LEGENDARY SUPER HERO SUPER PARA COMMANDO CAPTAIN HARI SINGH PANWAR WHOSE INSPIRATIONAL EXCEPTIONAL EXEMPLARY GALLANTRY REMAINS UNRECOGNIZED EVEN TODAY…
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In this war, he suffered life-threatening injuries to his abdomen which was badly damaged due to splinter injuries. In fact, so severe was abdominal injury that
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The Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar had suffered really life-threatening 70% disabilities that were caused purely by injuries
He cherished the moments when General Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Sam Manekshaw, the-then Commander-in-Chief of the
The wife of the Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar vividly recalls that the Army Chief had come there along with his beautiful wife who had Bob-cut hairs. She saw through her घूँघट (veiled face) that the Army Chief patted her Wheelchair-bound husband’s shoulders (who then couldn’t speak and talk due to injuries) who had been taken out to the park located just behind the Army Base Hospital for relaxation and heard him say aloud in Hindi language to her husband, “हरि! तुम बहुत बहादुर हो! जल्दी ठीक हो जाओगे!” which translates as, “Hari! You are really Brave! You will get well soon.”
She stayed for several days then at a relative's residence in Delhi. She used to come down to the Delhi Military Base Hospital everyday along with her two very small toddlers and a baby who was just three and a half months old.
There she would stay from early morning till evening and tend to her husband including taking him out for a stroll in the park located just behind the Army Base Hospital. Many other ladies too used to come to the park with their husbands who were injured in 1971 War.
2. The stellar gallantry of the company led by Company Commander Major Vijay Singh Choudhary of 18 Rajputana Rifles (now 11 Mech Infantry) is beautifully captured in the famous military-strategy book "Outstanding Victories of the Indian Army, 1947-1971" without naming it specifically.
Some Pakistani border outposts located in rural belt were captured on the night of December 5/6 in a dare devil Commando type blitzkrieg attack by the troops under inspirational outstanding leadership and superb command of the dauntless Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar who fearlessly personally led the assaults by displaying valour beyond-the-call-of-duty by climbing up, jumping and crossing over mud walls of rural kuchchaa (mud-bric walled) houses in the face of concentrated enemy fire and killed 7 enemy soldiers. Advance commenced on December 6. On the night of December 7/8, the company led by Company Commander Major Vijay Singh Choudhary of 18 Rajputana Rifles launched a mounted assault and captured Ghamrola/the assigned military objective the same night despite stiff resistance from the enemy.
The Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar displayed exceptional heroism and dauntless courage by personally leading his men in the face of unrelenting enemy fire. Throughout the war, when faced with an enemy counter attack, he moved about in the open from trench/bunker to trench/bunker to cheer/encourage his men, disregarding the bullets that flew around him and with utter disregard to his own personal safety.
3. “Ceasefire was declared between India and Pakistan at 2000 hours December 17. However, shelling continued throughout the night. The Indian forces were still 7 kms short of Zaffarwal, their objective. It had taken the Indian Army 11 days to advance 13 kms and breach the Basantar defences which was the Pakistan’s limit of penetration in the area.” writes famous military historian Col VSM (Retd) Bhaskar Sarkar in his celebrated monumental work Outstanding Victories of the Indian Army, 1947-1971 .
Though Col VSM (Retd) Bhaskar Sarkar could give such details about heroic exploits of 11 Mech Infantry (erstwhile 18 Rajputana Rifles) in his evergreen book, the Mech Infantry Headquarters' records office could not throw detailed light on the bravery of the company led by the Company Commander Major Vijay Singh Choudhary of 18 Rajputana Rifles. It claimed non existence of detailed information on any specific individual acts of heroism, in their WAR ARCHIVES/DIARY, in response to a RTI application by the widow of the Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar.
4. There is an inspirational story about the gallant Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar in 1971 Indo-Pak War. It was 0800 hours approximately on 18th December 1971 morning that the Splinters from Shells falling around him struck him badly.
His stomach and abdomen were burst. Blood was oozing out profusely from his abdomen and other body parts. Meanwhile, his brave Company Commander Major Vijay Singh Choudhary was killed by the enemy shell and his neck which got detached from his body was thrown away at a distance by the huge impact.
The Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar too was thought to be dead by his four men who then carried him to safety behind a tree since enemy was shelling like hellfire everywhere. It was only after he opened his eyes slowly that his men realized he was fortunately still alive. They carefully lifted him.
But, he stubbornly refused to be evacuated and instead insisted on fighting back with the enemy. It was only after he had become unconscious that his comrades-in-arms could remove him to safety, alongside the dead body of his company Commander Major Vijay Singh Choudhary draped in a white piece of cloth.
