SAVIOUR

GENERAL RAJINDER SINGH JAMWAL 

(The man who saved the Kashmir Valley from falling into the hands of Pakistani Raiders)

      General Rajinder Singh was a Jamwal Rajput from Jammu who rose to command the State Forces of Jammu and Kashmir. His heroic ancestor General Baj Singh had sacrificed his life in the defence of Chitral. General Rajinder Singh Jamwal was the first Indian to be decorated with the second highest gallantry award the Mahavir Chakra posthumously and most deservedly so.

General Rajinder Singh Jamwal was one of the main reasons why Srinagar is today in India and not in Pakistan. His small contingent defended Jammu and Kashmir for 4 days and and prevented it from falling into Pakistan's hands.

For the people of Jammu, General Rajinder Singh Jamwal is known as the 'Immortal Dogra' and the 'Saviour of Kashmir'. He continues to be an inspiration for people across Jammu, and almost every household has one or two members serving in the armed forces, many defending the border and the Kashmir valley.

Immediately after the partition of the Indian Sub continent in 1947, thousands of raiders assisted by Pakistani regulars invaded the State of Jammu and Kashmir all along its border. The Jammu and Kashmir State Forces, stretched along a 550-mile long border deployed in penn-packets with limited arms, ammunition and supplies, without road communications, and heavily-outnumbered, fought tenaciously holding on to their positions. Kohla-Domel garrison fell to the invaders on 22 October 1947. The fate of the Valley as of the whole State hung precariously on a slender thread.

When General Rajinder Singh Jamwal took over as chief of staff of state forces, Kashmir was going through its worst days kabali jihadis were making occasional raids into Kashmir, killing and raping non Muslims. Indian wouldn't send troops until instrument of accession was signed.

Maharaja Hari singh was very happy to sign instrument of accession and merge Kashmir into India, provided Sheikh Abdullah not be made prime minister of Kashmir. Maharaja Hari Singh knew of Abdullah's treachery but Nehru would accept accession until his friend Abdullah wasn't made PM.

Under these conditions, General Rajinder Singh Jamwal received the distressing news that every single Muslim soldier of 4 JAK battalion, without a single exception, killed Hindu comrades while the latter were sleeping and joined hands with Pakistan

Such desertions happened everywhere. Due to desertion and cold blooded murder of their Gorkha and Sikh comrades by Muslim troops, Muzaffarabad was lost to Pakistan. On the fateful night of 21/22 October 1947, the Muslim element of the 4th Jammu and Kashmir Infantry, located at Lohargali and Ramkot, swept by religious fanaticism, forgot their oath of loyalty toward their ruler and the state, joined hands with the enemy and led him to pre-arranged positions in the area around Muzaffarabad and Domel, in what was to become the most treacherous and dastardly act in the annals of military history.

Muslim companies of 4 JAK battalion defending Muzaffrabad switched sides, killing their commanding officer Lt Col Narain Singh Sambyal and all other Hindu officers and Jawans. Very few survived to tell the tale. It was a severe treachery and a great blow to the defence of J&K which was to have a far reaching affect on the battle of Uri.

General Rajinder Singh Jamwal decided he would himself face the attackers and defend Uri. He had at his disposal only about 150 troops. General Rajinder Singh Jamwal and his 150 odd troops at Uri withstood a 8,000 strong Pakistani Qabali army and stopped their advances into Srinagar for 4 days, in addition to helping refugees cross the border and protecting civilians near the border. General Rajinder Singh Jamwal and his band of soldiers carried out the orders of the Maharaja to the letter and spirit. Fighting bravely for every inch of land, they delayed enemy advance by two crucial days during which important decisions were taken. The Indian Army joined the fight and the J&K State was thus saved for India by General Rajinder Singh Jamwal. He made the supreme sacrifice of his life on the night of 26-27 October 1947 valiantly fighting the Pakistani raiders in Uri-Rampur sector.

He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in the Indian Army after Jammu Kashmir state forces joined Indian Army. He had the rank of General in the state forces at the time of his martyrdom. Actually, the rank of Brigadier was in the Indian army, but it was after the merger of state forces into the Indian army. It was after his martyrdom. He was General in Jammu Kashmir State Forces and Brigadier in Indian Army.

We must remember the will and the sacrifice that has kept the Union of India together. Our history is a testimony to how our country is a more enduring force than the blind fury of the misguided and the resolve of the cowards. Even as tensions abound in the Kashmir valley, the soil is laden with the blood and spirit of heroes like General Rajinder Singh Jamwal and will never accede to those who would see its beauty burn just to rule over ashes.

He was the first war hero of independent India who sacrificed his life for Jammu and Kashmir while fighting Pakistani invaders. Not only Jammu and Kashmir, but the entire nation should honor the sacrifice of India's first war hero.

Source:- Military Plight Of Pakistan: Indo-Pak War 1947-48, Vol. 1 by Col M.N. Gulati (Retd.), Page No. 182, 183 and 187

*******   END   *******

       

  

     

Brig Narinder Dhand,
Founder & Convener
Veteran's Web Portals.