The Hindu : National : Fallen heroes of 1947-48 war with Pakistan to be honoured

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Tuesday, Jul 04, 2006

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Fallen heroes of 1947-48 war with Pakistan to be honoured

Special Correspondent

Other heroes of the war to be honoured during October and November

NEW DELHI: The Army would honour the fallen heroes of the 1947-48 war with Pakistan, the Chief of the Army Staff, General J. J. Singh, announced here on the martyrdom day of Brig. Mohammed Usman, the hero of Jhangar and Nowshera in Jammu & Kashmir.

Among those who will be honoured will be Lt. Col. Ranjit Rai, the commanding officer of the first Army battalion to land at Srinagar airport, Brig. Rajinder Singh, the hero of Uri, and Major Somnath Sharma, the defender of Srinagar and winner of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), the highest award for gallantry during war. Brig. Usman, Lt. Col. Rai and Brig. Singh were all awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) posthumously.

A legend

The Army began the commemoration of Brig. Usman's death anniversary with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Jamia Millia Islamia where Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Union Minister Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad and Sheikh Abdullah had attended his funeral 58 years ago.

A bachelor, Brig. Usman declined to join the Pakistan Army and quit the Baluch Regiment, which was transferred to Pakistan, to join the Indian Army's Parachute Regiment. In his first deployment in the war for Jammu & Kashmir, Brig. Usman lost Jhangar on December 27, 1947. Legend has it that he vowed not to sleep on a cot till he had wrested the town back. He was to redeem the pledge three months later.

"Lion of Nowshera"

In between, he led the defence of Nowshera, now a border town near the Line of Control and came to be known as the "Lion of Nowshera." Although his brigade was to win back Jhangar, Brig. Usman was killed when a shell caught him out in the open on July 3.

Speaking on the occasion, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Brig. Usman was a nationalist to the core and had no problem in remaining loyal to his religion as well his country. The Minister honoured the relatives of Brig. Usman. Gen. Singh said the Army also planned to honour other heroes of the 1947-48 war during October and November this year. They include Brig. Rajinder Singh, Chief of Staff of the erstwhile J&K State Forces. He went beyond the call of duty by accompanying his troops to Uri and organising its defence. Badly outnumbered, Brig. Singh blew up the Uri Bridge, drastically slowing down the movement of the Pakistan army and the accompanying raiders. He again organised the defences in Baramulla and was fatally injured in the battle.

The Army would also recognise the gallantry of Lt. Col. Ranjit Rai, heading the first Indian Army battalion to be airlifted to Srinagar. Fatally hit while organising the defences, he became the first commanding officer to sacrifice his life for independent India at 34 years of age.

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