The Brave: Param Vir Chakra Stories by Rachna Bisht Rawat

Singh himselfhas miraculously escaped though his clothes are singed and ripped by the grenade attacks and his arms and legs are bleeding from shrapnel injuries. He knows that the only way to tackle this attack is to silence the machine guns that are breathing fire on the mountain. Completely unmindful of his own safety, he makes a dash for the nearest bunker from where the machine-gun fire is coming. Rushing through the hail of bullets, he sprays the enemy soldiers lodged in the trench with Sten-gun fire. Before they realize he is there, he jumps in and bayonets the men handling the gun. They fall with loud screams of pain and shock and the gun falls silent.
    By then the damage is done and Piru Singh realizes that all his comrades are dead. He is the only one left alive in his section. Screaming in anger, he leaps across the boulders to the next MMG post. The enemy have noticed his lone act and direct fire at him. A grenade flung at him finds its mark. It wounds him in the face and eyes but Piru Singh is beyond pain and discomfort. He doesn’t notice the blood dripping down his chin and seeping into his shirt collar.
    Climbing out of the trench, he wipes the blood out of his eyes and starts lobbing grenades at the next enemy position. Walking through the attacking fire, he makes his way to the second bunker and, climbing in, bayonets the two soldiers manning the second MMG. Two of the guns have now fallen silent but he knows there is one more.
    By now, he is starting to lose consciousness because of the excessive blood loss. His eyes are shutting and the blood is dripping right into them. By sheer dint of will power, Piru Singh forces his eyes to stay open. He pulls himself out of the second trench with great difficulty and shouting out the battalion war cry ‘Raja Ramchandra ki Jai’, he pulls out a grenade. He has not reached the third bunker when a bullet hits him in the head.
    Piru Singh knows he is falling; he wants to reach the next machine gun but he no longer has any power over his limbs. Grenade in hand, he tries to walk but his legs collapse under him. Even as he drops to the ground, he manages to remove the pin from the last grenade and lobs it at the third bunker. The grenade traces an arch and as Piru Singh lies breathing his last on the ridge of Darapari, he wills his eyes to stay open. He watches the grenade find its mark. A loud blast rings out and he watches the bunker collapse, killing the enemy soldiers and silencing the MMG inside. Piru Singh Shekhawat finally closes his eyes.
    C Company commander witnesses this act of heroism while directing fire in support of the attacking company. For his unmatched bravery, inspiring example and superhuman courage in the face of the enemy, CHM Piru Singh is awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously. The 6
th
Battalion, Rajputana Rifles, is awarded the Battle Honour of Darapari. In a letter to Piru Singh’s mother, the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru writes; ‘He paid with his life for his singularly brave act, but he left for the rest of his comrades a unique example of single-handed bravery and determined cold courage. The country is grateful for this sacrifice made in the service of the Motherland, and it is our prayer that this may give you some peace and solace.’

    Piru Singh Shekhawat was born on 20 May 1918 in Rampura Beri village of Churu, Rajasthan, then Rajputana. He came from a large agricultural family and was one of seven siblings; he was the youngest of three brothers and had four sisters.
    Piru began school at the age of six, but right from the beginning he did not like any kind of restriction. School became a daily punishment for this free-spirited, happy- go-lucky child and finally one day, he decided he had had enough. Flinging his slate at his teacher, Piru ran away from his classroom. He never returned, preferring to tend to the fields with his father rather than sit inside a boring, restrictive classroom. Piru was fond