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 ...

Raja Muhammad Sarwar (; 10 November 1910 – 27 July 1948) , better known as Muhammad Sarwar Bhatti, was a Pakistani military officer who was cited as the first recipient of Pakistan's highest military award,

Nishan-e-Haider Nishan-e-Haider (NH; or 'Emblem of the Lion') is the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan. The Nishan-e-Haider is awarded only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognises the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the f ...

, for his gallantry and actions of valor during the First Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–48.Captain Sarwar Shaheed, Pakistan's first ever Nishan-e-Haider award recipient remembered
Pakistan Today (newspaper), Published 27 July 2016, Retrieved 4 November 2018 Unfortunately, the Pakistani Armed Forces brought dishonour and disrepute to the brave soldiers who are the recipients of this award by initially refusing to accept the dead body of

Karnal Sher Khan Karnal Sher Khan NH (1 January 1970 – 5 July 1999) was a Pakistani military officer and the tenth recipient of Pakistan's highest military gallantry award, Nishan-e-Haider. He was a captain in the 27th Sindh Regiment of the Pakistan Army and l ...

, one of the last recipients of the Nishan-e-Haider

Biography

Raja Muhammad Sarwar was born to a

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Bhatti Bhatti is a Punjabis, Punjabi and Sindhis, Sindhi caste of Rajputs. They are linked to the Bhatia caste, Bhatias and Bhutto (clan), Bhuttos, all of whom claim to originate from the Hindus, Hindu Bhati Rajputs. They claim descent from the Lun ...

family in a small village, Singhori, that was located in the vicinity of the

Gujar Khan Tehsil Gujar Khan Tehsil (; ), headquartered at Gujar Khan, is one of the Tehsils (sub-divisions) of Rawalpindi District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is administratively subdivided into 36 Union Councils and according to the 1998 census has ...

Rawalpindi District Rawalpindi District (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ) is a Districts of Pakistan, district located in the northernmost part of the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province of Pakistan. Parts of the district form part of the Islamabad Rawalpindi metropo ...

Punjab, British India The Punjab Province, officially the Province of the Punjab, was a province of British India, with its capital in Lahore and summer capitals in Murree and Simla. At its greatest extent, it stretched from the Khyber Pass to Delhi; and from the ...

British Indian Empire The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

on 10 November 1910. He was a

military brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...

whose father, Raja Muhammad Hayat Khan, was an enlist 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 ...

, retiring at the rank of ''

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 ...

''. He was educated in government-run schools in

and secured his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

from a local school in

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

in 1928. After graduation, he followed his father,

Muhammad Hyatt, path and enlisted in the

in 1929 as a

Sepoy ''Sepoy'' () is a term related to ''sipahi'', denoting professional Indian infantrymen, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire and the Maratha. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its Euro ...

, where he was posted with the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Baloch Regiment (2/10th Baloch Regiment) of the

Baloch Regiment The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab Regiment, 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the 10th Baluch Regiment, Baluch Regiment. Since then, fur ...

(present 7th Battalion The Baloch Regiment (Steadfast Battalion)). From 1929 until 1939, he worked hard towards reaching one of the highest enlisted ranks and was eventually promoted to

Naib Subedar Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kings of Saxony to the Ge ...

and posted in supply and ammunition with the Pakistan Army Service Corps in 1939. In 1939, Sarwar was invited to attend 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 ...

and completed his

military training Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...

before gaining a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

in the 2nd Battalion of the

1st Punjab Regiment The 1st Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, i ...

