Major Hoshiyar Singh - Conspicuous Gallantry, Indomitable Fighting Spirit And Leadership
   12-Sep-2018

 
Hoshiyar singh was born on 5 may 1936 in Sisana village of the Sonepat district of Haryana. He was born to Chaudhary Hira Singh Dahiya and Smt. Mathuri devi. His early life was spent in the village where he went to the local school and later to the Jat Higher Secondary School. He was a good student and secured a first division in his matriculation exam. He was a very keen learner and was a sports enthusiast and hence being excellent in sports too. He was an outstanding sportsperson and was selected to represent the Punjab team in the national level volleyball championships. He was later selected as the captain of the Punjab state team and later went on to represent the national team.
 
He was a very good example of a person who leads from the front and as a result of his leadership abilities and his aggression, major Hoshiyar Singh was spotted by one of the senior officials of the Jat regimental centre and who persuaded him to join the Jat regiment in the indian army. He was enrolled in the 2 Jat regiment in 1957 and later on commissioned into the 3 grenadiers. His parent regiment where he got the highest war time gallantary award and was also mentioned in despatches.
 
It was not that he fought only one war and but was noticed because of his courage and fierce attitude behind the enemy lines when he was leading his patrolling team in the 1965 Indo-Pak war and hence when in the Bikaner sector he was given the task of patrolling and collecting the information about the enemy and he aggressively did that and bought back valuable information which was instrumental in defeating the enemy and sabotaging the plans of the enemy advancement. He was noticed because of his drive, courage and determination in operations and was mentioned in despatches at that time in the 1965 conflict for his initiative and the highest form of bravery between the enemies.
 
He was born to lead and he had the hunger to strive hard to do his best in order to overcome all odds in his life. He loved challenges at every time and his stint was not just limited to war but also in peace time he delivered the tasks at hand with utmost grace and perfection. He lead his men from the front and his desire to excel and personal charisma and his ability to succeed inspired his men to finish off every task given to them in the highest traditions of the indian army and no sacrifice was too great for him and his men. During his tenure as the deputy commander at the indian military academy in Dehradun his company remained the overall champions for six consecutive terms- a record which is unbroken till date and is unlikely to be broken in the future.
He life is an example of triumph of the will and spirit over all obstacles.
 
WHEN IN ACTION 
During the 1971 Indo-Pak war, the 3rd Battalion of the Grenadiers Regiment spearheaded the advance of 54 Inf. Div. in Shakargarh sector on the western front. On December 15th, it was assigned the task of establishing a bridgehead across the Basantar river. The river was covered with deep minefields on both sides and protected by well-fortified defence by the enemy. Major Singh, Commander of 'C' Company, launched an attack across the enemy minefield on Jarpal from the left. It was a well-fortified position held in good strength by the enemy. While attacking the enemy the company came under intense shelling and crossfire from enemy medium machine guns and suffered heavy casualties. Despite losing some men and caught in a dilemma in the middle of the battlefield the 3 Grenadiers continued the assault doggedly and captured their objective. Because of the location of the enemy and its fortified defences the technique of a full battalion attack was not working and the bunkers had to be cleared on a hand-to-hand fighting. The determination of the men lead by major singh was firm and hence the battalion did the job and making the enemy pay for their mistake and the enemy lost the position. The enemy's reaction to the loss of Jarpal was violent.
 
They put in sharp counter attacks, two of them supported by Armour, to dislodge and take the revenge of their humiliation of the last night from the 4 Grenadiers on December 16th. Major Singh, knew that it was the testing of his men mentally and physically and they had to be unmindful of the enemy shelling and tank fire, in order to not let lose the land and the position to the enemy. He went from trench to trench, encouraging his men to remain steadfast and fight. Inspired by his courage and leadership, his company repulsed all attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. On December 17th, the enemy mounted yet another attack in battalion strength with heavy artillery in support. An enemy artillery hit major singh and he was seriously wounded. But highly motivated and dedicated to capture and beat the enemy Major Singh again went alone from trench to trench, moving in the open. On one occasion an enemy shell landed near his medium machine gun post, injuring the crew and rendering the gun inoperative. Major Singh, realising the importance of fire support at this juncture, rushed to the machine gun pit and operated the gun inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.
 
This was clear that the personal safety came way behind for major singh when it came to fighting for his motherland. The enemy attack was repulsed, and they beat a hasty retreat leaving behind 85 dead, including their Commanding Officer - Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Akram Raja and three other officers. Throughout this operation, Major Singh displayed the most conspicuous gallantry in the face of the enemy, grim determination and indomitable spirit. His dogged resistance, complete disregard to his personal safety and cool courage so inspired his command that they performed outstanding acts of gallantry and defeated repeated enemy attempts to recapture the locality. The steadfastness and dauntless courage displayed by Major Hoshiar Singh were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Army, and his refusal to be evacuated despite his serious wounds was an act beyond the call of duty. Throughout this operation, Major Hoshiar Singh displayed most conspicuous gallantry, indomitable fighting spirit and leadership in the highest traditions of the Army.
He was honoured with the highest wartime gallantry medal, Param Vir Chakra