The Brave: Param Vir Chakra Stories by Rachna Bisht Rawat Page A
Authors: Rachna Bisht Rawat
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of hunting and roaming the forests and now had all the time for the things he loved.
The Army had always appealed to him as a career and he kept going to recruitment camps till he was selected. At 18, he joined the Army, coincidentally on his birthday—20 May 1936. He was sent to 10/1 Punjab. After training for a year at Jhelum he was posted to 5/1 Punjab. Though he had hated school, once in the Army, where he always wanted to be, Piru quickly cleared his promotional exams one after the other and soon became a lance naik and then, within a year, a naik. He was posted as an instructor in the Punjab Regimental Centre at Jhelum. In May 1945, he was appointed company havaldar major. He even went to Japan after World War II ended to serve with the Commonwealth Occupational Forces. By the time he returned in September 1947, India and Pakistan had become two countries. Being a part of the Rajput segment of 5/1 Punjab, Piru was sent to 6 Raj. Rif.
These were the terrible days when the Pakistani Army, in connivance with Pathan raiders, were attacking Jammu and Kashmir. Piru’s battalion was flown to Kashmir and was part of the force used to push the raiders back beyond Uri. This was the background in which Piru Singh showed exemplary bravery and posthumously won his Param Vir Chakra.
He died on 18 July 1948. He was 30 years old.
CONGO—1961
I ndia became a founder member of the United Nations (UN) on 24 October 1945.
One of the major roles of the UN has been to bring about world peace. In this endeavour to maintain peace, the UN Peacekeeping force has unfortunately had to often resort to arms.
The Indian Army is the second largest contributor of troops to the UN missions and has taken part in as many as 31 such operations, of which Congo was one. Nearly 100 officers and men have lost their lives till now in these missions to ensure world peace. Their sacrifices often fade quickly from public memory since the soldiers die in a foreign land, fighting for a foreign country. In the UN operations in Congo, 1960, Captain Gurbachan Sigh Salaria of 3/1 Gorkha Rifles was posthumously decorated with the Param Vir Chakra.
The Congo mission of 1960 is considered one of the biggest UN missions of its time; it had under command at least 20, 000 troops.
A brief background to the problem: since 1878, Congo, now Zaire, was ruled by Belgium, a country which is about one twentieth its size. In January 1960, Belgium agreed to give Congo its independence. Elections were held and in June 1960 Belgian Congo became the Democratic Republic of Congo.
There was a catch. The Congolese Army continued to be commanded by Belgium’s Lieutenant General Emile Janssens, with an all-Belgian officer force. There were no Congolese officers, which gave rise to great dissent and soon after independence, the Army declared mutiny. Congolese soldiers demanded better salaries and the expulsion of Belgian officers. There were anti-Belgian riots. The Belgians left Congo, but a civil war situation developed in the country.
Belgium quickly moved its own army into Congo, with the aim of protecting its citizens. Since this was carried out without the permission of the Congolese government, the government ordered expulsion of all Belgian troops. However, the provincial president, Moise Tshombe, announced that Katanga, the richest province of Congo, was seceding. Congo reached out for UN help and asked for military aid to protect Congo from Belgium’s perceived colonial threat.
Troops of the UN Peacekeeping Mission landed in Congo in mid-July 1960 and were immediately deployed in the capital. When the UN decided that military intervention would be required to bring peace and order in Congo, India contributed a brigade of around 3000 men to the UN force.
A decision was taken to send one brigade to Congo, and 99 Infantry Brigade was picked for the task. 3/1 Gorkha Rifles was part of 99 Infantry Brigade. Most of the battalion was airlifted from Delhi to Leopoldville
The Army had always appealed to him as a career and he kept going to recruitment camps till he was selected. At 18, he joined the Army, coincidentally on his birthday—20 May 1936. He was sent to 10/1 Punjab. After training for a year at Jhelum he was posted to 5/1 Punjab. Though he had hated school, once in the Army, where he always wanted to be, Piru quickly cleared his promotional exams one after the other and soon became a lance naik and then, within a year, a naik. He was posted as an instructor in the Punjab Regimental Centre at Jhelum. In May 1945, he was appointed company havaldar major. He even went to Japan after World War II ended to serve with the Commonwealth Occupational Forces. By the time he returned in September 1947, India and Pakistan had become two countries. Being a part of the Rajput segment of 5/1 Punjab, Piru was sent to 6 Raj. Rif.
These were the terrible days when the Pakistani Army, in connivance with Pathan raiders, were attacking Jammu and Kashmir. Piru’s battalion was flown to Kashmir and was part of the force used to push the raiders back beyond Uri. This was the background in which Piru Singh showed exemplary bravery and posthumously won his Param Vir Chakra.
He died on 18 July 1948. He was 30 years old.
CONGO—1961
I ndia became a founder member of the United Nations (UN) on 24 October 1945.
One of the major roles of the UN has been to bring about world peace. In this endeavour to maintain peace, the UN Peacekeeping force has unfortunately had to often resort to arms.
The Indian Army is the second largest contributor of troops to the UN missions and has taken part in as many as 31 such operations, of which Congo was one. Nearly 100 officers and men have lost their lives till now in these missions to ensure world peace. Their sacrifices often fade quickly from public memory since the soldiers die in a foreign land, fighting for a foreign country. In the UN operations in Congo, 1960, Captain Gurbachan Sigh Salaria of 3/1 Gorkha Rifles was posthumously decorated with the Param Vir Chakra.
The Congo mission of 1960 is considered one of the biggest UN missions of its time; it had under command at least 20, 000 troops.
A brief background to the problem: since 1878, Congo, now Zaire, was ruled by Belgium, a country which is about one twentieth its size. In January 1960, Belgium agreed to give Congo its independence. Elections were held and in June 1960 Belgian Congo became the Democratic Republic of Congo.
There was a catch. The Congolese Army continued to be commanded by Belgium’s Lieutenant General Emile Janssens, with an all-Belgian officer force. There were no Congolese officers, which gave rise to great dissent and soon after independence, the Army declared mutiny. Congolese soldiers demanded better salaries and the expulsion of Belgian officers. There were anti-Belgian riots. The Belgians left Congo, but a civil war situation developed in the country.
Belgium quickly moved its own army into Congo, with the aim of protecting its citizens. Since this was carried out without the permission of the Congolese government, the government ordered expulsion of all Belgian troops. However, the provincial president, Moise Tshombe, announced that Katanga, the richest province of Congo, was seceding. Congo reached out for UN help and asked for military aid to protect Congo from Belgium’s perceived colonial threat.
Troops of the UN Peacekeeping Mission landed in Congo in mid-July 1960 and were immediately deployed in the capital. When the UN decided that military intervention would be required to bring peace and order in Congo, India contributed a brigade of around 3000 men to the UN force.
A decision was taken to send one brigade to Congo, and 99 Infantry Brigade was picked for the task. 3/1 Gorkha Rifles was part of 99 Infantry Brigade. Most of the battalion was airlifted from Delhi to Leopoldville
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