Hoshiar Singh Dahiya
Major Hoshiar Singh was born on 5 May 1936 in Sisana village, Rohtak tehsil, Haryana. He is the son of son of Choudhary Hira Singh. He died on 6th December, 1998 of natural causes.
Background
His father was a farmer and his mother Mathuri Devi, a housewife. Col Hoshiar Singh got married to Dhanno when he was still studying in the 7th standard. They had three sons. After his schooling and one year's study at the Jat College, Rohtak, he joined the Indian Army as a soldier.
He was commissioned in the Grenadiers Regiment of the Indian Army on 30 June 1963.
His first assignment as an officer was in NEFA. In the 1965 Indo-Pak war, he saw some action in the Rajasthan sector.
He was honoured with the highest Indian wartime gallantry medal, the Param Vir Chakra. He was also Mentioned-in-Despatches.
Military Action
During the 1971 Indo-Pak war, the 3rd Battalion of the Grenadiers Regiment, under the command of Lt Col V P Airy, spearheaded the advance of 54 Inf. Div. in Shakargarh sector on the western front on the night of December 5th. The 3rd Grenadiers made quick gains in the first ten days of the war.
On December 15, 1971 a battalion of the Grenadiers was given the task of establishing a bridgehead across the Basantar River in the Shakargarh Sector. Major Hoshiar Singh was commanding the left forward company and he was ordered to capture the Pakistani locality of Jarpal. The river was covered with deep minefields on both sides and protected by well-fortified defence by the Pakistani Army. Major Singh, Commander of 'C' Company, launched an attack across the Pakistani minefield on Jarpal from the left. This was a well-fortified position and was held in strength by Pakistan.
During the assault, his company came under intense shelling and effective crossfire from Pakistani Army's medium machine guns and suffered heavy casualties. The 4 Grenadiers, however, continued the assault doggedly and captured their objective. Undeterred, he led the charge and captured the objective after fierce hand-to-hand combat.
The Pakistani army's reaction to the loss of Jarpal was violent. Pakistani Army reacted and put in three sharp counter attacks on December 16, 1971, two of them supported by armour to dislodge the 4 Grenadiers on December 16th. Major Hoshiar Singh unmindful of the heavy shelling and tank fire went from trench-to-trench, motivating his command and encouraging his men to stand fast and fight. Inspired by his courage and dauntless leadership, his company repulsed all the attacks inflicting heavy casualties on the Pakistanis.
Again, the next day (December 17th) Pakistani Army made another attack with a battalion supported by heavy artillery fire. Though seriously wounded by Pakistani Army's shelling, Major Hoshiar Singh again went from trench to trench moving about in the open without regard to his personal safety when an Pakistani Army shell landed near the medium machine gun post injuring the crew and rendering it inoperative. Major Hoshiar Singh, realising the importance of fire support at this juncture, immediately rushed to the machine-gun pit and though seriously wounded himself, manned the gun inflicting heavy casualties on the Pakistani Army.
The attack was successfully repulsed and Pakistani Army retreated leaving behind 85 dead including their Commanding Officer - Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Akram Raja and three other officers. Though seriously wounded, Major Hoshiar Singh refused to be evacuated till the ceasefire. Mohammed Akram Raja was later awarded Pakistan's highest gallantry award, the Nishan-i-Haider.
Throughout this operation, Major Singh displayed the most conspicuous gallantry in the face of the enemy, grim determination and indomitable spirit. By all accounts, his dogged resistance, complete disregard to his personal safety and cool courage so inspired his command that they performed outstanding acts of gallantry and defeated repeated Pakistani Army's attempts to recapture the locality. The steadfastness and dauntless courage displayed by Major Hoshiar Singh were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Indian Army, and his refusal to be evacuated despite his serious wounds was an act beyond the call of duty. He was honoured with the highest wartime gallantry medal, Param Vir Chakra.
Citation
The citation for the Param Vir Chakra awarded to him reads:
On 15 December 1971 a battalion of the Grenadiers was given the task of establishing a bridgehead across the Basantar River in the Shakargarh Sector. Major Hoshiar Singh was commanding the left forward company and he was ordered to capture the enemy locality of Jarpal. This was a well-fortified position and was held in strength by the enemy. During the assault, his company came under intense shelling and effective crossfire from enemy medium machine guns. Undeterred, he led the charge and captured the objective after a fierce hand-to hand fight. The enemy reacted and put in three counter attacks on 16 December 1971, two of them supported by armour, Major Hoshiar Singh unmindful of the heavy shelling and tank fire went from trench to trench, motivating his command and encouraging his men to stand fast and fight. Inspired by his courage and dauntless leadership, his company repulsed all the attacks inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. Again, on 17 December 1971 the enemy made another attack with a battalion supported by heavy artillery fire. Though seriously wounded by enemy shelling, Major Hoshiar Singh again went from trench to trench moving about in the open with utter disregard to his personal safety when an enemy shell landed near the medium machine gun post injuring the crew and rendering it inoperative. Major Hoshiar Singh, realizing the importance of machine-gun fire, immediately rushed to the machine-gun pit and though seriously wounded himself, manned the gun inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. The attack was successfully repulsed and the enemy retreated leaving behind 85 dead including their Commanding Officer and three other officers. Though seriously wounded, Major Hoshiar Singh refused to be evacuated till the ceasefire.
Throughout this operation, Major Hoshiar Singh displayed most conspicuous gallantry, indomitable fighting spirit and leadership in the highest traditions of the Army.
See also
In these fierce battles, 2nd Lt Arun Khetarpal, of 17 Horse, of 3 Grenadiers, was also awarded Param Vir Chakra posthumously. The CO of the 3 Grenadiers, Lt Col V P Airy, was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra.