Harbaksh Singh

Harbaksh Singh was born on 1 October 1913 in a wealthy Sikh family, the youngest of seven siblings, in Badrukhan village near Sangrur, the capital of the Jind State.^[2] His father, Dr Harnam Singh, was the first person from the village to become a Doctor. Dr Singh joined the Jind Infantry and participated in the Tirah campaign in 1897-98. He later served in the East African campaign during World War I. The Jind Infantry later was amalgamated into the Indian Army in 1952, into the Punjab Regiment.^[3] Harbaksh attended the Ranbir High School in Sangrur before joining the

In April 1939, the battalion received orders to move out of Razmak and prepare to move abroad, the final destination was not known. Moving to Quetta by road, via Bannu, the battalion made its way to Madras on a special troops train. Embarking on passenger ship, they made their way to British Malaya, reaching Singapore after a few days. They then moved to the town of Ipoh, which was their interim station, before reaching Kuantan.

During the withdrawal from Kuantan on 5 January 1942, Singh drove into a Japanese ambush and was seriously injured. He was evacuated to Alexandra Hospital in Singapore where he remained until the Fall of Singapore.^[10]

Prisoner of war

Harbaksh Singh was taken

After completing the Staff Course at the Staff College, he was posted as GSO-1 (operations and training), Eastern Command.^[15] In October 1947, when

On 12 December 1947, on hearing about the heavy casualties suffered by 1st battalion Sikh, he proceeded to Uri and took over the command of the battalion voluntarily, dropping a star from his rank. He brought back the battalion to Srinagar and began to rehabilitate it. However, even before the rehabilitation was complete, the battalion was called out to fight the enemy who had crossed the snow-clad Pharikian ki Gali and had occupied Handwara.

He led the truncated battalion, in a daring operations in which, after a series of battles, the battalion drove out the enemy from the valley.

In 1948, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier and took over the command of 163 Infantry Brigade and began to advance to Tithwal. The movement forward started on 12 May 1948, and after six days, Tithwal was captured. Brigadier Harbaksh Singh was awarded a Vir Chakra for his bravery.^[16]

The citation for the Vir Chakra reads as follows:^[17][18]

Gazette Notification: 10 Pres 52,26-1-52

Operation: - Date of Award: 1948

CITATION

BRIGADIER HARBAKSH SINGH (IC 31)

COMMANDER 163 BRIGADE (1948)

In May 1948, Brigadier Harbaksh Singh, Commander 163 Brigade, was ordered to advance and capture Tithwal with a view to capturing the enemy's base from where he operated towards the Handwara valley and to cut his advance from Muzzaffarabad to Gurais. The tribesmen were then adopting guerilla warfare to infiltrate the Kashmir Valley.

On the night of 16 May, Brigadier Harbaksh Singh, leading his troops on foot, made a rapid advance through a very difficult terrain, including the crossing of the 11,000-ft. Nastachur Pass, and completely surprised the enemy who broke and withdrew in confusion and panic in all directions. Tithwal was thus captured on 23 May. The success of the operations was to a very great extent due to his personal leadership.

During the subsequent consolidation at Tithwal, when the enemy concentrated a stronger force and brought heavy fire to bear with numerous counter-attacks, Brigadier Harbaksh Singh visited every position placing troops on the ground and was frequently under enemy fire. To keep himself in touch with Divisional HQ he made frequent trips on foot unmindful of the danger of being ambushed as the line of communication was still exposed to enemy infiltration.

During these operations, Brigadier Harbaksh Singh showed gallantry and courage of a very high order and his personal appearance in forward posts, without regard for personal safety, considerably cheered the defenders.

After the Kashmir operations, he went on to serve as the Deputy Commandant of the

He returned to India to take over as the

When the Chinese invaded NEFA and Ladakh, he was moved from Shimla to take over the command of IV Corps. He later he moved as the GOC XXXIII Corps.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

In 1964, he was promoted to Army Commander and took over as the

Around May 12, 1965, Brigade Commander, Vijey Ghai in Kargil convened a conference at HQ. The agenda was not revealed but it started with him reading out the contents of Lt. Gen Harbaksh Singh GOC-in-C Western Command, DO (demi official note) to the forces. The Army Commander had reviewed recent skirmishes in Rann of Kutch and commented that the Pakistanis were continuing with their belligerent attitude and spoke about cultivating a more aggressive spirit in out troops. He also remarked pointedly “has the martial blood in the veins of the Indian Army soldiers dried up” or words to the similar effect.^[19] The operations that followed including the Taking of Point 13620 and Black Rocks was a major boost for the Indian forces. Per the official account of the War,^[20] this was the first counter-offensive undertaken by Indian troops in years. Its success had a good effect on the morale of the troops in J&K and the Army as a whole. Politically it bolstered the image of the country. The outstanding leadership of Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh had played a key role in boosting the morale of a defeated army turning it into a striking force within just three years of the Chinese encounter.

After serving as the

.

Later life and death

Harbaksh Singh died on 14 November 1999.

Awards and decorations

Padma Vibhushan	Padma Bhushan	Vir Chakra
30 Years Long Service Medal	20 Years Long Service Medal	9 Years Long Service Medal

See also

• Gurbakhsh Singh
• Dewan Ranjit Rai
• Captain Amarinder Singh

References