He was taken to nearest field military hospital in a military vehicle criss-crossing the fertile agricultural fields since the only road existing in the area had come under continuous heavy enemy shelling making the road-travel completely unsafe.
So extensive and heavy was the enemy shelling that the military vehicle had to proceed at a snail pace in order to avoid being hit by enemy bombardment. Consequently, the military vehicle could reach the Section Hospital Samba only on the night of 18th December 1971.
Meanwhile, whenever he would regain consciousness, he would get angry seeing the dead body of his company Commander Major Vijay Singh Choudhary that lay alongside covered with a white sheet, would force the driver to turn the vehicle back towards the battle field saying, “Take me back. I will drive enemies out from my motherland.” Whereupon the driver would turn his vehicle back towards the battlefield. Noticing that he had again gone into coma, the driver would again turn and race towards the field hospital. But, he would again regain consciousness and force the vehicle back to the battlefield. This happened thrice.
The Medical team finally gave him an injection so that he wouldn’t regain consciousness until the vehicle had reached the field hospital and he was operated upon. He opened his eyes slightly again only after the military vehicle reached the Section Hospital Samba that night. He saw himself being taken inside the hospital. Thereafter, he went into coma, and opened his eyes again only after he had been flown to and operated upon at Military Base Hospital, Delhi Cantt.
5. The 1971 war also brought out splendid humane nature of the generous and kind-hearted Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar.
He had recounted to his wife that they would often come across elderly old-aged men and women hiding in their mud houses who were left behind by a fleeing younger Pakistani population. These elderly folks were very tall. Elderly women wore big earrings. They had huge mud/metal containers having noodles called SAVAEEIYANS (सेवईयां). They had large numbers of goats.
These elders shivering with fear would plead with Indian soldiers not to kill them or their pets/domestic animals. But, many of them were often unfortunately killed by some of the panicky Indian soldiers on suspicion of them being Pakistani informers or just in the heat of the moment for no obvious reasons.
But, the Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar had ensured that no Indian soldiers under his command killed these helpless elderly Pakistani civilians or their domestic animals.
For example, he on one such occasion while searching for hidden Pakistani soldiers, found a scared elderly old-aged couple hiding in their mud house who folded their palms and pleaded with teary eyes, “हमें मत मारो बेटा!” (“Please, don’t kill us, son!”)
He consoled them, comforted them by assuring them that he wouldn’t kill them.
When some other panicky Indian soldiers came knocking on the door and asked if there were any Pakistanis soldiers/civilians inside whom they wanted to kill then the applicant’s husband hid the scared elderly couple behind a tall huge container.
He came to the door-step and said, “There is no one inside the house. You may go. My soldier and I are searching the house for arms.”
The belligerent panicky soldiers didn’t enter the house and left that locality. Indeed, no other Indian soldiers came there afterwards.
Thus, two precious human civilian lives were saved.
The scared elderly couple came out from their hide-out. With gratitude in their old eyes, they blessed him and his accompanying soldier.
They said something like this, “बेटा! खुदा तुम्हें हर बला से महफूज रखे, तुम्हे लम्बी उम्र दे!” (“Son! May Allah the merciful protect you from all evils! May Allah the merciful give you long life.”)
The grateful elderly couple then out of compassion as if they were their own children, cooked sweet delicious SAVAEEIYANS ( सेवईयां) for his soldier and him. He savoured tasty noodles.
Later on, he often used to tell his wife that his precious life was saved by the merciful God despite being hit by life-ending shell-splinters because of the blessings given by the aforementioned pure-hearted elderly old-aged Pakistani muslim couple.
6. Earlier while posted in Naga Hills in NEFA (North Eastern Frontier Area), the Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar had risked his own life, boldly single handedly overpowered and captured an armed NAGA insurgent along with important maps and information concealed in a bamboo being carried by the NAGA insurgent.
He tied the NAGA insurgent to a tree to ensure that the NAGA insurgent wouldn’t flee away and also he didn’t kill him since he wanted to extract additional secret information from the NAGA insurgent by keeping him alive.
After he had tied the NAGA insurgent to the tree, he got distracted by some strange sound at a distance. Taking undue advantage of his distraction, another soldier who was accompanying him in the deep forest there, killed the NAGA insurgent mercilessly despite the applicant’s husband having had earlier instructed that soldier not to kill the NAGA insurgent and despite the NAGA insurgent having pleaded for mercy.
The Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar could never forgive his own self throughout life for senseless killing of the NAGA insurgent due to unfortunate distraction of his attention.
