Jemadar Jemadar or jamadar ( Hindustani: जमादार; جمعدار) is a title used for various military and other officials in the Indian subcontinent. Etymology The word stems from Urdu (), which derives through Persian ''jam'dar'' from Arab ...

Nand Singh, VC, MVC (24 September 1914 – 12 December 1947) was an Indian recipient of 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 ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces and he was posthumously awarded 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 ...

, the second-highest Indian decoration for battlefield gallantry. This makes Nand Singh unique in the annals of VC winners.

Military career

World War II

He was 29 years old, and an Acting Naik in the 1/

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 ...

, in the

Indian Army during World War II The Indian Army during World War II, a British force also referred to as the British Indian Army, began the war, in 1939, numbering just under 200,000 men.Sumner, p.25 By the end of the war, it had become the largest volunteer army in history, ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 11/12 March 1944 on the

Maungdaw Maungdaw (, ) is a town in Rakhine State, in the western part of Myanmar (Burma). It is the administrative seat of Maungdaw Township and Maungdaw District. Bordering Bangladesh, Maungdaw is home to one of 2 official border trade posts with Bang ...

Buthidaung Buthidaung (, ) is a town in Rakhine State, in the westernmost part of Myanmar (Burma). It is the administrative seat of the Buthidaung Township. Buthidaung lies on the west bank of the Mayu river, and experienced severe flooding in June 2010 and ...

Road, Burma (now Myanmar), Naik Nand Singh, commanding a leading section of the attack, was ordered to recapture a position gained by the enemy. He led his section up a very steep knife-edged ridge under very heavy machine-gun and rifle fire and although wounded in the thigh, captured the first trench. He then crawled forward alone and, wounded again in the face and shoulder, nevertheless captured the second and third trenches.

Indo-Pakistan War

He later achieved the rank of

in the post-independence

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 ...

, and his unit 1 Sikh was the first to be involved in the Jammu & Kashmir Operations or Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 which began in October 1947 as Indian troops went into action to repel a planned invasion of J&K by raiders from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. On 12 December 1947 Nand Singh led his platoon of D Coy in a desperate but successful attack to extricate his battalion from an ambush in the hills SE of

Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), off Malakula Island in V ...

in Kashmir. He was mortally injured by a close-quarters machine-gun burst, and posthumously awarded the

(MVC), the second-highest Indian decoration for battlefield gallantry. This makes Nand Singh unique in the annals of VC winners. The Pakistanis recognised Jemadar Nand Singh because of his VC ribbon. His body was taken

Muzaffarabad Muzaffarabad (; , IPA: ʊzəfːərɑːbɑːd is a city in Pakistani-administered Azad 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 ...

where it was tied spreadeagled on a truck and paraded through the city with a loudspeaker proclaiming that this would be the fate of every Indian VC. The soldier's body was later thrown into a garbage dump, and was never recovered.

Citations

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross citation reads as follows:

Maha Vir Chakra

The citation for the

reads as follows:

Legacy

Nand Singh belonged to Village Bahadurpur now in

Mansa district, Punjab Mansa district is a district in the state of Punjab, India. The district headquarters is Mansa city. Mansa district was formed on 13 April 1992 from the erst while district of Bathinda. The district has three tehsils: Mansa, Budhlada and Sar ...

. The nearest town to his village is

Bareta Bareta is a city and municipal council in the Mansa district in Southern Punjab, India. It is a small town that lies on the Famous people include Nand Singh, a soldier in WW2 History Bareta is a small town in the southern part of the India ...

, where a local bus stand is named as Shaheed Nand Singh Viktoria Bus Stand. A statue in

Bathinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda district. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth ...

(locally known as Fauji Chowk) stands as a memorial.

References

* ''History of Operations in Jammu & Kashmir 1947-48'' by Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India, New Delhi 1987

External links

VC online biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Nand 1914 births 1947 deaths Indian World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross British Indian Army soldiers Indian military personnel killed in action Recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra Indian Army officers People of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948 People from Mansa district, India