Bhagat Singh, VrC

Biography

Major Bhagat Singh hailed from Batala tehsil of Gurdaspur district in Punjab and was born on 13 March 1941 to Shri Ishar Singh and Smt Harnam Kaur. He completed his schooling at Khalsa High School, Gurdaspur, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree from Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar. Selected for the Army, he trained at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 10 June 1962 at the age of 21. He joined 6 Guards of the Brigade of the Guards, an infantry regiment renowned for its gallant soldiers and battle honours. By 1965 he had risen to the rank of Major. During September 1965, his unit was deployed in Jammu and Kashmir as the Indo-Pak War unfolded and the Indian Army launched Operation Riddle in response to the Pakistani offensive in the Chhamb sector. On the night of 14/15 September 1965, Major Bhagat Singh was tasked to lead a platoon patrol into enemy territory opposite Ringpain. After an arduous march over extremely difficult terrain, his patrol encountered two enemy posts. He cut the enemy's telephone communications, positioned one section to block reinforcements, and attacked the second post — held by a platoon with a medium machine gun — with two sections. Advancing to within ten to fifteen yards of the enemy bunkers, he came under fire and shot two of the three soldiers who emerged. He hurled grenades and moved freely around the position despite heavy machine gun fire, until he was mortally wounded during a half-hour exchange. As daylight brought heavy mortar and machine gun fire, he ordered the patrol to withdraw and told them he would follow. Too weak from blood loss to move, he was surrounded and died as he was being taken prisoner. Having inflicted heavy casualties and saved his patrol, Major Bhagat Singh was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra.