Jemedar Nand Singh

Jemedar Nand Singh was born in 1915, in Bhatindia, Punjab. He was enrolled in the 1 Sikh Regiment on 24 March 1933.

During the Jammu & Kashmir operations in the winter of 1947, some 4000 - 6000 raiders had entered the Uri sector. They had also settled on the high hills overlooking Uri from the southeast in good strength. From these positions, the raiders sniped at the Uri garrison and also posed a threat to roads leading from Uri to Srinagar and Punch. The Army decided to dislodge the m from these hills

At 0700 hrs on December 12th, the 1 Sikh marched out from Uri to remove this threat. They quickly overcame the opposition on the way and reached the main enemy position at noon. At about 1430 hrs, they bumped upon a strong enemy force a nd a fierce hand-to-hand fight ensued. In this encounter, the 'B' and 'D' Companies suffered heavily and were ordered to withdraw

But the enemy did not allow the Sikhs a smooth withdrawal. From well dug in positions, they directed fire on them. B Company was badly trapped in the shelling and lost ten men in no time. Fifteen men lay wounded within ten metres of the enemy position. The company a counter-attack on the enemy bunkers but these resulted in more casualties

D Company was then ordered to attack the enemy from the left flank. At this juncture, Jemedar Nand Singh was commanding a forward platoon of D Company. He led his platoon into attack like a band of Trojans. The intense enemy fire, however, brought down many Sikhs

But he pressed on despite a n injured leg. His men shouting cries of Sat Sri Akal closed in on the enemy. Then ensued fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Jemedar Nand Singh, was the first to draw blood with his bayonet. He killed five enemy soldiers.

His men were now inspired to frenzy an d acting like fiends, they bayoneted the enemy right and left. The enemy broke and fled, but not many could make it to their homes. Jemedar Nand Singh captured the objective and kept the promise made to his Commanding Officer. But as he stood on top of th e bunker, a burst of light machine gun fire hit him in the chest killing him on the spot.

In the words of the Battalion Commander, "The valour, leadership and selfless devotion to duty displayed by this son of India in this little action was something that cannot be described, much less matched."

This extraordinary performance won him Maha Vir Chakra, posthumously. He was one of the few Indian soldiers to have the combination of MVC and the Victoria Cross. The Victoria Cross is Britain's highest medal for valour and he won it during World War II for conspicuous gallantry on the Burma front.

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