The another soldier later told superior officers about having killed the NAGA insurgent. The honest Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar confirmed to the superior officers that the another soldier had indeed killed the NAGA insurgent. But, the another soldier refused to confirm to the superior officers that the applicant’s husband had indeed captured the NAGA insurgent.
The another soldier was given bravery award/recognition for capture and killing of the NAGA insurgent.
The Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar being a thorough disciplined soldier and gentleman didn’t press for recognition of his main role in the matter. His superior officers failed to understand that the another soldier had told blatant lies to snatch away the credit from the applicant’s husband. Thus, he was denied justice and gallantry award in the matter.
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| (Announcement on All India Radio) |
But, nothing of all this has materialised. Why? She doesn’t know. This remains a great mystery to her!
8. There is one more mystery that remains to be resolved. RTI Reply dated 6 April 2021 received from the MIRC Records Office Ahmednagar by the widow of Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar gives the date of her husband’s wound as 8th December 1971.
But, she recalls that her husband had told her that he had penetrated 10 kilometre deep inside Pakistani territory in 1971 war. (This almost matches with official records that show the Indian troops had penetrated thirteen kilometres deep inside the Pakistani territory in eleven days). Furthermore, he had told her that a day after the morning he sustained fatal shell-injury, the 1971 war came to an end.
That means her husband was very much active in the capture of area between the Basantar river and Degh river in Pakistan until 18th of December 1971.
That means something seems wrong with the official records that state 8th December 1971 as day the her brave husband sustained shell injury instead of the 18th of December 1971.
9. Earlier in 1965 Indo-Pak war, the Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar had been dropped along with several other soldiers behind enemy lines as part of the 7 Parachute Regiment in a dangerous mission with the task of destroying a highly valuable military objective which he carried out successfully by neutralizing ten (10) enemy soldiers, taking them by surprise and safely returning to his base.
But, his exemplary daring military feat that helped Indian army seize a Militarily valuable enemy post was unfortunately never recognized by the military authorities.
The official document issued by the Officer Commanding 17 Maharashtra Battalion NCC indicates he had then participated as Lance/Hav and as part of the 7 Parachute Regiment in 1965 Indo-Pak War. However, the RTI replies received by the wife of the Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar from the 7 Parachute Regiment and PARA Headquarters flatly deny the 7 Parachute Regiment ever having taken part in 1965 Indo-Pak War!
10. The Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar had played an inspirational exemplary gallant role while posted in Babina (1978-1979) during military exercise wherein he had saved lives of 15-20 soldiers trapped in APC (Armoured Personnel Carrier) that had overturned on a culvert and for which he had been hospitalised due to grave injuries sustained in thighs, legs and hands while creatively opening the only available Down-Hatch on top of APC.
He had managed to ensure safe exit of all APC inmates.
APC would have burst into flames had he not taken risk to ensure safe exit of inmates and managed to switch off the engine. All inmates would have died if he had not displayed exemplary bravery and presence of mind.
The military authorities didn’t celebrate his this splendid valour and didn’t give him any Award such as the Ashoka Chakra or Shaurya Chakra for his gallantry.
11. The military authorities even bungled with his basic salary which should have been Rs 3490 instead of Rs 3400 at the time of his discharge from the Army in April 1988. He wasn't even given War injury pension.
12. The Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar had enrolled as a soldier in December, 1956 at young age of 15 years (as per school leaving certificate - while discharge book shows the age of joining as 18 years). With just one year of training, he was deployed to the most challenging field area (CA J & K) from 1958 to 1959.
He was the eldest of four brothers with one elder and younger sister. He came from a poor peasant Rajput family. Enrollment as a soldier was the only ticket to break free from shackles of economic poverty those days.
He was a physically well-built sturdy tough boy with a handsome charming personality who was popularly known amongst his friends as "HAADAA" after a famous Hada rajput king from Royal Hada dynasty in Rajasthan known for exceptional valour.
He was a great orator, passionate nationalist, and humanist. He had participated as a school boy in a debate competition at Rohtak, a nearby town. He was so overcome with passion that he tore off his own shirt as part of his oratory. He won the first prize.
He cleared the VIIIth standard exams with a first class. Further education was out of question, as his poor peasant parents could not afford it.
The Army didn't recruit youngsters below the age of 18 years. Therefore, he mentioned his age as 18 years to the recruiters to overcome the age restriction.
He later used to recount jokingly to his wife how he was turned away several times by recruiters who thought he was too young to join as a soldier despite his physical fitness of the highest standards.
He wouldn't give up. He would again join the line of aspirants every time he was turned away. His perseverance finally paid off.
The new Army officer who had replaced the earlier recruiter was very much impressed by his physique, robustness, and enigmatic personality. His appearance as a young kid was ignored and he was inducted as a trainee soldier with 18 Rajputana Rifles.
