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 ...

Rajinder Singh Jamwal, MVC (14 June 1899 – 26/27 October 1947), also remembered as the Saviour of Kashmir, was an officer in the

Jammu and Kashmir State Forces Jammu () 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 source ...

. He briefly served as the Chief of Staff of State Forces and died fighting during the

First Kashmir War First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

. Rajinder Singh and his small contingent of about 100 men successfully delayed the advance of a 6000 strong force of Pakistani tribal raiders near

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 ...

for several days, during which the Maharaja of Kashmir acceded to India and the Indian forces air-lifted for the defence of Kashmir. On 30 December 1949, he was posthumously awarded

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 ...

, independent India’s second highest military decoration. He was the first Indian to receive the honour.

Early life

Rajinder Singh was born on 14 June 1899 in Bagoona village (now Rajinderpura,

Samba district Samba district is an administrative district in the Jammu division of 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 Kash ...

) in a military

Dogra __NOTOC__ Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India. Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to: * Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir * Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...

rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

family. His ancestor General Baj Singh had died serving under

Maharaja Gulab Singh Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792–1857) was the first Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir and the founder of the Dogra dynasty. Originally a commander of the Sikh Empire, he sided with the British in the First Anglo-Sikh War and briefly became ...

. His grandfather Hamir Singh and father

Subedar Subedar ( ) is a military rank in the militaries of South Asia roughly equivalent to that of a warrant officer. Historically classed in the British Indian Army as a Viceroy's commissioned officer, the rank was retained in the Indian Army an ...

Lakha Singh were both war veterans. Rajinder Singh was brought up by an uncle, Lt. Colonel Govind Singh, since he was a small child. Singh passed out from Prince of Wales College (now GGM Science College) in Jammu in 1921.

Military career

Rajinder Singh was commissioned on 14 June 1921, in to the

as a Second Lieutenant. On 25 September 1947, he took over charge as Chief of Army Staff of the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces from Major General H. L. Scott.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948

In September 1947, Pakistan started making preparations for raids into Kashmir, with the aim of capturing Srinagar. On the night of October 21/22, a large number of Pakistani regulars and tribal irregulars gathered near Muzzafarabad. They were successful in instigating the Muslim soldiers of the 4th J&K Battalion of

Maharaja Hari Singh Hari Singh Bahadur (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir of the Dogra dynasty. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, following his uncle's dea ...

's army that was based in the town. The Muslim soldiers rebelled, killing Wazir-e-wazarat Duni Chand Mehta & Col. Narain Singh Sambyal in charge and all the other all Dogra soldiers at the base. This left the 180 km route to Srinagar unguarded, however instead of moving on towards Srinagar, the raiders from Pakistan raided Muzaffarabad. News of the raid only reached the Maharaja the next day. On 22 October 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh gave his Chief of Army Staff, Brigadier Rajinder Singh, the order to defend the state until Indian troops arrived, that he should fight till death in doing so, "save the state till the last man and the last bullet".

Karan Singh Karan Singh (born 9 March 1931) is an Indian politician and philosopher. He is the titular Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. From 1952 to 1965 he was the '' Sadr-i-Riyasat'' (President) of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. ...

was present in the room when Hari Singh gave Brigadier Rajinder Singh the command and remembers the incident, "Brigadier Rajinder Singh was given the order by my father and he just saluted and walked away." With 150-260 men and officers from Badami Bagh cantonment and nearby establishments, equipped with out-dated weapons (though some accounts add that the Brigadier had two 3-inch mortars and MMGs), and using private vehicles, Brigadier Rajinder left Sringar at 6:30 pm and reached Uri at 2 am on 23 October 1947. Brigadier Rajinder Singh moved on with a small platoon, and after fighting raiders in Garhi, he soon realized that his force was greatly outnumbered against the raiders who also had superior weapons. On 23 October, Hari Singh sent a command to Brigadier Rajinder Singh through Captain Jwala Singh, "Brigadier Rajinder Singh is commanded to hold the enemy at

at all costs and to the last man. Reinforcement is sent with Capt Jwala Singh...". On the night of 23 October Captain Jwala Singh arrived with a small number of reinforcements, consisting of one platoon, one section of MMG; two guns and one section of 3-inch Mortars (two tubes) and Brigadier Rajinder Singh responded by giving first hand situation of front to Maharaja

Hari Singh Hari Singh Bahadur (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir of the Dogra dynasty. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, following his uncle's deat ...

by telephone on 23 October from Baramulla. Brigadier Rajinder Singh ordered the destruction of Uri bridge on 24 October with a 25 pound charge by Subedar Major (Hon. Capt.) Barita Ram Sharma to slow down the raiders. However Rajinder Singh's men had to fall further back to Mahura for another defensive position, reaching Mahura at 10 pm. The defense at Mahura held when the enemy decided to resume the attack on the morning of 25 October. Rajinder Singh, also ordered men to blow up the bridges upstream but before the bridges could be destroyed, some raiders had already crossed over. Rajinder Singh once again ordered his men to fall back, moving them to Rampur near Boniyar, where defensive positions were created throughout the night. On the morning of the 26th the enemy launched another attack. The defence held effectively again, and the raiders movement was again halted. At dusk Brigadier Singh ordered a withdrawal towards Seri close to

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 ...

