Shyam Bir Singh

Biography

Naik Shyam Bir Singh was born on 18 January 1968 in the village of Nagla Jayram in the tehsil and district of Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Driven by a strong sense of duty and patriotism from a young age, he joined the 17th Battalion of the Jat Regiment on 27 November 1984. Following rigorous training, he developed into a disciplined, skilled and dedicated soldier who embodied the courage and service for which the battalion is celebrated. In 1999, his battalion was deployed along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and was inducted into the Mushkoh Valley on 22 May as part of Operation Vijay during the Kargil War. Point 4875, a feature dominating the vital Mughalpur–Dras highway, had to be captured to seal enemy operations and hasten their withdrawal. On the night of 6 July, the Charlie Company of 17 Jat launched an assault on Pimple II, where the enemy held several fortified bunkers armed with automatic machine guns. Fighting with admirable courage, the troops cleared all four bunkers, but during the action Naik Shyam Bir Singh was struck by enemy fire. He succumbed to his injuries and was martyred on 9 July 1999 at the age of 31.