Indian Army officer (1919?2001)
Lieutenant General
Sagat Singh
,
PVSM
(14 July 1919 ? 26 September 2001) was a
General Officer
in the
Indian Army
, notable for his participation in
liberation of Goa
and later in
Indo-Pakistani war of 1971
. He held many commands and staff appointments throughout his career.
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Singh was born in a
Rajput
family in the village of
Kusumdesar
in Churu region of
Bikaner State
on 14 July 1919 to Brijlal Singh Rathore of Kusumdesar and a
Bhati
lady, Jadao Kanwar of Hadla. Brijlal was a soldier in the
Bikaner Ganga Risala
who served in
Mesopotamia
,
Palestine
and
France
during
World War I
. He was recalled to service at the outbreak of
World War II
and retired as an Honorary
Captain
. Sagat was the oldest of three brothers and six sisters, he completed his schooling from Walter Nobles High School at
Bikaner
in 1936.
Bikaner Ganga Risala
[
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]
Singh joined
Dungar College
at Bikaner but right after his intermediate exam in 1938, he was enrolled as a
Naik
in the
Bikaner Ganga Risala
. Later, he was promoted to
Jemadar
(now called Naib Subedar) and given command of a
platoon
.
World War II
[
edit
]
With the outbreak of
World War II
, he was among the few
Junior Commissioned Officers
who received a commission as
Second Lieutenants
in the Ganga Risala. The Risala was sent to
Sind
in 1941 to deal with the Hoor rebellion. Here, the Sadul Light Infantry replaced the Ganga Risala and Singh was transferred to the new unit. In 1941, the unit landed at
Basra
and came under the
Iraqforce
commanded by
Lieutenant General
Edward Quinan
.
Singh, with the Sadul Light Infantry, then moved
Jubair
in Iraq. He was appointed the unit's Military Transport Officer after having obtained an instructor grading in the Military Transport Course. He later served as
adjutant
and then took command of a
company
. After a staff stint at the sub area headquarters, he was selected to attend the Middle East Staff College at
Haifa
. He was the only
State Forces
officer to be selected. After completing the staff course, he was appointed
General Staff Officer Grade 3
(GSO III) at Headquarters
40th Indian Infantry Brigade
in
Ahvaz
, Iran.
In September 1944, Singh rejoined his battalion and was appointed adjutant. He was selected to attend the
Staff College, Quetta
and joined the 12th War Staff course from May to November 1945.
After completing the course, he was recalled to Bikaner and appointed
brigade major
of the state forces, working directly under the
commander-in-chief
.
After the war, when it became apparent that India would be an independent nation, he was responsible for the absorption of the state forces into the
Indian Army
.
Indian Army
[
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]
In 1949, Singh was transferred to the Indian Army and joined the
3 Gorkha Rifles
. He was appointed
General Staff Officer Grade 2
(GSO II) at Headquarters Delhi Area. His seniority in the state forces was restored and in October 1950, he was appointed
brigade major
(BM) of the 168 Infantry Brigade in
Samba
. During this stint, he attended the Mountain Warfare course and was shortlisted for command of the
President's Bodyguard
. After three years as BM, he was posted to the 3rd battalion 3rd Gorkha Rifles (3/3 GR) as a company commander in October 1953. He served in the battalion for a year and-a-half in
Bharatpur
and in
Dharamshala
.
In February 1955, Singh was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant colonel
and appointed
commanding officer
of the second battalion 3rd Gorkha Rifles (2/3 GR) at
Ferozepur
. He moved the battalion to its field area in
Jammu and Kashmir
in October 1955 and relinquished command in December to attend the senior officers course. After completing the course, where he obtained an instructor grading, he took command of 3/3 GR at Dharamshala. In August 1957, he moved the battalion to
Poonch
and in November that year, he was posted as a senior instructor at the Infantry School Mhow.
