Rifleman Madan Singh Rawat VrC

Rifleman Madan Singh Rawat was born on 26 October 1944 in Gadri village in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. Son of Shri Vijay Singh Rawat and Smt Musi Devi, Rfn Madan Singh Rawat joined the Army at the age of 17 yrs on 26 October 1961. Rfn Madan Singh Rawat was recruited into 4 Garhwal Rifles of the famed Garhwal Rifles Regiment, a regiment known for its valiant soldiers and various battle honours.

Indo – China War : 14 Nov 1962

During the Indo-China war of 1962, Rifleman Madan Singh Rawat’s unit was  deployed in NEFA on the eastern border. On 14 Nov 1962, Rfn Madan Singh Rawat was part of a  patrol, which was given the task of observing the activities of the Chinese north of the river Towang Chu. The patrol was also assigned the task of capturing a Chinese soldier if possible during the operation. The patrol party comprising seven soldiers including Rifleman Rawat, crossed the river at 1900 hours.

At 2300 hours the patrol moved stealthily towards a hut where, earlier during the day enemy soldiers had been seen. They observed a Chinese sentry sitting near the hut. The patrol leader and Rifleman Rawat set out to capture the sentry while the others were positioned to cover their move and to keep an eye on the hut for any possible hostile action. The Sentry was sitting with his head down with his rifle resting on his shoulder. While Rifleman Rawat muffled the Sentry’s mouth with a towel and pulled him back on to the ground, the patrol leader snatched his rifle and tried to tie him up with a rope.

As they were grappling with the sentry another Chinese soldier suddenly appeared from the hut, fired but missed and rushed to rescue his comrade. The patrol leader bayoneted him with the captured rifle while Rifleman Rawat grappled with the sentry Single – handed and kept him pinned to the ground. Meanwhile the covering party kept firing on the hut and throwing hand grenades. As by then the Chinese forces in the village had been alerted, the patrol realized that it would not be possible to take the sentry out alive. So they killed him and withdrew to their base at 0100 hours. However, during this action Rifleman Rawat got seriously injured and was martyred.

Rfn Madan Singh Rawat, displayed gallantry and professional skill of a very high order in carrying out the assigned task without caring for his own safety. Rfn Madan Singh Rawat was given the gallantry award, “Vir Chakra”, for his exceptional courage and supreme sacrifice during the operation.