Rajinder Singh Jamwal, MVC

Biography

Brigadier Rajinder Singh Jamwal was born on 14 June 1899 in Bagoona village (now renamed Rajinderpura) in Samba district. After graduating from Prince of Wales College in 1921, he was commissioned into the Jammu & Kashmir State Forces in June 1921. Rising through the ranks, he became Captain in 1925, Major in 1927, Colonel in 1935, and Brigadier in May 1942, taking over as Chief of Staff of the J&K State Forces on 24 September 1947. When thousands of Pakistani tribal raiders invaded Kashmir in October 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh ordered him to defend the state "to the last man and the last round." With only about 150 men armed with obsolete weapons, he blew up bridges at Uri and conducted a fierce delaying defence through Uri, Mahura and Rampur, inflicting heavy losses and buying crucial time for the Indian Army. Severely wounded in the right leg by machine-gun fire near Buniyar on 27 October 1947, he ordered his men to leave him with his revolver so he could hold off the enemy while they withdrew. Known as the 'Saviour of Kashmir,' he became independent India's first recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra, awarded posthumously.