Lieutenant Colonel Dewan Ranjit Rai, MVC (1913–1947) was an

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

officer who played a key role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. As the

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the 1st battalion, The Sikh Regiment (1 Sikh), he was the first recipient of the

Maha Vir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...

, which was awarded posthumously. 1 Sikh was the first unit to be inducted into the war, when it was airlifted from

Gurgaon Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest ...

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

on 27 October 1947. This day is celebrated as the ''Infantry Day'' by the

. Under the command of Rai, the battalion played a key role in saving the valley of Kashmir from the invaders.

Early life

Rai was born in

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

in a

Punjabi Khatri Khatri () is a caste originating from the Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are warriors who took to trade. In the Indian ...

family on 6 February 1913.July 1939 Indian Army List He studied at the Bishop Cotton School,

Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

. He attended the first course at the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

. Later, he was among the first Indian officers to be posted to Command and Staff College, Quetta as an instructor.

Military career

Rai was commissioned on 1 February 1935 with the officer service number IC-12. On commissioning, he was attached for a year to a British Army regiment, the

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II and Korea ...

stationed in India. He was appointed to the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

and posted to the 5th battalion,

11th Sikh Regiment The 11th Sikh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1922, when after World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.S ...

on 24 February 1936. He was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 4 May 1936 He was promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 4 February 1942 and by April 1944, he was serving as a temporary

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on the Recruiting Staff. He was selected for posting as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

at Washington, D.C. just before the break out of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, but this assignment was changed when he was selected for this mission to Kashmir. He was commanding the 1st battalion of the

Sikh Regiment The Sikh Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It is the most highly decorated regiment of the Indian Army and in 1979, the 1st battalion was the Commonwealth's most decorated battalion, with 245 pre-independence and 82 post-i ...

, making arrangements for refugees, when Pakistan invaded

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

. Two companies of his troops were airlifted in 30

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...

aircraft, one of which was flown by

Biju Patnaik Bijayananda Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) was an Indian politician and aviator. He served as the 3rd Chief Minister of the State of Odisha from 1961 to 1963 and from 1990 to 1995. He was also the 14th Steel and mines and 1st Coal Uni ...

(later

Chief Minister of Odisha The chief minister of Odisha, an Indian state, is the head of the Government of Odisha. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Follow ...

), to

. The Operation's Order was handed over to him by then

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

S K Sinha, who retired as a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

and was later

Governor of Jammu and Kashmir The governor of Jammu and Kashmir was the head of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. When India became independent, Hari Singh was the Maharaja of the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir. Technically he remained so until 17 November 195 ...

. Rai led his troops to defend the

Baramulla Baramulla (), also known as Varmul () in Kashmiri, is a city and municipality of the Baramulla district of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various r ...

highway near

Pattan Pattan, is a sub-district town and a municipal community in Baramulla district within the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Location Pattan is surrounded by Breng Block towards North, Kunzer block towards the south, Narbal bloc ...

against the numerically superior Pakistani tribal irregulars who were moving towards Srinagar after looting, raping and burning people of all religions in Baramulla. He successfully protected the Srinagar airfield, paving the way for more Indian troops to land who expelled the Pakistani tribal irregulars. He died on 27 October 1947 leading his men and defending Pattan. He was the first officer of the Indian Army after independence to fight a battle on 27 October 1947.

Maha Vir Chakra

Rai was honoured with a

. He was the first recipient of the award. The citation for the

reads as follows:

References

External links

Man who saved Kashmir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranjit Rai, Dewan 1947 deaths People of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948 People from Gujranwala Military personnel from Punjab, India Indian Army personnel of World War II British Indian Army officers Recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra Indian military personnel killed in action 1913 births Bishop Cotton School Shimla alumni People from Punjab Province (British India)

Early life

Military career

Maha Vir Chakra

See also

References

External links