Subedar Khazan Singh: A hero of Battle of Dograi

Col Dilbag Dabas (Retd)

Khazan Singh, a third generation soldier, was born in Maandothi village of Rohtak district of then undivided Punjab. The village is now in Jhajjar district. Maandothi village, inhabited mostly by Jats of the Dalal gotra, incidentally had been a flourishing ‘pargana’ in the nineteenth century. It was the first to take up arms and align with the Nawab of Jhajjar to fight the British during the first war of independence in 1857.

Khazan Singh, son of Subedar Tulsi Ram, after passing matriculation from the village high school, was recruited in 3rd Battalion of Jat Regiment, the same battalion that his father and grandfather had served in with distinction. And in the years to come, he made not only his battalion, and his ancestors but also his entire Dalal clan proud by his gallantry for which he was awarded the coveted Vir Chakra.

The Battle of Dograi during the 1965 war with Pakistan in the western theatre is considered by military historians as the bloodiest battle fought and won by the Indian Army against all possible odds. It was a battle that was first fought with guns and grenades, then with bayonets and finally with bare hands between Pakistan’s 16 Punjab Battalion (heavily defended) and 3rd Jat Battalion of the Indian Army out in the open. 

Dograi is a small Pakistan town across the international border on the Amritsar-Lahore road and is the gateway to Lahore, just 13 km north east of it. By virtue of its strategic location, it was defended heavily. 54 Infantry Brigade of the Indian Army was tasked with capturing Dograi. Earlier, despite most courageous attempts, two Indian Army battalions had not been successful in capturing Dograi. Finally, 3rd Jat Battalion of the same brigade was tasked with capturing this tactically as well as strategically important town situated on both sides of the Ichhogil canal, itself a formidable water obstacle.

And the brave Jats proved their mettle in the iconic battle of Dograi. For its gallant actions, 3rd Jat Battalion was awarded three Maha Vir Chakras (including Lt Col Desmond Hayde, the Commanding Officer), four Vir Chakras, seven Sena Medals, 12 Mentioned-in-Dispatches and 11 COAS Commendation Cards — the highest tally for any unit of the Indian Army, before or since. Subedar Khazan Singh was awarded the Vir Chakra for his courageous acts during the battle. His name finds a special mention, as it is widely believed that besides his inspirational leadership, individual gallantry he displayed during the toughest part of the battle deserved higher recognition. The summary of Subedar Khazan Singh’s bravery is available in the War Diary of 3rd Jat Battalion. 

The bravery of Subedar Khazan Singh was too conspicuous and was well appreciated and recognised by the Commanding Officer. Brigadier Desmond Hayde, as Lieutenant Colonel, had gallantly led the Jats of 3rd Jat Battalion during the battle of Dograi, and was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra.  

The battle account in the War Diary of 3rd Jat Battalion reads...

Subedar Khazan Singh was commanding B Company of 3 Jat during the first assault on Dograi during the intervening night of September 5 and 6, 1965. When the company neared the objective, it came under heavy machine gun fire from a grove. During the intense fire, Subedar Khazan Singh received a direct bullet hit on his head, which though deflected by his helmet, made a deep wound and made him unconscious for a while. On recovering, even though badly shaken, Subedar Khazan Singh found an enemy machine gun still engaging his company. With total disregard to his personal safety, he rushed forward with his gun and silenced it. In the encounter, he came face to face with the enemy company commander and shot him dead. While intense fighting was in progress, his company came under heavy fire from the area of Canal Bridge, further to the south. Undeterred, Subedar Khazan Singh personally led a second assault. During a hand-to-hand fight that ensued, Subedar Khazan Singh was again injured, this time seriously and he fell but quickly got up and joined the assault. After almost half an hour of close combat wherein the enemy was dragged out from trench to trench, B Company successfully captured the objective with minimum casualties to own troops.

For his inspirational leadership, indomitable courage and gallantry of a high order in the face of the well dug in enemy, Subedar Khazan Singh was awarded the Vir Chakra.

(The writer is a veteran Gunner, 6 Field Regiment)