After a
2
+
1
⁄
2
-year stint, in May 1960, he was promoted to the rank of
colonel
and posted to Army HQ as deputy director personnel services in the Adjutant-General's branch.
Here, his good work brought him to the notice of the
Adjutant-General
Lieutenant General
P P Kumaramangalam
.
In September 1961, Singh was promoted to the rank of
brigadier
and given command of India's only parachute brigade, the elite
50th Parachute Brigade
at
Agra
. This was unprecedented as command of the brigade is not given to non-para officers. At the age of 42, he immediately earned his
maroon beret
and his
Parachutist badge
by making the required number of jumps.
Liberation of Goa
[
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]
In late November 1961, Singh was summoned to the Military Operations directorate at Army HQ for the planning of the
liberation of Goa
. The force consisted of 17th Infantry Division, led by Major General
Kunhiraman Palat Candeth
, which was to move into Goa from the East and 50 Parachute Brigade which was tasked to execute a subsidiary thrust from the North. Gen Candeth was in overall command of the force. The para brigade had two battalions (1 Para and 2 Para) and it was planned that one battalion would be para-dropped. 2 Para was moved to
Begumpet Air Force Station
for this purpose. The brigade moved from Agra on 2 December and reached
Belgaum
by 6 December where Singh established the brigade HQ. Since the brigade has only 2 battalions 2nd battalion
Sikh Light Infantry
(2 Sikh LI) which was in
Madras
was also allotted. The brigade received armoured elements as well - the
7th Light Cavalry
with its
Stuart tanks
and a squadron of
8th Light Cavalry
which had
AMX-13
tanks.
Hostilities at Goa began at 09:45 on 17 December 1961, when a unit of Indian troops attacked and occupied the town of Maulinguem in the north east, killing two Portuguese soldiers.
[10]
On the morning of 18 December, Singh moved the brigade into Goa in three columns:
- The eastern column comprised the 2 Para advanced towards the town of
Ponda
in central Goa via Usgao.
- The central column consisting of the 1 Para advanced towards Panaji via the village of Banastari.
- The western column?the main thrust of the attack?comprised the 2 Sikh LI as well as an armoured division which crossed the border at 06:30 and advanced on
Tivim
.
[10]
Although the 50th Para Brigade was charged with merely assisting the main thrust conducted by the 17th Infantry Division, its units moved rapidly across minefields, roadblocks and four riverine obstacles to be the first to reach the capital of Goa,
Panjim
on 19 December 1961. The brigade achieved objectives much beyond its initial purview. On entering the capital, Singh ordered his troops to remove their steel helmets and wear the
Parachute Regiment
’s
maroon berets
.
[11]
[12]
The brigade was in Goa till June 1962. After moving back to Agra, Singh led the brigade for another year-and-a-half, until January 1964. He was selected to attend the prestigious
National Defence College
(NDC). He joined the 4th NDC course and graduated in January 1965. He was then appointed Brigadier General Staff (BGS) at HQ
XI Corps
at
Jalandhar
.
General Officer
[
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]
After a short stint as BGS, in July 1965, Singh was promoted to the rank of
major general
and appointed
general officer commanding
(GOC)
17 Mountain Division
, the division which had participated in the Goa operations. The division had since moved to
Sikkim
and was on the Indo-China border.
During this stint, the
Nathu La and Cho La clashes
took place, where 17 Mountain Division achieved "decisive tactical advantage" and defeated the Chinese forces in these clashes.
[13]
In December 1967, Singh was appointed GOC 101 Communication Zone in
Shillong
. The formation was involved in operations in the
Mizo Hills
. He immediately set out to build the formation's capabilities in intelligence gathering and
counter-insurgency
. During this stint, on 26 January 1970, Singh was awarded the
Param Vishisht Seva Medal
for distinguished service of the most exceptional order.
