Rajinder Singh (brigadier)

Rajinder Singh
MVC (posthumous)
Chief of Military Staff
In office
25 September 1947 – 27 October 1947 
MonarchHari Singh
Prime MinisterJanak Singh,
Mehr Chand Mahajan
Preceded byHenry Lawrence Scott
Personal details
Born14 June 1899[1]
Bagoona, Jammu district, Jammu and Kashmir (Present-day Rajinderpura, Samba district, Jammu and Kashmir)
Died26/27 October 1947 (aged 48)
Boniyar
Children5 daughters; 1 son[1]
Awards Maha Vir Chakra
Military service
Allegiance Jammu and Kashmir
Branch/serviceJammu and Kashmir State Forces
Years of service1921–1947
Rank Brigadier
Battles/wars

Brigadier Rajinder Singh Jamwal, MVC (14 June 1899 – 26/27 October 1947), also remembered as the Saviour of Kashmir, was an officer in the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces. He briefly served as the Chief of Staff of State Forces and died fighting during the First Kashmir War. Rajinder Singh and his small contingent of about 100 men successfully delayed the advance of a 6000 strong force of Pakistani tribal raiders near Uri for several days, during which the Maharaja of Kashmir acceded to India and the Indian forces air-lifted for the defence of Kashmir.

On 30 December 1949, he was posthumously awarded Maha Vir Chakra, independent India’s second highest military decoration. He was the first Indian to receive the honour.

  1. ^ a b Brig Rajendra Singh, MVC @ TWDI. Twdi.in. Retrieved on 27 November 2018.