Decorated Punjab martyr’s son becomes third generation army officer in his family

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, September 9

He was all of three months when he lost his father in an anti-terrorist operation near Baramulla in 1999. Now 24 years later, Lt Navteshwar Singh’s first step out of the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai has been to his father’s battalion into which he was commissioned on Saturday, and in the process becoming the third-generation officer in his family that hails from Ropar in Punjab.

His father, Maj Harminder Pal Singh, of 18 Grenadiers, was posthumously decorated with the Shaurya Chakra for gallantry displayed by him during a heavy gun battle with terrorists in Sudarkut Bala village.

His grandfather, Capt Harpal Singh, was an Emergency Commission Officer of 3 Field Regiment.

Incidentally, 18 Grenadiers had later played a crucial role during the 1999 Kargil conflict, being involved in the capture of Tiger Hill and Tololing in the Dras Sector.

Grenadier (later Subedar Major) Yogendra Singh Yadav of this unit was decorated with Param Vir Chakra, the highest gallantry award.

Maj Harminder’s brother, a merchant navy officer, legally adopted Navteshwar.

“At 10 years, when I learnt the reality, my resolve strengthened to follow my real father’s footsteps. I look up to both my fathers, one who displayed immense courage and stayed true to the oath he took on commissioning and the other who left his personal life in order to take care of his elder brother’s family,” Navteshwar wrote in an in-house OTA publication.

My grandfather and father always motivated me to join the Army, although my mother always tried to hold me back with the fear of losing me. But I was determined enough to make her agree eventually, he wrote.

He had desperately wanted to join the National Defence Academy after school, but going by his mother’s wishes, pursued B.Tech (Mechanical).

While doing so he had joined the NCC without telling anybody at home. This made his mother realise that he was serious about his aim of joining the Army and she too started supporting him.

In his first attempt, which was for the Air Force, he was declared unfit to fly due to longer thigh length. He finally made it to the OTA on his sixth attempt through the NCC Special Entry Scheme.

“Just before joining OTA, I came across a baby book that my father prepared in that brief one month he spent with me. In that, the last page is about ‘What father and mother want the baby to become in future,’ where in capitals and bold he mentioned, ‘Indian Army Officer’.

Seeing this, I got that extra push to perform to my best abilities in the academy and opt for a parental claim into 18 Grenadiers,” he wrote.

Navteshwar was among the 161 gentleman cadets of the SSC-116 course along with 36 women cadets of the SSC (W) – 30 course that passed out on Saturday. In addition, four gentleman cadets and eight women cadets from friendly foreign countries also completed their training.

The passing out parade was reviewed by Chief of the Army Staff, Gen Manoj Pande. The coveted Sword of Honour was awarded to BUO Nakka Naveen, OTA Gold Medal to ACA Sudeep Kumar Sahu, Silver Medal to BCA Dushyant Singh Shekhawat and the Bronze Medal to AUO Jyoti Bisht.