Hav Sultan Singh Narwaria VrC

Havildar Sultan Singh Narwaria hailed from Pipri village in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh and was born on 19 June 1960. Son of Shri Latoori Singh Narwaria and Smt Harka Bai, he had an elder brother Sikandar Singh as his sibling. Hav Sultan Singh belonged to a family wherein many of its members served in the Armed Forces. Hav Sultan Singh too joined the army on 01 Sep 1979 at the age of 19 years after completing his initial education. He was recruited into 2 Raj Rif battalion of the Rajputana Rifles Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its brave soldiers and numerous battle honours. After serving for some time, he got married to Ms Shiela Devi, and the couple was blessed with two sons Devendra and Jitendra.

Battle of Tololing (Kargil War): June 1999

Shortly after the signing of the Lahore declaration in 1999, the Pakistan Army surreptitiously occupied the winter vacated posts of the Indian Army. On 03 May 1999, these intrusions were detected and on 26 May 1999, the first air-to-ground strike was launched by the Indian Airforce (IAF), followed by Operation Vijay, by the Indian Army to evict the intruders from the Indian areas. The army quickly mobilized its forces to drive out the Pakistani infiltrators from Indian territory. Hav Sultan Singh's 2 Raj Rif battalion, under the command of Lt Col MB Ravindranath, which was part of 81 Mountain Brigade in the Lolab valley was inducted into the Drass area on 04 June 1999. The battalion was functioning under the command of 56 Mtn Bde, with overall operational control being exercised by 8 Mtn Div under Maj Gen Mohinder Puri. The Tololing Heights was the deepest penetration beyond the LC by the Pakistani intruders. Tololing and another feature named Point 4590 were among the vital peaks for India, as they overlooked the Drass sector and a large section of the National Highway.  The task of capturing the Tololing feature was assigned to 56 Mtn Bde. The Tololing feature comprised Pt 4590, Tololing Top, South East Spur, South Spur, and Hump to its north. Pt 4590 and Tololing Top dominated all the approaches leading to it. As per the plan of attack of 56 Mtn Bde, 2 Raj Rif was tasked to capture the Tololing top by 0600 Hr on 13 June 1999. 18 Garh Rif battalion was to capture Pt 5140 by 0700 hrs on 13 June. Two companies of 18 Grenadiers were to provide a firm base and the balance of the battalion was to act as reserve to 2 Raj Rif.  

When the battalion launched the attack on 12 June 1999 at 2030 hrs, Major Vivek Gupta was in command of the leading 'Charlie' Company. Despite heavy artillery and automatic fire, the unit under Major Vivek Gupta's inspiring leadership was able to close in with the enemy.  By 0600 hrs, the battalion had a fairly large area of the objective under its control. However, the dominating height of Point 4590 was still with the enemy. At this juncture, the CO of 2 Raj Rif sent the 'A' Company, which was 'reserve force' on the southwest approach to deal with the situation. Hav Sultan Singh Narwaria was the Section Commander of Number One Section, which was tasked to capture Area Rock of Point 4590. The Company's success depended on his ability to seize Area Rock and hold onto the feature. After setting up the fire support base, Hav Sultan Singh tried to attack Area Rock from the flank. The enemy defending area Rock changed its strength so that it could successfully fire on him and his Section. Hav Sultan Singh continued despite the overwhelming odds of charging uphill at 15,000 feet while coming under precise enemy small weapons fire. At this point, Hav Sultan Singh gave the order for his Section to attack Area Rock and moved quickly to engage the enemy's medium machine gun with his rifle. He charged the Medium Machine Gun as his ammunition ran out, taking the full brunt of the fire and taking out the weapon before he passed away from his injuries. His bravery and selfless sacrifice encouraged the section, which led to an attack and seizure of Area Rock. Hav Sultan Singh showed the utmost bravery and comradeship in the face of hostile fire and made the ultimate sacrifice. Besides Hav Sultan Singh Narwaria, one officer, two JCOs (Junior Commissioned Officers), and five other soldiers of 2 Raj Rif were martyred during the operation. The other martyred brave hearts included Major Vivek Gupta, Sub Bhanwar Lal, Sub Sumer Singh Rathore, CHM  Yashvir Singh Tomar, Nk Surendra Singh, Nk Chaman Singh, Rfn Bachan Singh, and Rfn Jasvir Singh. 

For his act of bravery on the battlefield, Hav Sultan Singh Narwaria was given the nation’s third highest gallantry award, “Vir Chakra”, posthumously. Hav Sultan Singh Narwaria is survived by his wife Smt Shiela Devi, sons Shri Devendra & Shri Jitendra, and elder brother Shri Sikandar Singh.

Citation of the "Vir Chakra" awarded to him reads:-

On 12th/13th June 99, Havildar Sultan Singh Narwaria was the section commander of Number One Section, which was tasked to capture Area Rock of Point 4590 in the Drass sector during 'Operation Vijay'. The success of the company attack hinged on his ability to capture area Rock and establish a foothold on the feature. After having deployed the fire support base, Havildar Sultan Singh Narwaria attempted to approach Area Rock from a flank. The enemy-holding area Rock in strength readjusted itself to bring down effective fire on him and his section. Despite heavy odds of attacking uphill at 15,000 feet, against accurate enemy small arms fire, Havildar Sultan Singh Narwaria fearlessly pressed on. At this stage, Havildar Sultan Singh Narwaria ordered his section to assault area Rock and he himself rushed towards the enemy Medium Machine Gun, blazing away his weapon. When his ammunition ran out, he charged onto the Medium Machine Gun taking the complete fire on to himself, and neutralized the Medium Machine Gun before succumbing to his injuries. Inspired by his gallant action and supreme sacrifice the section assaulted Area Rock and captured it.

Havildar Sultan Singh Narwaria displayed gallantry and camaraderie of the highest order in the face of enemy fire and made the supreme sacrifice.