Brave Son Of India

Naik Jadunath Singh was born on 21 November 1916 in Khajuri village of Shahjahanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh. His father's name was Birbal Singh Rathore who was a farmer, and his mother's name was Jamuna Kanwar. He was the third of eight children and had six brothers and a sister.

Though he studied up to the fourth standard in a local school in his village, he could not continue his education further due to his family's economic situation. He spent most of his childhood helping out his family with farming. For recreation, he started wrestling and eventually became the wrestling champion of his village. For his character and well-being, he was nicknamed "Hanuman Bhagat Bal Brahmachari". Hanumanji is a Hindu god and did not marry and has devoted his entire life to Lord Rama. Jadunath Singh also never married.

During the Second World War, Jadunath Singh was enlisted in the 7th Rajput Regiment of the British Indian Army, on 21 November 1941 at Fatehgarh Regimental Centre. On completing his training, he was posted to the regiment's 1st Battalion. During late 1942, the battalion was deployed to the Arakan Province during the Burma campaign, where they fought against the Japanese. The battalion was part of the 47th Indian Infantry Brigade, assigned to the 14th Indian Infantry Division. It fought battles around the Mayu Range in late 1942 and early 1943, advancing up the Mayu Peninsula towards Donbaik as part of an operation to recapture Akyab Island. Although the Rajputs were held up around the cluster of villages called Kondan in December 1942, the advance slowly continued towards Donbaik. It was there, where the brigade's attack ground to a halt and they were relieved by the 55th Indian Infantry Brigade in early February 1943. In early April, the Japanese counterattacked. The 47th Brigade became cut off from the base and eventually split off into small groups to fight their way back to Allied lines. The surviving members of the brigade returned to India. In 1945, Singh's battalion was assigned to the 2nd Indian Infantry Brigade and took over the defence of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The islands had been partially occupied by the Japanese forces, which surrendered on 7 October 1945. After returning to India, Singh was promoted to the rank of Naik (corporal). After the partition, the 7th Rajput Regiment was assigned to the Indian Army. Singh remained with the newly raised Indian regiment, continuing to serve in its 1st Battalion.

 He later took part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 as a member of the Indian Army. For an action on 6 February 1948 at Tain Dhar, to the north of Naushahra, Naik Jadunath Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

Singh commanded a nine-man forward section post. Though heavily outnumbered by advancing Pakistani forces, Singh led his men in defending against three attempts to overtake the post. He was wounded during the second assault. Armed with a Sten gun, he single-handedly charged the third assault with such determination as to cause the attackers to withdraw. He held on to his post till his last breath!

 A sports stadium in Shahjahanpur and a crude oil tanker were named after Naik Jadunath Singh.

Episode 4 of Param Vir Chakra serial which was aired in the national television Doordarshan, is about the life of Naik Jadunath Singh. His character was played by actor Puneet Issar.

Soldiers like him who lay down their lives in the border and give their all, become immortal! 

Naik Jadunath Singh will always be remembered as one of India's greatest sons the country has ever produced!

Jai Hind!