Indian Army officer (1933?2015)
Lt. Gen. Hanut Singh Rathore
,
[1]
[2]
PVSM
,
MVC
(6 July 1933 ? 10 April 2015) was an Indian
General Officer
. He was a recipient of India's second highest military decoration, the
Maha Vir Chakra
, for his role in the
Battle of Basantar
during the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
.
[8]
Early life
[
edit
]
Hanut Singh was born in
Jasol
in a Mahecha
Rathore
Rajput
family
[9]
in
Balotra district
[10]
to Lt Col Arjun Singh, who had served in the
Jodhpur Lancers
, and later commanded the
Kachhawa Horse
.
[11]
He attended the
Colonel Brown Cambridge School
in
Dehradun
and joined the 1st course of the (jsw)
Joint Services Wing.
where he was in the Baker squadron.
[5]
[12]
[13]
Military career
[
edit
]
Upon graduating from the
Indian Military Academy
in December 1952, he chose to join the
Armoured Corps
, and was commissioned into
The Poona Horse
.
[11]
[14]
He did not participate in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
as he was posted as the
brigade major
of the 66th Brigade.
[5]
[4]
Hanut is widely known for his command of
The Poona Horse
in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
, during the
Battle of Basantar
. For his conduct during the battle, he was awarded the
Maha Vir Chakra
.
Maha Vir Chakra
[
edit
]
The citation for the
Maha Vir Chakra
reads as follows:
[15]
[16]
Gazette Notification: 18 Pres/72,12-2-72
Operation: 1971 Cactus Lily
Date of Award: 16 Dec 1971
CITATION
LIEUTENANT COLONEL HANUT SINGH
(IC-6126), 17 HORSE
Lieutenant Colonel Hanut Singh was commanding 17 Horse in Shakargarh Sector of the Western Front. On 16 December 1971, his regiment was inducted into the Basantar River bridgehead and took up positions ahead of the infantry. The enemy launched a number of armoured attacks in strength on 16 and 17 December. Undeterred by enemy medium artillery and tank fire, Lieutenant Colonel Hanut Singh moved from one threatened sector to another with utter disregard for his personal safety. His presence and cool courage inspired his men to remain steadfast and perform commendable acts of gallantry.
Second Lieutenant
Arun Khetarpal
, also from Hanut's regiment, was posthumously awarded the
Param Vir Chakra
for the same battle.
[17]
Hanut was promoted to
major general
on 8 April 1983,
[18]
and to
lieutenant general
on 30 December 1985.
[19]
He subsequently commanded
II Corps
during
Operation Brasstacks
, when India almost went to war with Pakistan.
[20]
He is the only indian soldier whose bravery and valour was appreciated by Pakistan by giving him the title Fakhr-e-Hind after 1971 war.
[21]
Post-retirement
[
edit
]
Upon retirement, he chose to live in
Dehradun
, dedicating his life to meditation. He died on 11 April 2015.
[20]
The Indian Army announced plans for the construction of a war memorial in his memory, which will come up in Jasol.
[22]
Military Awards
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Lt-Gen Hanut Singh Rathore dies while in meditation"
.
- ^
a
b
"Anger, as Dehradun civic body seals the ashram of Lt Gen Hanut Singh Rathore, hero of battle of Basantar"
.
- ^
a
b
c
Maj Gen Raj Mehta.
"
'Huntie' was special"
(PDF)
.
Center for Land Warfare Studies
. Retrieved
15 February
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Hamid Hussain.
"Goodbye Gurudev: Lieutenant General Hanut Singh"
.
Bangladesh Defence Journal
. Retrieved
15 February
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
"veekay's history book: Biography - Lieut. General Hanut Singh, PVSM, MVC"
. 4 October 2012.
- ^
Staff Reporter (12 April 2015).
"Lt. Gen. Hanut Singh, a 1971 war hero, passes away"
.
The Hindu
– via www.thehindu.com.
- ^
"Lt Gen Hanut Singh, PVSM, MVC (retd)"
.
The War Decorated India Trust
. Retrieved
15 February
2018
.
- ^
"Lt-Gen Hanut Singh Rathore dies while in meditation"
.
- ^
"Lt Gen. Hanut Singh ? bold commander who led from front in 1971, but was never made Army chief"
. 13 April 2020.
- ^
"New District of Rajasthan: ??????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ????, ???? ????? ?? ?? ?????"
.
News18 ?????
(in Hindi). 17 March 2023
. Retrieved
6 January
2024
.
- ^
a
b
Lt Gen Kamal Davar.
"Lt Gen Hanut Singh: A legend merges into the Eternal"
.
South Asia Monitor
. Retrieved
15 February
2018
.
- ^
Maj Gen Raj Mehta.
"A VISIONARY CAVALIER : Lt Gen Hanut Singh, PVSM, MVC"
.
South Asia Defence & Strategic Review
. Aakash Media. Archived from
the original
on 7 April 2014
. Retrieved
31 March
2014
.
- ^
Surinder Singh.
"GEN HANUT of PH : "Fakhr-e-Hind"
"
. Retrieved
15 February
2018
.
- ^
Maroof Raza
.
"Lt. Gen. HANUT SINGH- A PERSONAL TRIBUTE"
. Retrieved
15 February
2018
.
- ^
"HANUT SINGH | Gallantry Awards"
.
gallantryawards.gov.in
.
- ^
"Mahavir Chakra (MVC), Awardee: Lt Gen Hanut Singh, PVSM, MVC (retd) @ TWDI"
.
twdi.in
.
- ^
"ARUN KHETARPAL"
. Retrieved
15 February
2018
.
- ^
"Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 14 July 1984. p. 1144.
- ^
"Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 10 January 1987. p. 57.
- ^
a
b
"1971 war hero Hanut Singh passes away"
. 12 April 2015
. Retrieved
15 February
2018
.
- ^
Ansari, Zoyena Shams (15 August 2018).
"Dehradun: 1971 Indo-Pak hero Hanut Singh's memorial sealed, triggers protest"
.
- ^
"War memorial in memory of Lt Gen Hanut Singh soon"
.
The Times of India
. Retrieved
15 February
2018
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Leadership in the Indian Army (Biographies of Twelve Soldiers) by Maj. Gen. V.K.Singh, Sage Publications India Pvt.Ltd.
External links
[
edit
]
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