Happy Singh

Biography

Sepoy Happy Singh hailed from Ramnagar village in the Bathinda district of Punjab. The son of Shri Devraj Singh and the late Smt Amarjeet Kaur, he was the youngest of three brothers and a sister. He came from a family with a tradition of military service; his elder brother Daljit Singh also served in the army and was posted at Leh during 2018. Drawn to a life of soldiering, Happy Singh joined the army in 2012 and was recruited into 14 Sikh LI of the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, a unit renowned for its gallant soldiers. After serving for a couple of years with his parent unit, Sepoy Happy Singh was deputed to the 19 Rashtriya Rifles battalion deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for counter-insurgency operations. During his tenure with the RR battalion he took part in a number of operations and steadily honed his field-craft skills. In September 2018 his unit was operating in the Anantnag district of South Kashmir and was engaged against militants on a regular basis. On 28 September 2018, the unit received intelligence about the presence of hardcore militants in Qazigund village of the Doru area in Anantnag district. The assault team, including Sepoy Happy Singh, launched a search and cordon operation, and soon made contact with the militants, who opened fire on being challenged. A fierce gun battle ensued with a heavy exchange of fire from militants firing from vantage points. Sepoy Happy Singh and his comrades gave a befitting reply, but during the exchange he was hit by a bullet and critically wounded. He later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred at the age of 24, a valiant and dedicated soldier who laid down his life in the service of the nation.