. At 1 am on 27 October the retreating vehicles were attacked at Diwan Mandir, Boniyar, and the convoy halted. The Brigadier's driver was soon killed so the Brigadier drove himself; however soon after he was also mortally wounded. The Brigadier ordered his men to continue ahead with the planned defensive strategy, and leave him where he was. Nothing more was heard of Brigadier Rajinder Singh. His men continued the fight until the next day, but nearly all were killed soon after. However the delay the Brigadier and his men caused the raiders, a delay of nearly 4 days, was enough for diplomatic decisions to be taken and for the Indian Army to arrive.

Maha Vir Chakra

On 30 December 1949, for his act of gallantry in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajinder Singh was posthumously awarded India's first Maha Vir Chakra. His wife, Ram Dei, received the medal from Army Chief Field Marshall K.M. Cariappa. The citation reads:

Legacy

For his valiant

rearguard A rearguard or rear security is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or Withdrawal (military), withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as Line of c ...

last-stand actions, Brigadier Rajinder Singh is remembered as the "Saviour of Kashmir".

V.P. Menon Vappala Pangunni Menon (30 September 1893 – 31 December 1965) was an Indian civil servant who served as Secretary to the Government of India in the States Department, Ministry of the States, under Sardar Patel. By appointment from Governor-Gen ...

, an Indian civil servant, had said of Brigadier Rajinder: Brigadier Rajinder's native hometown of Bagoona has been renamed as Rajinderpura. A park in Bagoona, Samba and Canal head Jammu have been named after Singh, called the "Brigadier Rajinder Singh Memorial Park" and Jammu city has paid tribute by renaming shopping road/street "Rajinder Bazar" in his honor. Both Brigadier Rajinder's birthday, 14 June, and day of martyrdom, 26 October, are celebrated. Locals honour Rajinder Singh's birth anniversary every year in his hometown. On 26 October 2018, the

Government of Jammu and Kashmir The Government of Jammu and Kashmir is the principal administrative authority responsible for the governance of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Established on 5 March 1948 as the Government of Princely state of Jammu and Ka ...

and the Indian Army paid tributes at 'Brigadier Rajinder Singh Chowk' in Jammu.

University of Jammu The University of Jammu informally known as Jammu University (JU), accredited as A++ grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), was established in 1969 by an act of the state legislature which effectively split the Jammu and ...

has an auditorium named after the Brigadier, while two schools in Samba district are also named after the Brigadier. ''

Sainik Samachar ''Sainik Samachar'' is a journal about the India's Armed Forces. The journal is published every fortnight in thirteen languages including English on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. ''Sainik Samachar'' traces its descend ...

'' reported that on 24 October 2018 a bust of Brigadier Rajindra Singh, presented by his family, was unveiled at the Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar. Also at Badami Bagh Cantonment is the Rajindra Villa, now the Signal Regiment Officers' Mess. The entrance of the cantonment is also named after Rajinder Singh. ''Sainik Samachar'' also reported that the family visited Boniyar to pay homage at the Memorial where Brigadier Rajindra Singh died fighting. Over the years there have been calls to posthumously honour the Brigadier with India's highest gallantry award, the

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest Awards and Decorations of the Indian Armed Forces, military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates roughly as the "Wheel of Supre ...

. In 1999, at the Rajinder Singh Pura Memorial,

George Fernandes George Mathew Fernandes (3 June 1930 – 29 January 2019) was an Indian politician, trade unionist, statesman, and journalist, who served as the Minister of Defence (India), Defence Minister of India from 1998 until 2004. A veteran socialist, h ...

, the then

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

, had said "I am in agreement ..that he should have been given

PVC Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons o ...

Notes

References

External links

Official Government of India website for gallantry awards (gallantryawards.gov.in) entry

List of Maha Vir Chakra awardees on the official website of the Indian Army (SNO 1)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Rajendra 1899 births 1947 deaths 20th-century Indian military personnel Recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra People from Samba district Jammu and Kashmir State Forces People of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948 Indian military personnel killed in action Indian State Forces officers