Brigadier
Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...
Rai Singh Yadav,
MVC (17 March 1925 – 23 March 2017) was an officer in the
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 ...
notable for his participation in the
Nathu La and Cho La clashes 1967. He displayed exemplary courage and leadership during the clashes, for which he was 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 ...
, India's second highest military decoration. He is also known as the Tiger of Nathu La.
Early life
Rai Singh Yadav was born in the village of
Kosli in
Gurgaon district
Gurgaon district, officially known as Gurugram district, is one of the 22 districts of Haryana in northern India. The city of Gurgaon is the administrative headquarters of the district. The population is 1,514,432. It is one of the southern dist ...
of
Punjab Province (now in
Rewari district
Rewari district is one of the 22 districts in the state of Haryana, India. It was carved out of Gurgaon district by the Government of Haryana on 1November 1989. It is also part of the National Capital Region. The administrative headquarter o ...
of
Haryana
Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
) on 17 March 1925. His father was Rai Sahib Ganpat Singh who had served 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 ...
in 1920s. Rai Singh passed his Senior Cambridge from
King George Military School, Jullundur.
Military career
Rai Singh joined the Army as Second Lieutenant in 1944. He was commissioned into
2 Grenadiers on 10 December 1950.
In 1967, with the rank of Lt Col, he was commanding the 2 Grenadiers battalion deployed at
Nathu La
Nathu La(, Sikkimese language, Sikkimese: རྣ་ཐོས་ལ་) is a mountain pass in the Dongkya Range of the Himalayas between China's Yadong County in Tibet, and the Indian states of Sikkim. But minor touch of Bengal in South Asia. T ...
,
Sikkim
Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
, when the Chinese Army attempted incursions into Indian held territory, leading to the
Nathu La and Cho La clashes
The Nathu La and Cho La clashes, sometimes referred to as Indo-China War of 1967, Sino-Indian War of 1967, were a series of clashes between China and India alongside the border of the Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim, then an Indian protectorate. ...
. In order to hold on to the Nathu La pass and defeat the Chinese attempted incursions, Lt Col Rai Singh led his men from the front and displayed conspicuous bravery and exceptional leadership in the face of the enemy.
In popular culture
Brigadier Rai Singh Yadav's character was played by Bollywood actor
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor and model who mainly works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film ''Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on to Arjun Rampal filmography, act in ...
in the 2018 Indian Hindi-language film
Paltan (film).
See also
*
Nathu La and Cho La clashes
The Nathu La and Cho La clashes, sometimes referred to as Indo-China War of 1967, Sino-Indian War of 1967, were a series of clashes between China and India alongside the border of the Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim, then an Indian protectorate. ...
Further reading
* Maj Gen DK Palit, ''War in the High Himalayas'', Lancers
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yadav, Rai Singh
Recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra
People from Rewari district
Indian generals
Military personnel from Haryana
1925 births
2017 deaths