Major Shaitan Singh Bhati was an Indian Army officer who participated in the Sino-Indian War at Rezang La in 1962, for which he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra. India’s highest gallantry award for acts of valor. On November 18, 1962, he died for his country after being injured in battle. He is often called the hero of Resangla or the savior of Ladakh.
Wiki/Biography
Major Shaitan Singh Bhati was born on Monday, December 1, 1924, in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan (age 37 at the time of death). He grew up in a military family, which inspired him to join the military. He completed his schooling from Chopasni High School in Jodhpur and joined Jaswant College on August 1, 1943, from which he graduated in 1947.
Statue of Shaitan Singh at central square in Jodhpur, Rajasthan
It is said that he was also an excellent football player in his school days. . After graduation, he joined the Jodhpur State as an officer and later when Jodhpur joined the Republic of India, he was transferred to the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army. He also took part in the Indo-Portuguese War of 1961, after which Goa was annexed by the Indian army.
family and caste
Major Shaitan Singh Bhati was born into a Rajput family, the Bhati family.
Parents and siblings
Lieutenant Colonel Hem Singh Bhati (left) is the father of Major Shaitan Singh Bhati (right)
His father, Lieutenant Colonel Jaime Singh, was also an officer in the British Indian Army and fought bravely in France during the First World War.
wife
He was married to Shagun Kanwar, who died on April 17, 2015, at the age of 86.
Army lays wreath on death of Mrs. Shagun Kanwar, wife of Major Shaitan Singh, PVC
son
Narpat Singh Bhati, son of Major Shaitan Singh Bhati, lives in Jodhpur.
Narpat Singh, son of Major Shaitan Singh, PVC
Profession
Early stepping stones to a military career
After graduation, he joined the Durga Cavalry Regiment (now 61 Cavalry Regiment) in the erstwhile Jodhpur State as an officer cadet, after which he went to the Officer Training School, Pune, where he served as an officer from August 26 Training there took place for about two years from 1947 to July 31, 1949. After training and service, he joined the Umed Kotah Infantry Regiment as an officer. Thereafter, he was transferred to 20th Rajput (Jodhpur Sadar Infantry Regiment). After receiving his permanent regular rank, he joined the 13th Kumaon Regiment.
Indian Army Officer Career
After Lieutenant Shaitan Singh Bhatti was transferred to the 13th Kumaon Regiment, he actively participated in the counter-insurgency operations in the Naga Hills of Nagaland and was promoted to the rank of captain. He also took an active part in the Indo-Portuguese War in 1961 when India liberated Goa. On June 11, 1962, he was promoted to Major while serving in the Eastern District of Ladakh.
young captain shatan singh
The Battle of Resangla and the Legend of Valor
Initially, the 13th Airlift Regiment was deployed in the Baramulla area of Kashmir. But due to the government’s forward policy, his troops were asked to deploy in the Chushul region to defend Ladakh as skirmishes with Chinese troops have been ongoing on the eastern border for over a month and China has invaded Ladakh. Already imminent. Major Shaitan Singh is the company commander of the Charlie Company of the Kumaon Regiment. The company’s mission is to defend the Ladakh region from any possible attack by the Chinese army, especially the attack on the Chushul Air Force Base. Sustaining India’s operations in the region is critical. At about 3:30 in the morning on November 18, 1962, the Chinese army launched an all-out attack on the Indian position. After repeatedly defeating the enemy, they were routed by a numerically superior enemy. Major Singh refused to retreat as ordered and decided to take the last man and the last bullet rack with him. There were 120 men in the company, 114 of whom were killed in the battle, including Major Shaitan Singh.
Main Shaitan Singh PVC by Rezang La
Paramvir Chakra
For his heroic acts, Major Shaitan Singh Bhati was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra on January 26, 1963; the award was received by his wife Shagun Kanwar. He was awarded the PVC medal for repelling seven consecutive enemy attacks on his position with limited manpower and resources. Despite injuries to his arms and abdomen, he continued to inspire his men and defend the area until his last breath.
Shagun Kanwar, wife of Major Shaitan Singh, received the PVC from Dr. S Radhakrishnan, the first President of India, on behalf of her husband
Honors and Qualifications
- In the 1980s, the Indian Shipping Corporation named one of its oil tankers MT Major Shaitan Singh PVC in memory of this heroic soldier.
- The government named it after Shaitan Singh’s hometown in memory of the martyr.
The Railway Board in Shatan Singh’s hometown is named after him
Achievement
Years after his death, he was awarded the Indian of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award by CNN-IBN.
die
During the Battle of Resangla, Major Shaitan Singh was seriously wounded in the arms and abdomen, but he continued to move from one place to another under enemy fire to motivate his men and prepare battle strategies. While moving to safety, Shaitan Singh and his men came under heavy enemy fire, so he ordered his men to leave him behind and run away for cover. He died from excessive blood loss from his wounds on November 18, 1962.
