Manjit Singh (soldier)

Last updated


Manjit Singh

MVC
Born1942
Hoshiarpur district, Punjab, India
DiedJanuary 2020 (Aged 78)
Mohali, Punjab, India
AllegianceFlag of India.svg  India
Service/branchFlag of Indian Army.svg  Indian Army
Rank Brigadier of the Indian Army.svg Brigadier
Unit Mahar Regiment
11 JAK LI
Battles/wars Operation Pawan 1987, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Awards Maha Vir Chakra ribbon.svg Maha Vir Chakra [1]

Brigadier Manjit Singh Minhas, MVC was an officer of the Indian Army, who served with the Mahar Regiment and the 11 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy, during Operation Pawan 1987 in Sri Lanka.

Contents

Early life and education

Brigadier Manjit Singh Minhas was born in Sikh Rajput family Hoshiarpur district, Punjab, India and studied at the Khalsa College, Amritsar. He came from a military family, with his father and two brothers also having served in the Indian Army. [2]

Military career

Brigadier Manjit Singh was commissioned into the Mahar Regiment on 17 December 1961 and subsequently transferred to the 11 JAK LI. In October 1987 during Operation Pawan, he commanded the 41 Brigade that was among the formations tasked to capture Jaffna from the militant group LTTE, an operation that saw intense fighting and heavy casualties. Brigadier Manjit Singh's Brigade was tasked to establish a link-up with Jaffna Fort, in the face of all-out and very aggressive efforts by the LTTE militants to stop their advance. He personally took charge of the leading elements with just two companies of Rajput Rifles. He was able to break through the cordon established by the LTTE militants, and establish a link-up with Para Commandos based out of Jaffna Fort. For his valour and leadership, he was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra. [3] [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Infantry Division (India)</span> Infantry division of the Indian Army

The 4th Indian Infantry Division, also known as the Red Eagle Division, is an infantry division of the Indian Army. This division of the British Indian Army was formed in Egypt in 1939 during the Second World War. During the Second World War, it took part in campaigns in East Africa, Syria, North Africa and Italy. Post independence, the division is part of the I Corps and headquartered at Prayagraj.

The 1st Armoured Division is an armoured division of the Indian Army, headquartered at Patiala, Punjab. It is part of II Corps of the Indian Army's Western Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Peace Keeping Force</span> Military unit in the Sri Lankan Civil War

Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lankan Civil War between Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry</span> Military unit

The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. The regimental center is in Srinagar's Airport Complex at Awantipora with a winter setup near Jammu. Its regimental insignia consists of a pair of crossed rifles. The regiment mostly consists of volunteers from the state of Jammu & Kashmir and ethnic groups from the state. The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is considered to be one of the most decorated regiment of the Indian army having won 1 Param Veer Chakra and 3 Ashok Chakra. Naib Subedar Chuni Lal of the 8th battalion Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is one of the most decorated personnel of the Indian Army.

The Sikh Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. The regiment is the successor unit to the 23rd, 32nd and 34th Royal Sikh Pioneers of the British Indian Army. The regiment recruits from the Sikh community of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana states of India. The versatility of the Sikh Light Infantry has seen the regiment conduct operations from conventional warfare on the Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield in the world, to counter-terrorism. Units of the regiment have also been deployed as part of the United Nations Emergency Force. The regimental motto is "Deg Tegh Fateh", meaning "prosperity in peace and victory in war". The motto has great significance with the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, with whom the Mazhabi community is very closely associated, Guru Gobind Singh named them mazhabhi as in faithful for their dedication to do good. The regiment's cap badge is a chakram or quoit, with a mounted kirpan. The insignia was designed to honour the Mazhabi community's Akali Nihang ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramaswamy Parameshwaran</span> RanVeer

Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran, PVC, Parry to his colleagues, was an Officer of the Indian Army who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military decoration, for his bravery.


The Jaffna University Helidrop was the first of the operations launched by the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) aimed at disarming the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by force and capturing the town of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in the opening stages of Operation Pawan during the active Indian mediation in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Mounted on the midnight of 12 October 1987, the operation was planned as a fast heliborne assault involving Mi-8's of the No.109 HU, the 10th Para Commandos and a contingent of the 13th Sikh LI. The aim of the operation was to capture the LTTE leadership at Jaffna University building which served as the Tactical Headquarters of the LTTE, which was expected to shorten Operation Pawan, the battle for Jaffna. However, the operation ended disastrously, failing to capture its objectives due to intelligence and planning failures. The helidropped force suffered significant casualties, with nearly the entire Sikh LI detachment of twenty-nine troops, along with six paracommandos, falling in battle.

