The Brave last man stand of Indian army in 1961-Joginder Singh

Joginder Singh and his team stood against Chinese soldiers. Outgunned and outnumbered they took last man stand which saved helped Indian army in 1962

A group of Chinese soldiers marched into the India China border and headed towards Tawang. On their way, they come across a watch post guarded by a Sikh regiment. The strength of the Sikh regiment was hardly 20 men, so the Chinese regiment thought to capture the Indian outpost before Tawang offensive. They had mistaken the will power of the Sikh regiment as they guarded the post when wave after waves of Chinese soldiers attacked it. Joginder Singh, the Sikh regiment commander, won Param Vir Chakra for his bravery defending the position.

1961 War:

In 1961 a cold war erupted between India and China. Though both the countries shared a brotherly relationship, the recent turn of events in Tibet caused a rift in the political scenario between India and China. Tibet was an autonomous state and a buffer between India and China. When Mao took over as the c5hairman of China’s communist party, the Chinese approach towards Tibet changed drastically. China sent troops to Tibet and annexed it and declared it as part of mainland China. The Buddist spiritual leader of Tibet, Dalai Lama escaped to India. India gave Dalai Lama political asylum, which infuriated China. Also, there were some border disputes between India and China, which turned into a full-fledged war in 1961.

The Chinese red army attacked India in Aksin China, North of India, and Arunachal Pradesh, East of India. The furious battle part of the war was in the Arunachal Pradesh region. After the Chinese incursions into India, the Indian prime minister ordered a forward policy of offensive to the Indian army, The Chinese ventured into Indian territory and advanced to the city of Tawang. Tawang’s path had a small outpost guarded by 20 Sikh soldiers under the command of Joginder Singh.

Last Man Stand:

Joginder Singh was a seasoned soldier who saw action in the Second World War in the Burma front and Kashmir in 1947. The Chinese attacked the outpost with three waves, which totaled 200 men. The Sikh regiment stood their ground and mowed down the Chinese soldiers. The Indian outpost faced huge losses and was low on ammunition. Commander Joginder Singh ordered his men to fight until death. They jumped on the third wave of Chinese soldiers with nothing but bayonets. The superiorly numbered Chinese army disarmed the last Sikh solider and captured the outpost. Joginder Singh was wounded and died in captivity.

The Chinese returned the ashes of Joginder Singh with full military honors. The Indian government awarded him the Param Vir Chakra medal on 23rd October 1962 in recognition of his bravery. Though the odds were not in their favor, Joginder Singh and his men halted the Chinese offensive, which got the Indian army the much needed time to reinforce Tawang town.