Battle of Badgam

Battle of Badgam
Part of Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948
Date3 November 1947
Location
Budgam district, Jammu and Kashmir
34°01′04″N 74°43′32″E / 34.0179°N 74.7256°E / 34.0179; 74.7256
Result
  • Tribal advance halted
Territorial
changes		 Jammu and Kashmir remained in Indian hands[4]
Belligerents
 India  Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
IndiaSomnath Sharma †
India Dewan Singh  †		 Pakistan Khurshid Anwar
Units involved

Flag of the Indian Army 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment

Indian Air Force[5]		 Flag of the Pakistani Army Tribal lashkars[6]
Strength

50-70 troops

Unknown amount of IAF Aircraft		 ~1000 men
Casualties and losses
15-22 killed, 26 wounded[7] 200[8]- 300[9] killed

The Battle of Badgam[10][11][12][13][14] was a defensive encounter that took place at Badgam in the Kashmir Valley close to the Srinagar Airport during the initial stages of the First Kashmir War. The skirmishes took place on 3 November 1947 between a company of the Indian Army, aided by Indian Air Force, and a tribal lashkar of Pakistani raiders numbering around 1000, who had apparently occupied Badgam. The battle drew its significance from the success of the solitary company of 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment, led by Major Somnath Sharma,[15][16] in halting the momentum of advancing tribal "Lashkars",[6] though being heavily outnumbered. Sharma was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his actions. The Indian Air Force served as an accompaniment to the army's efforts in the battle, contributing to the majority of the casualties inflicted on the Pakistani lashkars. However the tribal forces would successfully raid badgam and defeat the Indian company at badgam and later infiltrate towards shalateng north of Srinagar, with another desicive called Battle of Shalateng.[17]

  1. ^ Mallya, Sameer (Spring 2015). "The First Param Vir: Major Somnath Sharma" (PDF). scholar warrior. Retrieved 14 November 2024. The gallant actions of Maj Sharma and his men from 4 KUMAON successfully blunted the attack by the Pakistani raiders and provided the much needed time for the Indian Army to fortify defences around Srinagar, thus, enabling India to prevent Kashmir from falling into the hands of the enemy.
  2. ^ "Major Somnath Sharma PVC". Honourpoint. Retrieved 14 November 2024. By the time the relief company reached Badgam, their position was lost. However, the 200 casualties suffered by the raiders, slowed their advance, buying time for Indian troops to fly into Srinagar airfield and block all routes to Srinagar. It can be said that Major Somnath Sharma played a pivotal role in preventing the fall of Srinagar and perhaps even Kashmir.
  3. ^ Krishen Raina, Shiben. "Frontline Hero: Major Somnath Sharma and the Battle of Badgam". Good Morning Kashmir. Retrieved 14 November 2024. Lastly, though Major Somnath was martyred along with many of his comrades, he did not allow the tribals to move forward and capture the airstrip at Badgam, and thus Kashmir was saved from going into the hands of Pakistan.
  4. ^ Jain, Sanya (3 November 2020). "This Article is From Nov 03, 2020Tributes Pour In For Major Somnath Sharma On Battle Of Badgam Day". NDTV. Retrieved 14 November 2024. Pakistani infiltrators were only 50 yards away when Major Somnath Sharma sent his iconic last message to the Brigade Headquarters. "We are heavily outnumbered... I shall not withdraw an inch but will fight to the last man," he said. Major Somnath Sharma died for the country on this day in 1947, while fighting infiltrators in Jammu and Kashmir.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference iaf1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b The term "lashkar" in this context means a group of a thousand tribals of one ethnicity from North West Frontier Province, armed by Pakistani Army and encouraged to infiltrate and raid Kashmir for booty.
  7. ^ Whitehead, Andrew (2007), A Mission in Kashmir, Penguin, p. 156, ISBN 978-0-670-08127-1
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Slender was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cardozo, Major General Ian (31 December 2003). Param Vir: Our Heroes in Battle. Roli Books Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-5194-029-6. bodies of over 300 tribesmen were counted
  10. ^ "Defence of Srinagar 1947". Indian Defence Review. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  11. ^ Sen, Maj Gen L. P. (1969). Slender Was the Thread: Kashmir Confrontation 1947–48. New Delhi: Orient Longman. p. 308. ISBN 0-86131-692-4. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  12. ^ Harpreet (3 November 2017). "Maj Somnath Sharma, PVC (P) and The Battle of Badgam". Harpreet's Blog. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Battle of Budgam: Pakistanis Failed Effort to Secure Srinagar Airfield". Indian Defence Review. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  14. ^ Ray, Ashis (25 March 2023). "1947 Indo-Pak war: what the Bucher papers show". Frontline. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Major Somnath Sharma PVC – Honourpoint". Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Frontline Hero: Major Somnath Sharma and the Battle of Badgam". hindupost.in. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  17. ^ Amin, Agha (18 March 2017). The 14 Month Battles for Kashmir: The Longest and Least Read and Known Indo Pak War Fought Over a Vast Area. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-5447-3836-9. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Here they successfully raided and dispersed an Indian infantry company inflicting in the process an extremely heavy loss on the Indians in terms of men killed including the Indian Company commander Major Somnath Sharma18.