The 11th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It formed part of Indian III Corps in the Malaya Command during the Battle of Malaya. The division was re-raised on 1 April 1965 and is presently part of the XII Corps of Southern Command. It is presently responsible for safeguarding the borders with Pakistan along Southern Rajasthan and Gujarat.

""Operation Pawan- The Battle for Jaffna"".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuldip Singh Chandpuri</span> Indian Army officer

Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri MVC, VSM was a decorated Indian Army officer. He is known for his leadership in the Battle of Longewala during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, for which he was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, the second highest Indian military decoration, by the Indian government. The 1997 Hindi film Border was based on the battle, with his role played by Sunny Deol. He was a councillor in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation from 2006 to 2011.

Padhiana is a village in the tehsil and district of Jalandhar, Punjab, India. It falls in Adampur block of the district. The village has 794 hectares of land. The population of Padhiana was 2885 at the 1991 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digendra Kumar</span> Recipient of Maha Vir Chakra

Digendra Kumar MVC, SM is a former soldier of the 2nd battalion of the Rajputana Rifles regiment of the Indian army. He was awarded the Mahavir Chakra on 15 August 1999, for his acts of bravery in the Kargil War. He retired from the army on 31 July 2005.

Lieutenant General Khem Karan Singh MVC was a General Officer in the Indian Army. He was awarded Padma Bhushan for his services to the nation during the 1971 war. He also received Maha Vir Chakra for his services during 1965 Indo-Pakistan war.

65th Armoured Regiment, is an armoured regiment which is part of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army.

Lieutenant-General Joginder Singh Gharaya MVC, KC, VSM was a highly decorated Indian Army general and the only member of the Indian Armed Forces to have won both the Maha Vir Chakra and the Kirti Chakra, the second highest wartime and peacetime Indian decorations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">54th Infantry Division (India)</span> Military unit

The 54th Infantry Division is an Infantry division of the Indian Army. The Division was raised as an Infantry Division, but was converted into a Reorganised Amphibious Formation (RAMFOR) in 2011. It is currently the only division of the Indian Army which carries out Amphibious warfare. The division is headquartered at Secunderabad in Telangana and is a part of XXI Corps. The Division is commanded by a Two-star General Officer of the rank of Major General titled General Officer Commanding (GOC).

Commodore Arvind Singh, MVC, NM was an officer in the Indian Navy notable for his participation in Operation Pawan, in Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. He displayed exemplary courage and leadership during the conflict. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest military decoration and the Nau Sena Medal for gallantry and leadership in different operations.

Brigadier Kailash Prasad Pande, MVC was an officer in the Indian Army, who served with the Regiment of Artillery. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest award for his role in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narinder Singh Sandhu</span> Indian Army officer (1932–2018)

Brigadier Narinder Singh Sandhu MVC was an Indian Army officer who was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the second-highest Indian military decoration, for gallantry, leadership and devotion to duty during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. Sandhu was commissioned into the Indian Army Armoured Corps in 1953, and participated in the Battle of Asal Uttar during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, and was mentioned in dispatches. He transferred to the Dogra Regiment in 1970, and it was for his performance as commanding officer of the 10th Battalion, Dogra Regiment during an assault on a fortified Pakistan Army position that he was awarded the MVC. He retired as a brigadier and was active in veterans' and gallantry award recipients' matters until his death of colorectal cancer in 2018.

Major General Dalvir Singh AVSM, VrC, VSM is a retired Indian Special Forces officer, a former General Officer of the Indian Army and the recipient of Vir Chakra, India's third-highest War-time gallantry award. He has commanded the 10th Battalion Special Forces, the elite 52 Special Action Group of the NSG, Kilo Force of the Rashtriya Rifles and the Territorial Army (India), with distinction. After retirement from active military service, he has been serving as the Director Training of Rajasthan Police Training Center Jodhpur.

References

  1. "BRIG MANJIT SINGH MAHA VIR CHAKRA". Indian Army, Govt of India official website.
  2. "Brigadier decorated for Lanka ops dies". The Tribune. 12 January 2020.
  3. Aman Singh Chhina, Man (12 January 2020). "Brigadier who led the bloodied IPKF push at Jaffna, and never regretted it". Indian Express.
  4. "MVC recipient Brigadier Manjit Singh (retd) given tearful adieu". Punjab News Express. 12 January 2020.