[15]
After a stint of three years as GOC 101 Communication zone, Singh was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant general
and took over the command of
IV Corps
in December 1970
[16]
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
[
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]
During the
Bangladesh Liberation War
in 1971, the corps made the famous advance to
Dhaka
over the River
Meghna
.
[17]
Lt Gen Sagat Singh also conceptualised the Indian Army's first
heliborne operation
in the
Battle of Sylhet
[18]
He witnessed in
Dhaka
the signing of the surrender instrument by
General Niazi
.
For his leadership and command for the race to Dhaka, the
Government of India
honored Lt. Gen. Sagat Singh with the third highest civilian award of
Padma Bhushan
.
[19]
Lt. Gen. Sagat Singh is the only other Corps commander besides Lt. Gen. (later Gen. and
COAS
)
T N Raina
and Lt. Gen.
Sartaj Singh
to be so awarded in 1971.
Lt. Gen. Sagat Singh died at the
Army Hospital Research and Referral
,
New Delhi
on 26 September 2001.
[20]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Singh married Kamla Kumari on 27 January 1947; Kamla was daughter of the
Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir
, Rachpal Singh. They had four sons, two of whom joined the army. Their eldest son, Ranvijay, was born in February 1949. He was commissioned into the 1st battalion,
The Garhwal Rifles
(1 GARH RIF), which was later mechanised and re-designated as 6th battalion the
Mechanised Infantry Regiment
(6 MECH). He retired in the rank of
colonel
. The second son, Digvijay, was born in October 1950 and was commissioned into the 2nd battalion the
3rd Gorkha Rifles
(2/3 GR), the battalion his father had commanded. Unfortunately, he died an untimely death while serving with the battalion in Poonch as a
captain
on 4 March 1976, when the jeep in which he was travelling met with an accident. Their third son, Vir Vijay was born in August 1954. An ill-fated scooter accident in Delhi claimed his life just eight months before that of his elder brother. The loss of two sons in the prime of their lives within a short span of eight months was a terrible loss to Sagat and his wife. Their youngest son Chandra Vijay was born in April 1956. He became a business executive.
In popular culture
[
edit
]
Sagat Singh's character was played by
Jackie Shroff
in the 2018 Indian Hindi-language film
Paltan
.
A comic book about Singh was released by Aan Comics in 2021, on the 50th anniversary of the
Indo-Pakistani war of 1971
.
[21]
See also
[
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]
Further reading
[
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]
- Col. C L Proudfoot,
Flash of the Khukri: History of the 3rd Gorkha Rifles Regiment
, Vision Books
- Air Chief Marshal
P C Lal
,
My Years with the IAF
, Lancer International
- Maj. Gen.
Afsir Karim
,
The Story of India’s Airborne Troops
, Lancer International
- Brigadier
Siddiq Salik
,
Witness to Surrender
, Vikas Publications
- Maj. Gen. Sukhwant Singh,
The liberation of Bangladesh
, Vikas Publications
- Maj. Gen. Lachman Singh Lehl,
Victory in Bangladesh
, Natraj Publications
- Maj Gen Randhir Sinh,
A Talent for War: The Military Biography of Lt Gen Sagat Singh
, Vij Books
- Maj Gen DK Palit,
War in the High Himalayas
, Lancers
- Brig RS Sodhi,
Operation Windfall
, Allied Publishers
- Brig Jagdev Singh,
Dismemberment of Pakistan
, Lancers
- Maj Gen VK Singh,
Leadership in the Indian Army
, Sage Publishers
- Maj Gen AK Verma,
The Bridge on the River Meghna
, KW Publishers
Citations
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- Sinh, Randhir (2013),
A Talent for War: The Military Biography of Lt Gen Sagat Singh
, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd,
ISBN
978-9382652236
- Singh, VK (2005),
Leadership in the Indian Army
, Sage Publishers,
ISBN
978-0761933229
- Van Praagh, David (2003),
Greater Game: India's Race with Destiny and China
, McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP,
ISBN
978-0773525887
External links
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