Narender Singh

Biography

Sepoy Narender Singh Jakhar hailed from Mehuwala village in Bhattu Kalan Tehsil of Fatehabad district, Haryana. Born on 17 September 1978, he was a third-generation soldier, following his father and grandfather into the Army. He completed his schooling in Tekanpur Cantonment near Gwalior and later in Fatehabad, and was fond of sports, playing both volleyball and cricket. In 1996, at the age of 18, he joined the Army and was enrolled into the 8 Jat Battalion of the Jat Regiment, a distinguished infantry regiment with a long history of battle honours. During the 1999 Kargil conflict, his battalion was deployed along the Line of Control under the 28 Infantry Division as part of Operation Vijay. Narender Singh was part of a team tasked to dominate a 17,000-foot feature close to the LoC over extremely rugged terrain. On 8 July 1999, his team began scaling a steep cliff using mountaineering equipment, but was detected by the enemy, who unleashed heavy machine gun, mortar and artillery fire. Undeterred, the platoon pressed on and, after a fierce battle, captured the post. That same night the enemy counterattacked under cover of darkness and fog, launching an intense artillery bombardment. A shell landed near Narender Singh, severely wounding him, and he soon succumbed to his injuries, making the supreme sacrifice before he could turn 21.