New Delhi: Colonel Hoshiar Singh Dahiya, PVC (5 May 1930 – 6 December 1998) was a member of the Indian Army and was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the country's highest military decoration, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
Hoshiar Singh Dahiya was born to Chaudhary Hira Singh in a Jat family in Sisana village of Sonepat district, Haryana. After studying at Rohtak's Jat College and one year of studies, he joined the army. Dhano Devi, his ex-wife, is alive as of December 2021. He was commissioned into the Grenadiers Regiment of the Indian Army on 30 June 1963 and was given the rank of Lieutenant on 30 June 1965.
Paramveer Chakra
On 15 December 1971, a grenadier battalion was assigned the task of building a bridge over the Basantar river in the Shakargarh sector.
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The Left Forward Company was under the command of Major Hoshiar Singh, and was ordered to capture the enemy's stronghold of Jarpal.
The enemy had built a stronghold on this heavily fortified place. During the assault his company was subjected to heavy shelling from enemy medium machine guns as well as heavy fire. He led the attack anyway, undeterred, and after a bloody struggle, he succeeded in taking the objective.
On 16 December 1971, the enemy retaliated and launched three counter-attacks, two of which were armored. Major Hoshiar Singh, unconcerned by the intense shelling and tank fire, moved from trench to trench, motivating his order and urging his men to persevere and fight.
His company under his brave and intrepid leadership successfully repulsed all the attacks, inflicting considerable casualties on the enemy. On December 17, 1971, the enemy launched a second attack with one battalion and was heavily supported by artillery fire.
Even after being seriously wounded by enemy fire, Major Hoshiar Singh continued to walk in the open between the trenches with complete disregard for his safety when an enemy shell struck close to the Medium Machine Gun post, injuring the crew and disabled it.
Realizing the importance of machine-gun fire, Major Hoshiar Singh rushed to the machine-gun pit and, despite being seriously wounded, manned the gun inflicting severe casualties on the enemy.
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After successfully repelling the attack the enemy retreated, losing 85 men killed including their commanding officer and three other officers. Despite being seriously wounded, Major Hoshiar Singh resisted evacuation till the ceasefire.
Throughout the operation, Major Hoshiar Singh displayed conspicuous gallantry, unwavering will to win and leadership in the best Army traditions.
Later career
At the Officers' Training School, Madras, Singh taught for two years after being promoted to substantive major on 30 June 1976. (now Chennai).
He was commissioned as an instructor at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun in 1981. On 8 April 1983, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and eventually took command of his battalion.
He moved to Jaipur after retiring as a colonel in May 1988, but continued to make frequent visits to his village Sisana and was able to persuade many locals to join the army. He died of cardiac arrest on 6 December 1998, at the age of 61, and was cremated with full military honors in Jaipur.
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His three sons, two of whom served as commissioned officers in the Grenadiers and one of whom joined the Third Grenadiers, survived him.