Final rites with full military honors were held for the soldiers of the 13th Kumaon Regiment who died in the Battle of Resan La
Facts/Trivia
- In the Battle of Resangla, Major Shaitan Singh led a company of 120 men against about 5,000 Chinese troops.
- When Shaitan Singh fought at the Battle of Rezang La on November 18, 1962, the temperature recorded that morning was -24 degrees Celsius.
- When Major Shaitan Singh’s body was found, he had a weapon in his hand.
- Three months later, as the snow melted, the Red Cross and the army discovered the body of Major Shaitan Singh.
- During the Battle of Resan La, Major Singh and his company received no support of any kind and were completely cut off, while the Chinese had substantial logistical and artillery support.
- Major Shaitan Singh’s father, Lieutenant Colonel Heim Singh, was awarded the Order of the British Empire [OBE]It was a gallantry award awarded by the United Kingdom to Commonwealth soldiers at the time for exemplary courage.
- Major Shaitan Singh sent one of the soldiers back so that he could tell the heroic story of the 120 soldiers who fought at Rezang La.
- Major Singh’s watch was well known among his men and he often said: “I will die only if my watch stops”. When his body was found, he was wearing a watch on his wrist that was found by the Indian Army.
The SS Bhati The West End Watch Co watch bears witness to blood, courage and sacrifice. It witnessed the Battle of Resanla. Major Shaitan Singh’s wrist watch, PVC, was recovered from his body.@adgpi @Maverickmusafir @37Vmanhas pic.twitter.com/U8rT2EzFoB
— Jai Samota (@jai_samota) December 25, 2021
- Despite being seriously wounded during the Battle of Resangla, Major Shaitan Singh refused to evacuate.
- No one believed the survivors’ stories of Resanla until February 10, 1963, when an army patrol, acting on a tip from local shepherds, discovered the frozen remains of soldiers killed in battle. (Financial Express) Capt. Kishori Lal, one of the members of the search team, later wrote about the search operation and how they found the bodies of the martyrs in his book “The Brave God”. He mentioned,
On February 10, 1963, we arrived at Rezang La. There we see the brave sons of Mother Bharat sleeping in eternal sleep. We saw the Chinese bombing heavily to wipe them out. There are deep pits all around. We picked up the blind rounds and weighed them. Most of them weigh over 80 pounds. Our brave soldiers all had over thirty-five gunshot wounds. As many as forty-seven bullets were fired into the body of Jermadar (played by Naib Subedar) Hari Ram. On one bunker shield we counted 759 bullet holes. “
Another excerpt from the statement officially recorded by the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army sheds more light on the post-war situation at Resangla. It mentioned,
The bunkers at Resangla were not found intact, the corrugated iron sheets were in pieces, the cue sticks (wooden poles/logs used to make makeshift shelters) had been chopped into matchsticks and the sandbags were just fragments. But there was no sign of panic or withdrawal. Each soldier was found dead in his trench; each had several bullets or splinters in his body but still held his weapon; broken light machine guns/rifles bore witness to the intensity of enemy fire. Jemadar (Naib Subedar) Hari Ram was found with a bandage on his head. Apparently he had tied it up in a hurry while rushing from one area to another, where he was killed: the body was still in a crouching position when received. “
- After the Battle of Resangla, the Chinese were dissuaded from continuing their conquest of Ladakh and unilaterally declared a ceasefire on November 21, 1962 and withdrew from Ladakh.
- A soldier hid Major Singh’s body near a boulder, away from the Chinese.
- Major Shaitan Singh Bhati was one of the three recipients of the Param Vir Chakra Award after the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
- Although Major Singh was the company commander of the Kumaon regiment, his troops were Ahirs, belonging to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and none of them were Kumaunis.
- The Ladakh Theater Medal of Honor (1962) and the Resangla Combat Medal of Honor were awarded to the 13 Kumaon Regiment as the 13 Kumaon Charlie Company under Major Shaitan Singh was fighting there.
- After the Battle of Resan La, the “C” Company of the 13th Kumaon Regiment was completely wiped out in Resan La and had to be reorganized. The Indian government named it “Resangla” Charlie Company as a mark of respect. Pull the company.
- After Major Shaitan Singh refused to retreat, he gave his men a chance to retreat and did not impose his orders or decisions on them, but none of the soldiers decided to retreat but decided to hold on till the end.
- Another reason why Major Singh and his men did not evacuate their position was to save a small village not far from their actual position, which would have been completely wiped out by the advancing Chinese army if they had vacated their position.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education