Havildar Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian and Pakistani armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry and armoured units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergea ...

Kabir Pun, IOM, was a Nepalese soldier in 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 ...

who received the

Indian Order of Merit The Indian Order of Merit (IOM) was a military and civilian decoration of British India. It was established in 1837, (General Order of the Governor-General of India, No. 94 of 1 May 1837) although following the Partition of India The pa ...

(1st class) for his gallantry at

Gyantse Gyantse, officially Gyangzê Town (also spelled Gyangtse; ; ), is a town located in Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in Tibet (after Lha ...

, during the Younghusband Expedition to Tibet (1903-4). Until 1911, the 1st class of the Indian Order of Merit (IOM), which had three classes, was the highest award available to native members of the British Indian Army. Pun was thus awarded the IOM (1st class) since he could not be awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

(VC), being a native personnel. Pun served in the

8th Gurkha Rifles The 8th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1824 as part of the British East India Company and later transferred to the British Indian Army after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The regiment served in World War I ...

, in a company commanded by Lieutenant John Duncan Grant during the Younghusband Expedition. On July 5, 1904, Grant and Pun led a company of 8th Gurkhas in an attack on the Gyantse fort, and were backed by a company of the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

. Despite being wounded from attacks by the Tibetans, Pun succeeded in opening an entrance into the Gyantse fortress alongside Lieutenant Grant, who was also wounded and received a VC for his actions in the same event. Pun and Grant's actions are described in Grant's VC citation. Their action features in a painting published in the book ''Fortress Monasteries of the Himalayas: Tibet, Ladakh, Nepal and Bhutan''.{{Cite book , last=Harrison , first=Peter , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Va3CwAAQBAJ&dq=Havildar+Pun+Gyantse&pg=PA23 , title=Fortress Monasteries of the Himalayas: Tibet, Ladakh, Nepal and Bhutan , date=2012 , publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing , isbn=978-1-84908-397-3 , pages=24 , language=en

References

Gurkhas Nepalese recipients of the Indian Order of Merit Recipients of the Indian Order of Merit British Indian Army officers

See also

References