Mahander Singh Chaudhary, MVC

Biography

Major Mahander Singh Chaudhary was born on 7 May 1930 in Dubaldhan Majra village in the Rohtak division of Jhajjar district, Haryana, to Chaudhary Partap Singh, a PCS officer, and Smt Sahib Kaur. After losing his father at the age of seven, he was raised by his maternal uncle, Major Ameer Singh, who shaped his early values and inspired him toward a life of service. He completed his higher education at Punjab University and joined the Indian Army in 1956, earning his commission into the 9 Punjab Battalion of The Punjab Regiment. He married Smt Shankutla in 1959. During the 1962 Indo-China War, in the early hours of 21 October 1962, Major Chaudhary was commanding a forward post manned by two platoons at Sinjang, north of the log bridge in the NEFA Sector. When the Chinese launched a determined assault in overwhelming numbers, he led his men with extraordinary courage and held the position for more than nine hours despite limited ammunition and mounting casualties. Although wounded early in the engagement, he refused evacuation and continued to direct the defence, personally engaging the enemy until his last breath. Under his inspiring leadership, his post inflicted approximately one hundred casualties on the attackers and significantly disrupted their advance. For his conspicuous gallantry, indomitable spirit, and supreme sacrifice in the face of the enemy, Major Mahander Singh Chaudhary was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, the nation's second-highest gallantry award.