ME-1 Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat

ME-1 Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat hailed from Prithvipura village in Madhopur Tehsil of Sikar district in Rajasthan and was born on 03 May 1951. Son of Shri Baksh Singh Shekhawat and Smt Nayan Kanwar, ME-1 Bhanwar Singh joined the Indian Navy on 15 July 1969 at the age of 18 years. After serving for nearly two years, he got promoted to the rank of ME-I by 1971.

Indo-Pak War Naval Operations: INS Khukri – 09 Dec 1971

During Dec 1971 ME-I Bhanwar Singh was serving aboard INS Khukri. When the Indo-Pak War of 1971 broke out, the anti-submarine frigates of the Navy, INS Khukri and INS Kirpan were given the responsibility of hunting and neutralizing enemy submarines in the North Arabian Sea. The Indian Naval radio detection equipment identified a submarine in the vicinity of Diu harbour on 03 Dec 1971.  Following this, INS Khukri along with two other ships INS Kirpan and INS Kuthar were dispatched to take on the threat of the enemy submarine.

In the late evening of 9^th December, INS Khukri was attacked by the Pakistani submarine PNS Hangor which fired torpedoes at it, causing devastating damage. The Captain of the ship, Capt Mulla evaluated the situation within minutes and issued orders for its abandonment. There were two massive explosions inside the Khukri and the ship went dark. It lost all power and began to tilt steeply to its right (Starboard) as chaos followed the order of ‘abandon ship’. Within a short span of time,  the ship was hit by another torpedo. As the damage to the ship was extensive, a large number of officers and sailors did not get adequate time to follow the orders of their captain. Eventually the ship went down along with 18 officers and 176 sailors. ME-I Bhanwar Singh was one of the brave-hearts, who laid down his life at the age of 22 years in the line of his duty. ME-I Bhanwar Singh was a valiant soldier and committed sailor, who made the supreme sacrifice following the highest traditions of Indian Navy.

ME-I Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat is survived by his wife Smt Man Kanwar.

• The state secondary school at Prithvipura village in Sikar district of Rajasthan has been named after ME-1 Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat as "Shaheed Bhanwar Singh State Secondary School", in his honour.