Udham Singh — A braveheart who lived and died fearlessly

Col Dilbag Dabas (Retd)

The gallant Dogras of Himachal Pradesh carried forward the legacy in all wars fought after independence and they continue to do so with pride.

Lance Naik Lala Ram from Kangra became the torchbearer when he earned for himself the Victoria Cross in World War 1. 

Sepoy Bhandari Ram, another Dogra from Bilaspur emulated Lala Ram and was awarded the Victoria Cross in World War 2. 

Udham Singh, another Dogra from the state, got his name added to the roll of honour, when he won the Vir Chakra during the Kargil War. Udham, son of Nand Lal, was born on March 16, 1959, in Cheri village of Bilaspur district in Himachal. He passed his matric from Government High School, Bilaspur, and was enrolled in the 18th Battalion of the Grenadiers Infantry Regiment, a regiment which has the distinction of giving three Param Virs to the Indian Army.

After almost three weeks of bitter fighting, by first light on June 13, 1999, Tololing Top and the formidable Pt 4590 were back in Indian hands. Indian Army had thus won its first conclusive victory in the Kargil War, for which the stage was set by 18 Grenadiers. A large haul of weapons that are normally held only by regular forces, broke the myth that Pakistan had created that intruders were muzahideen freedom fighters.

Loss of Tololing Top and Pt 4590 was a great shock to intruders since they never expected the Indian Army to scale the treacherous heights fully exposed to automatic fire and assault even in the daylight. They, however, fell back and consolidated their defenses on area Hump and Pt 5140 making it untenable for the Indian Army to hold on to the two strategically important recaptured features. Once again, it was 18 Grenadiers, the outstanding battalion that was tasked to recapture Hump so as to maintain the momentum of the attack. One of the heroes on the intervening night of June 14, 15, 1999, when the attack went in to capture Hump, was Havildar Udham Singh of 'C' company of 18 Grenadiers.

No such victory can be gained without individual acts of gallantry that turn the tide in difficult situations and inspire all. 

The individual act of gallantry by Havildar Udham Singh inspired all and hastened the capture of the objective besides saving many lives.

For displaying exceptional courage and leading his section boldly despite being critically wounded, Havildar Udham Singh was awarded the Vir Chakra posthumously."

Havildar Udham Singh, Vr C, the live wire that he was in the face of the enemy, the fearless Dogra from Himachal Pradesh, sacrificed his life for the motherland to uphold the finest traditions of the Indian Army, but the son of the soil that he was, lives in the hearts and minds of all Himachalis and remains their role model. 

"During the battalion attack on the night of June 14/15, 1999, Havildar Udham Singh, one of the section commanders, volunteered to lead the attack with his section on area Hump. As the section came closer to the enemy's position, its advance was held up by the enemy's intense fire from the automatic weapons sited in the sangars (improvised bunkers). Seeing this, Udham Singh reacted immediately. After ordering his men to keep engaging the enemy, with a small team, he crawled towards the enemy position from the flank. He halted his team close to the enemy's forward-most sangar and he himself inched closer to lob a hand grenade inside. His movement was noticed by the enemy, who fired several volleys in his direction. Hit by a hail of bullets, he was flung to the ground. After a few seconds, without caring for his wounds, he mustered his Himachali grit and Grinders killing instinct, got up and rushed to the enemy sangar, from where the fire was coming and lobbed a hand grenade inside. Firing from his personal weapon from close range, he killed three Pakistanis and rallied his men to charge ahead. 

While leading the charge onto the next sangar, Udham Singh got a machine gun burst on his forehead and he died instantly. Seething with anger at the loss of their commander, his men, the fiery Grinders, rushed uphill and, in one fell swoop, drove the enemy out from all sangars thereby attaining another spectacular victory for 18 Grenadiers."

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

The saga of his gallantry…

"During the battalion attack on the night of June 14/15, 1999, Havildar Udham Singh, one of the section commanders, volunteered to lead the attack with his section on area Hump. As the section came closer to the enemy's position, its advance was held up by the enemy's intense fire from the automatic weapons sited in the sangars (improvised bunkers). Seeing this, Udham Singh reacted immediately. After ordering his men to keep engaging the enemy, with a small team, he crawled towards the enemy position from the flank. He halted his team close to the enemy's forward-most sangar and he himself inched closer to lob a hand grenade inside. His movement was noticed by the enemy, who fired several volleys in his direction. Hit by a hail of bullets, he was flung to the ground. After a few seconds, without caring for his wounds, he mustered his Himachali grit and Grinders killing instinct, got up and rushed to the enemy sangar, from where the fire was coming and lobbed a hand grenade inside. Firing from his personal weapon from close range, he killed three Pakistanis and rallied his men to charge ahead. While leading the charge onto the next sangar, Udham Singh got a machine gun burst on his forehead and he died instantly. Seething with anger at the loss of their commander, his men, the fiery Grinders, rushed uphill and, in one fell swoop, drove the enemy out from all sangars thereby attaining another spectacular victory for 18 Grenadiers."