Vikram Batra, thus, displayed the most conspicuous personal bravery and leadership of the highest order in the face of the enemy and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.Vikram Batra is also well known in India for using the slogan; "Yeh Dil Maange More"[94] He is also known for an interview in which he stated that Pakistani soldiers were aware of him.

[96] Balidan Stambh, the war memorial in Jammu and Kashmir (union territory) in 2009 paid tribute to him by inscribing his name on the pillars alongside the martyrs of the 13 JAK Rifles.

His name is also displayed near the eternal flame, accompanied by a relief on the outside background wall with the Param Vir Chakra awardees who attained martyrdom in J&K.

[97] A memorial for war veterans including Batra stands at his alma mater DAV College, Chandigarh honouring the services of the soldiers.

[104][105][106] The Indian Army paid tribute to Captain Vikram Batra on the 21st anniversary of his death in a video posted on its social media account.

[108][109] A bust of Param Vir Chakra (PVC) Captain Vikram Batra was unveiled at Palampur military station on the eve of R.D '22[110] URF World Records (Universal Records Forum) certified the largest underwater portrait of Batra on the eve of Kargil Vijay Diwas 26 July 2022 at swimming pool Pangode Military Station, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

[111] On the occasion of Parakram Diwas, Indian Government announced that its naming 21 largest unnamed islands of Andaman and Nicobar after the 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees.