
Major Baljit Singh Randhawa was born in the Amritsar district of Punjab on November 11, 1934. He was inspired to join the forces while in his school days. He succeeded in his goal in the later stages of life. He got commissioned into the 4 Rajput Regiment in 1958 from the prestigious Indian Military Academy.
Service Number | IC 11212 |
Place of Birth | Amritsar, Punjab |
Rank | Major |
Unit | 4 Rajput |
Regiment | Rajput Regiment |
Award | Maha Vir Chakra |
Date of Martyrdom | 17th May 1965 |
In 1965, 4 Rajput Regiment was deployed in the Kargil sector in J&K. Although the Indo-Pak war started on 1st Sep 1965, border tensions were going on already from May. On 17th May, 4 Rajput was tasked to attack an enemy position in the Kargil sector. Major Baljit Singh was the commander of the company which was tasked with the operation. He started his attack at 0200 hours. Since the position was heavily guarded, the company came under heavy mortar, light machine gun, and small arms fire. Major Baljit Singh led his troops from the front and in the end, his unit got succeeded in capturing the peak of the feature. Then they were advancing to a further position, Major Baljit Singh saw a light machine gun was holding their advance, he thought it should be neutralized first. He crawled to the position in between heavy firing without thinking for his safety. As he was moving forward, he was shot by a bullet but didn’t told to his comrades, so that they can focus on the attack. He continued his command in his last times and only thought about the operation. And he succumbed to his injuries and laid down his life in glory.
For his unparalleled courage and impressive way of leading his troops to victory, he was awarded ‘Maha Vir Chakra’.