Sagat Singh | |
|---|---|
 Lt Gen Sagat Singh | |
| Born | (1919-07-14)14 July 1919 |
| Died | 26 September 2001(2001-09-26) (aged 82) |
| Allegiance |  British India India |
| Branch |  British Indian Army Indian Army |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Unit | 3rd Gorkha Rifles |
| Commands | |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards |  Padma Bhushan Param Vishisht Seva Medal |
Lieutenant GeneralSagat Singh,PVSM (14 July 1919 – 26 September 2001) was aGeneral Officer in theIndian Army, notable for his participation in theannexation of Goa and later for his operational maneuver in crossing Meghna river and capturing Dhaka duringIndo-Pakistani war of 1971. He held many commands and staff appointments throughout his career. He is regarded as one of the best Indian field Commanders to carry out operational maneuvers during any war.
Singh was born in aRajput family in the village ofKusumdesar in Churu region ofBikaner State on 14 July 1919 to Brijlal Singh Rathore of Kusumdesar and aBhati lady, Jadao Kanwar of Hadla. Brijlal was a soldier in theBikaner Ganga Risala who served inMesopotamia,Palestine andFrance duringWorld War I. He was recalled to service at the outbreak ofWorld War II and retired as an HonoraryCaptain. Sagat was the oldest of three brothers and six sisters, he completed his schooling from Walter Nobles High School atBikaner in 1936.[1]
Singh joinedDungar College at Bikaner but right after his intermediate exam in 1938, he was enrolled as aNaik in theBikaner Ganga Risala. Later, he was promoted toJemadar (now called Naib Subedar) and given command of aplatoon.[2]
With the outbreak ofWorld War II, he was among the fewJunior Commissioned Officers who received a commission asSecond Lieutenants in the Ganga Risala. The Risala was sent toSind 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 atBasra and came under theIraqforce commanded byLieutenant GeneralEdward Quinan.[3]
Singh, with the Sadul Light Infantry, then movedJubair 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 asadjutant and then took command of acompany. After a staff stint at the sub area headquarters, he was selected to attend the Middle East Staff College atHaifa. He was the onlyState Forces officer to be selected. After completing the staff course, he was appointedGeneral Staff Officer Grade 3 (GSO III) at Headquarters40th Indian Infantry Brigade inAhvaz, Iran.[4]
In September 1944, Singh rejoined his battalion and was appointed adjutant. He was selected to attend theStaff College, Quetta and joined the 12th War Staff course from May to November 1945.[5] After completing the course, he was recalled to Bikaner and appointedbrigade major of the state forces, working directly under thecommander-in-chief.[6] 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 theIndian Army.[7]
In 1949, Singh was transferred to the Indian Army and joined the3 Gorkha Rifles. He was appointedGeneral Staff Officer Grade 2 (GSO II) at Headquarters Delhi Area. His seniority in the state forces was restored and in October 1950, he was appointedbrigade major (BM) of the 168 Infantry Brigade inSamba. During this stint, he attended the Mountain Warfare course and was shortlisted for command of thePresident'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 inBharatpur and inDharamshala.[8]
In February 1955, Singh was promoted to the rank oflieutenant colonel and appointedcommanding officer of the second battalion 3rd Gorkha Rifles (2/3 GR) atFerozepur. He moved the battalion to its field area inJammu 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 toPoonch and in November that year, he was posted as a senior instructor at the Infantry School Mhow.[8]
After a2+1⁄2-year stint, in May 1960, he was promoted to the rank ofcolonel and posted to Army HQ as deputy director personnel services in the Adjutant-General's branch.[5] Here, his good work brought him to the notice of theAdjutant-General Lieutenant GeneralP P Kumaramangalam.[9] In September 1961, Singh was promoted to the rank ofbrigadier and given command of India's only parachute brigade, the elite50th Parachute Brigade atAgra. This was unprecedented as command of the brigade is not given to non-para officers. At the age of 42, he immediately earned hismaroon beret and hisParachutist badge by making the required number of jumps.[9][5]
In late November 1961, Singh was summoned to the Military Operations directorate at Army HQ for the planning of theliberation of Goa. The force consisted of 17th Infantry Division, led by Major GeneralKunhiraman 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 toBegumpet Air Force Station for this purpose. The brigade moved from Agra on 2 December and reachedBelgaum by 6 December where Singh established the brigade HQ. Since the brigade has only 2 battalions 2nd battalionSikh Light Infantry (2 Sikh LI) which was inMadras was also allotted. The brigade received armoured elements as well - the7th Light Cavalry with itsStuart tanks and a squadron of8th Light Cavalry which hadAMX-13 tanks.[5]
Hostilities at Goa began at 09:45 on 17 December 1961, when a unit of Indian troops attacked and occupied the town of Maulinguém in the north east, killing two Portuguese soldiers.[10] On the morning of 18 December, Singh moved the brigade into Goa in three columns:
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 theParachute Regiment’smaroon 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 prestigiousNational Defence College (NDC). He joined the 4th NDC course and graduated in January 1965. He was then appointed Brigadier General Staff (BGS) at HQXI Corps atJalandhar.[5]
After a short stint as BGS, in July 1965, Singh was promoted to the rank ofmajor general and appointedgeneral officer commanding (GOC)17 Mountain Division, the division which had participated in the Goa operations. The division had since moved toSikkim and was on the Indo-China border.[5] During this stint, theNathu La and Cho La clashes took place, where 17 Mountain Division achieved "decisive tactical advantage" and defeated the Chinese forces in these clashes.[13][14]
In December 1967, Singh was appointed GOC 101 Communication Zone inShillong. The formation was involved in operations in theMizo Hills. He immediately set out to build the formation's capabilities in intelligence gathering andcounter-insurgency. During this stint, on 26 January 1970, Singh was awarded theParam 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 oflieutenant general and took over the command ofIV Corps in December 1970[16]
During theBangladesh Liberation War in 1971, the corps made the famous advance toDhaka over the RiverMeghna.[17] Lt Gen Sagat Singh also conceptualised the Indian Army's firstheliborne operation in theBattle of Sylhet[18]He witnessed inDhaka the signing of the surrender instrument byGeneral Niazi.
For his leadership and command for the race to Dhaka, theGovernment of India honored Lt. Gen. Sagat Singh with the third highest civilian award ofPadma Bhushan.[19] Lt. Gen. Sagat Singh is the only other Corps commander besides Lt. Gen. (later Gen. andCOAS)T N Raina and Lt. Gen.Sartaj Singh to be so awarded in 1971.
Lt. Gen. Sagat Singh died at theArmy Hospital Research and Referral,New Delhi on 26 September 2001.[20]
Singh married Kamla Kumari on 27 January 1947; Kamla was daughter of theChief 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 theMechanised Infantry Regiment (6 MECH). He retired in the rank ofcolonel. The second son, Digvijay, was born in October 1950 and was commissioned into the 2nd battalion the3rd Gorkha Rifles (2/3 GR), the battalion his father had commanded. He died while serving with the battalion in Poonch as acaptain on 4 March 1976, in an accident while traveling in a jeep. 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.[5]
Sagat Singh's character was played byJackie Shroff in the 2018 Indian Hindi-language filmPaltan.
A comic book about Singh was released by Aan Comics in 2021, on the 50th anniversary of theIndo-Pakistani war of 1971.[21]
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