(2/1st Punjab Regiment) of the

in 1943. In 1944, 2nd-Lt. Sarwar briefly served in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

with distinction during military operations there that earned him the

Burma Star The Burma Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Burma Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War. One clasp, Pacific, was i ...

from the British administrations in Delhi in India. In 1944, 2nd-Lt. Sarwar was posted to an administrative position in the Punjab Regiment — he was promoted to

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 ...

in 1945–46. In the British Indian Army personnel accounts, Sarwar was known to be "a serious man with no nonsense and deeply religious who would practice his religion, Islam, devotedly and offered Muslim prayers, five prayers everyday ... "

Indo-Pakistani war of 1947-1948

In 1946–47, Lt. Sarwar was promoted to Captain (army), army captain and decided to attend the signal course before he was recommissioned in the Pakistan Army Corps of Signals in 1947, and directed towards attending the Military College of Signals. After hearing the news of the First Kashmir War between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir (princely state), Jammu and Kashmir, Sarwar immediately wanted to volunteer. He refrained due to his officers wanting him to complete his studies in military signals, which he completed after a year. In 1948, Captain Sarwar took command of the 2nd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment (Pakistan), Punjab Regiment of the Pakistan Army and was deployed on the frontline. A march towards Uri (India), Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir (princely state), Jammu and Kashmir was commenced under Sarwar, and he led an attack on the organized Indian Army's troops, forcing them to retreat from Gilgit-Baltistan to Ladakh, India, Ladakh on 26 July 1948. Sarwar's company followed the Indian Army's troops to the Uri (India), Uri region where his unit faced off the strongly fortified enemy position located in that sector. His company was only 50 yards away from the fortified enemy position as the Indian Army's soldiers begin Mortar (weapon), mortar shelling his positions, and received instructions on leading the attack on the left side of the bunker where the shelling was taking place. Moving towards the new position, his passage was blocked due to barbed wire and he decided to advance to cut the wire, taking six men with him. During the firefight, Sarwar used a bolt cutter to cut the wire, and took a bullet from machine gun fire. On 27 July 1948, Captain Sarwar was killed while clearing the passage. He was 38 years old at the time.

Family background and personal life

Muhammad Sarwar's father, Raja Muhammad Hayat Khan, had served in the

and was decorated with the British war medal for Indian Army in World War I, his services in World War I. Muhammad Hayat retired as a ''

'' Sergeant (United States), Sergeant and died on 23 November 1932. Muhammad Sarwar had three brothers and one sister. Muhammad Sarwar married in an arranged marriage in 1936 and had a son and a daughter.

Nishan-e-Haider

The body of Sarwar is buried at the Hill of Tilpatra which is near the Uri (India), Uri in Indian Kashmir where he was buried on 27 July 1948. It was on 23 March 1956 when the Government of Pakistan recognized his services as the Parliament of Pakistan authorized to posthumously award the Nishan-E-Haider (Eng. lit. ''Emblem of the Lion'') for his meritorious services, which was awarded to him by the President of Pakistan.Captain Sarwar Shaheed remembered
The News International (newspaper), Published 11 December 2017, Retrieved 4 November 2018 The Presidential Nishan-e-Haider citation on his grave is written in Urdu; and it reads with translation as:

Citation

Battle of Pandu at Tripatra hill in Uri: In 1967, the Government of Pakistan established a marble tomb in his memory to offer remembrance of his military career highlights and martyrdom to Pakistani society. Additional funding was secured in 1990 by Imtiaz Warraich, the Member of Parliament, MP to expand the facility in Sarwars' memory.

In memory

In 1968, a paintings exhibition was inaugurated in Lahore, Pakistan depicting Pakistani war heroes including the first sketched portrait of Muhammad Sarwar. In 1991, he was the subject of a biographical war telefilm, "''Captain Muhammad Sarwar Shaheed''" produced and directed by Qasim Jilali of the Pakistan Television Corporation. In addition, the federal government established a community college, the Sarwar Shaheed College, in his honour near his birthplace in the Gujar Khan.

Gallery

Awards and decorations

Foreign decorations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarwar, Muhammad 1910 births, S 1948 deaths, S People from Gujar Khan, S Indian Army personnel of World War II, S Indian Military Academy alumni, S Indian Sunni Muslims, S British Indian Army officers, S Pakistan Army officers, S Pakistan Military Academy alumni, S Pakistani electronics engineers, S Pakistani military engineers, S People of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948, S Pakistani military personnel killed in action, S Recipients of Nishan-e-Haider, S People from Punjab Province (British India)