Piru Singh Shekhawat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 20 May 1918 Rampura Beri, Rajputana, British India (present-day Churu district, Rajasthan, India) |
| Died | 18 July 1948 (aged 30) Tithwal, Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Allegiance |  British India Republic of India |
| Service |  British Indian Army Indian Army |
| Years of service | 1936–1948 |
| Rank |  Company Havildar Major |
| Service number | 2831592 |
| Unit | 6th Battalion, Rajputna Rifles |
| Battles / wars | Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 |
| Awards |  Param Vir Chakra |
Company Havildar Major[a] Piru Singh Shekhawat (20 May 1918 – 18 July 1948) was an Indian Army non-commissioned officer, awarded the Param Vir Chakra (PVC) posthumously, India's highest military decoration for gallantry.[1]
Singh enrolled in the British Indian Army on 20 May 1936, and was assigned to the 1st Punjab Regiment. Between 1940 and 1945, he served on the North-West Frontier and as an instructor, before deploying to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. After independence, he took part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, serving with the Indian Army's 6th Rajputana Rifles. During the battle, Singh was part of the leading section of a company that was assigned to capture a Pakistani post at Tithwal, in Jammu and Kashmir. Soon after their attack was launched, the company suffered heavy casualties. In time, Singh successfully occupied a Pakistani medium machine-gun post. But, by that time, the entire company lay dead or wounded. Singh was left alone to achieve the objective. He moved out and lobbed grenades at the next enemy post. Before moving to another trench, he received a mortal bullet wound to the head.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).