Amar Singh — Brave sepoy who displayed true grit

Col Dilbag Dabas (Retd)

Amar Singh, a second generation Himachali Dogra soldier, was born on June 19, 1940, at Netar village in Kangra district in the then undivided Punjab. 

Netar, now forms part of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. After obtaining basic education from the village primary school, Amar Singh was enrolled in the 1st Dogra, the oldest battalion of Dogra Infantry Regiment, on December 19, 1957, in which his father Balam Singh, too, had served with distinction. 

Congo (Named Zaire since 1971) achieved independence on June 30, 1960, and was immediately engulfed in a civil war. The colonisers (Belgians) left suddenly without a proper successive government to take over, with the result that there was a near-vacuum. International intrigues inflamed inter-tribal rivalries. Congo was, thus, totally unprepared for independence. Within two weeks of its independence, an organised mutiny broke out in the Congolese army as also the violence that erupted between the white and black civilians. Realising the gravity of the situation, the newly formed Congolese government, selected, and not elected, sought help from the United Nations (UN) for the restoration of peace and harmony in the newly formed Republic. 

The Security Council was immediately seized of the problem and, by a resolution on July 14, 1960, requested India to send an infantry brigade group of about 3,000 men. Considering the request in right perspective, in March 1960, India sent its 99 Infantry Brigade Group to Congo composed of 1st Dogra battalion, 2nd Jat battalion, 3rd Gorkha Rifles Battalion along with supporting arms and services. The brigade group, as part of multi-national peace-keeping force, under the aegis of the United Nations, was tasked to deal with the mutineers and help maintain law and order in the newly formed Republic as per international conventions. 

Soon after landing at Elizabethville in Congo, the 1st Dogra Battalion found itself engaged in a bloody police action against gendarmeries (local rebels and mutineers). After a detailed study of the environment and the modus operandi of the rebels, it started conducting the operation with utmost gusto, as Dogras always do. During one such high risk operation, Sepoy Amar Singh of B Company of the 1st Dogra Battalion displayed his true grit and proved that nothing beats Himachali Dogras. For his indomitable courage, camaraderie and fighting spirit against all possible, Sepoy Amar Singh was awarded the Vir Chakra. 

The battle account of his bravery, recorded in the war diary of the battalion reads: “On September 13, 1961, B Company of the 1st Dogra Battalion attacked the positions strongly held by the rebels in the post and telegraph office in the heart of Elizabethville (Congo). No. 1 Section, to which Sepoy Amar Singh belonged, was given the task of clearing the tactically important corridor in front of the main entrance to the Post and Telegraph office. While nearing the corridor, the section came under enemy fire and was forced to take cover. Meanwhile, Sepoy Amar Singh located the gendarmerie machine gun responsible for holding up the assault. He crawled forward to a dominating position and opened fire with his light machine gun and killed the gendarmerie machine gunner and silenced the machine gun thereby saving the lives of his comrades. He then crawled still further forward and with accurate fire supported the assault by his section. While doing so, he was seriously wounded by a light machine gun burst from the rebels. 

Despite serious injury, he kept on giving effective covering fire to his assaulting comrades until his section captured the entire corridor. During the said operation, Sepoy Amar Singh, just about 21-year-old and very young in service, showed indomitable courage and devotion to the duty of a high order, for which he was awarded the Vir Chakra”. 

Valour comes naturally to a Himachali. Among 21 Military Param Virs in the country, four have been nurtured by the Himachal soil. Even the tally of other awardees from Himachal Pradesh speaks volumes of this small state, whose population is just about 2.6 per cent of the Indian total. 

The battle account of his bravery...

“On September 13, 1961, B Company of the 1st Dogra Battalion attacked the positions strongly held by the rebels in the post and telegraph office in the heart of Elizabethville (Congo). No. 1 Section, to which Sepoy Amar Singh belonged, was given the task of clearing the tactically important corridor in front of the main entrance to the Post and Telegraph office. While nearing the corridor, the section came under enemy fire and was forced to take cover. Meanwhile, Sepoy Amar Singh located the gendarmerie (local rebels and mutineers) machine gun responsible for holding up the assault. He crawled forward to a dominating position and opened fire with his light machine gun and killed the Gendarmerie machine gunner and silenced the machine gun thereby saving the lives of his comrades. He then crawled still further forward and with accurate fire supported the assault by his section. While doing so, he was seriously wounded by a light machine gun burst from the rebels. Despite serious injury, he kept on giving effective covering fire to his assaulting comrades until his section captured the entire corridor. During the said operation, Sepoy Amar Singh, just about 21-year-old and very young in service, showed indomitable courage and devotion to the duty of a high order, for which he was awarded the Vir Chakra”

(As recorded in the war diary of the Dogra Battalion)

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