Sepoy Dhan Singh

Sepoy Dhan Singh was serving with the 20 Rajput Battalion, a unit that fought under the 35th  Infantry Brigade, which formed part of I Corpsduring the 1965 Indo-Pak War. At the time, I Corps had been raised only a few months earlier under the command of Lieutenant General P. O. Dunn, yet it was entrusted with one of the most ambitious offensives of the war—Operation Nepal, aimed at isolating Sialkot from Lahore by driving deep into enemy territory through the Daska–Phillora–Chawinda axis. The operation took shape after Pakistan launched its offensive in the Chhamb sector. On 3 September 1965, India decided to open a major counter-offensive in the Sialkot sector. Although I Corps was a newly formed formation facing shortages of transport, equipment, and battle preparation for plains warfare, it crossed the international border on the night of 7 September 1965, launching Operation Nepal and opening a decisive chapter in the western theatre of the war.

In the opening phase, Indian formations achieved significant success. 6 Mountain Division secured Charwa and Maharajke, while 26 Infantry Division captured Anula and Bajragarhi on schedule. Simultaneously, 1 Armoured Division advanced towards Phillora, where some of the fiercest tank battles of the war unfolded. The victory at Phillora weakened Pakistan's famed Patton tank force and shifted the momentum in India's favour. As the battle progressed, the fighting shifted towards the heavily defended Chawinda sector, where Pakistani forces had established strong defensive positions supported by armour, artillery, and entrenched infantry. Capturing Chawinda became critical to sustaining the advance, but repeated assaults encountered determined resistance and heavy casualties.

To strengthen the assault, 35 Infantry Brigade, with 20 Rajput Battalion among its fighting units, was brought into the Chawinda battle. By then, fierce engagements around Jassoran and Butur Dograndi had seen these strategically important positions repeatedly change hands. Despite earlier setbacks and intense enemy shelling, 20 Rajput launched a determined attack during the night of 18/19 September, successfully recapturing the position and restoring the tactical situation for Indian forces. Their action reflected the Rajput Regiment's enduring tradition of courage, discipline, and unwavering determination in close combat. Before these later operations around Chawinda, however, the battalion had already endured severe fighting during the initial advance into enemy territory. It was during these intense operations in the Sialkot sector that Sep Dhan Singh displayed the steadfast commitment expected of a Rajput soldier while serving with the 20 Rajput Battalion in one of the most hard-fought campaigns of the 1965 War. Sep Dhan Singh made the supreme sacrifice on 8 September 1965. His sacrifice came during the opening phase of Operation Nepal, when Indian troops were pushing across the international border against determined opposition. In the run-up operations and subsequent fighting in the Sialkot sector, 19 other soldiers of the 20 Rajput Battalion also made the supreme sacrifice, alongside Sep Dhan Singh, exemplifying the battalion's exceptional courage and devotion to duty during one of the Indian Army's most significant offensives of the war.