Major Vijay Rattan Chowdhary was born on 9th July 1939 to Dr. MD Chowdhary. He belonged to the Ambala district of Haryana. He was commissioned into 9 Engr Regt of Madras Engineering Group in the Corps of Engineers. During December 1971, Major V R Chowdhary’s unit, 9 Engr Regt was deployed in the western sector under the command of Lt Col B T Pandit.
| Service Number | IC 11004 |
| Place of Birth | Haryana |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | 9 Engineers Regiment |
| Regiment | The Corps of Engineers |
| Award | Maha Vir Chakra |
| Date of Martyrdom | 17th December 1971 |
On 3/4th Dec 1971, the Indian army crossed the international border spearheaded by 47 Brigade. Major V R Chowdhary was commanding 405 Field coy and was tasked to clear the minefields around Thakurdwara. This was the first-time trawls were used to breach an enemy minefield. Major V R Chowdhary and his field Coy successfully cleared the minefields, paving the way for the tanks of 16(I) Armoured Brigade. Major V R Chowdhary and his comrades completed the assigned task in the nick of time and the Indian tanks dashed across through the path to meet the Patton tanks of the Pakistan army. Throughout this offensive from 3rd Dec to 17 Dec, Major V R Chowdhary personally supervised the operations. However, on 17th Dec 1971, just a few hours before the cease-fire that came into effect, Major V R Chowdhary got hit by enemy shelling and was seriously injured. He later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred.
Major V R Chowdhary was awarded the nation’s second-highest gallantry award, “Maha Vir Chakra” posthumously.