13. He was granted Commission as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the rank of ‘Naib Subedar’ with effect from 26th August, 1967 by the President of India, just after 10 years of service in recognition of his ‘Fidelity, Courage, and good Conduct.’ It was rare for a soldier those days to be Commissioned as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the rank of ‘Naib Subedar’ in just 10 years of service in those days.
He was granted Commission as an ‘Honorary Lieutenant’ and ‘Honorary Captain’ on 15th August, 1987, and 26th January, 1988 respectively while in Active Service by the President of India, in recognition of his ‘fidelity and good conduct.’
14. The Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar had qualified to be an ‘Instructor’ in the Commando Wing in January, 1970. His CONFIDENTIAL COMMANDO COURSE REPORT speaks highly of his sterling personality in following words, “This JCO worked hard, took keen interest in the course and achieved good results. He remains cheerful under stress and strain. He is effective and cooperative. He has acquired good knowledge of Commando type operations.”
He was selected to lead a contingent of Indian Commandos that was to visit London under a UK-India program. But, the visit was aborted due to outbreak of Indo-Pak hostilities. No wonder then that he displayed exemplary gallantry throughout his military career since he was a born bright military leader who could accomplish most difficult military tasks under all adverse circumstances.
15. The Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar was a real gallant soldier is proved also by a letter written to him on 3rd of January 1969 by his Alpha Company Commander Major Vijay Singh Choudhary who addressed him as “ मेरे बहादुर सरदार हरि सिंह साहब…” which translates as, “My Brave military leader Hari Singh sahab/Sir…”.
16. The letter of declaration made by Mrs Shaayar, a lady from village Kelanga in Haryana amply proves that the Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar indeed was recommended for a very high gallantry award for his heroic acts during 1971 Indo-Pak war by military authorities. Mrs Shaayar clearly recalls having heard in All India Radio news bulletin in that period a news announcement to this effect.
17. Since the Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar was a thorough disciplined soldier and gentleman, he didn’t press for recognition of his exemplary gallantry acts.
However, it’s moral duty of the present day Indian government to get exemplary gallantry of Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar recognized by awarding him appropriate gallantry award such as the Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra posthumously besides according due recognition to the inspirational leadership of his courageous company Commander Major Vijay Singh Choudhary. This is in legitimate public interest so that the exemplary gallantry of Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar may continue to inspire all Indians in general and armed forces personnel in particular to remain ever ready to protect their motherland even at grave risk to their life.
18. “Certificate of Discharge” shows the Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar had “EXEMPLARY” character.
He had distinguished himself in Military Service by receiving following Medals, decorations or mentions in despatches:
2. Naga Hills Raksha Medal 1965
3. Samar Seva Star 1965
4. Sainya Seva Medal with Class
5. Himalaya Sangram Medal
6. Paschimi Star
7. 25th Independence Anniversary Medal
8. Wound Medal
9. Nine Years Long Service Medal
10. Twenty Years Long Service Medal
11. Thirty Years Long Service Medal
19. The Super Para Commando Hari Singh rendered following distinguished war services:
1. OP RAJI – 23rd March, 1962 to 16 December, 1962
2. OP RAJI – 10 December, 1963 to 29 May, 1964
3. OP HORNET – 21 September, 1965 to 12 December, 1965. He served as L/Hav with 7 Parachute Regiment.
4. OP CACTUS LILY – 15th of October, 1971 to 18th of December, 1971. He entered CA (J &K) on 15th of October 1971 to 18th of December 1971 as an infantry Commando. He suffered Shell Wound on early morning wee hours 18th of December 1971 and was further transferred to Army Hospital Delhi Cantt after aforesaid war injury, on 19th of December 1971. |
| (Widow Approaches AFT) |
It would be befitting to end the article by noting down wise words of Lt Col (Retd) Manoj K Channan in his timeless article "Operation Cactus Lily 1971- A saga of bravery, valour and chivalry" published in Financial Express.
"Around 3000 Indian soldiers died and 12,000 others were wounded in the war. They are not to be forgotten, while the gallantry award winners are remembered, not all bravery is awarded and rewarded. The fog of war and individual perceptions on reward and recognition vary between the decision makers in the chain of command."
(Source: Widow of Super Para Commando Hari Singh Panwar, Defence sources who shared information on condition of anonymity, Financial Express, “Outstanding Victories of the Indian Army, 1947-1971" by Col VSM (Retd) Bhaskar Sarkar,Rashtriy Sahara Lucknow, inputs by TeamEditorial Aatmeeyataa Patrekaa)
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