The Indian Army: The first challenge - VII

By Major K.C. Praval

Issue Book Excerpt: Indian Army After Independence | Date : 08 Aug , 2011

`NOTES`

Jammu is now connected to Pathankot by rail.
Brigadier Rajinder Singh was awarded the MVC posthumously
in 1950.
Lashkar is a medieval Persian/Urdu term for an army unit or formation. In this case it is used to denote North-West Frontier tribal irregular units invading Kashmir.
Mr. Menon was the Reforms Commissioner and Constitutional Adviser to Mountbatten.
According to Alan Campbell-Johnson (Mission with Mountbatten) the presence of about 200 British residents in Srinagar was one of the considerations for sending troops there quickly. Campbell-Johnson was Mountbatten’s press attache.
By 11 November this organization had been positioned and the staff of Command Headquarters was relieved of this commitment. By then, over 600 sorties carrying more than 5,000 men and several thousand pounds of stores had been despatched.
50 Parachute Brigade, then at Gurdaspur, was ordered to Jammu.
A posthumous award of the MVC was later made to Lieutenant Colonel Rai.
In 1952, this battalion became part of the Parachute Regiment and was renamed 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.
On becoming part of the Parachute Regiment in 1952, this battalion was redesignated 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment.
A light machine gun has a team of two men to work it. One man aims and fires; the other refills the magazines as they get empty.
Ranking below the PVC (PVC) in descending order of merit are:
- The MVC (MVC)
- The Vir Chakra (VrC)
- The Sena Medal, (SM).

The units to arrive were: 6 Rajputana Rifles; 2 Dogra; a squadron of 7 Light Cavalry; 32 Field Battery.
Sarkar Britania is Urdu for ‘British Government’.
These were mostly young women.
Major General Akbar Khan later wrote a book on these operations.
Mission with Mountbatten by Alan Campbell-Johnson, pp. 223–26 and p. 363.
V.P. Menon quoted by Russell Brines in The Indo-Pakistani Conflict.
All battalions of this group had been allotted to Pakistan. One of the companies of the 3rd Battalion consisted of Sikhs and the other of Rajputs. The Sikh company later merged with 17 Sikh and the Rajputs went to 4/6 Rajputana Rifles.
After the creation of an ad hoc brigade at Punch, he had been given the local rank of Brigadier.
Brigadier Usman came over from 77 (Para) Brigade. He had earlier been GSO- 1 at Headquarters 2 Indian Airborne Division.
Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad was No. 2 in the state cabinet; Sheikh Abdullah was now Prime Minister of Jammu & Kashmir.
Later 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.
Lieutenant General Russell did visit Jammu and Punch once during his tenure as GOC-in-C Delhi and East Punjab Command.
Cariappa had been given the nickname ‘Kipper’ by a British officer’s wife while he was serving at the Rajputs’ Regimental Centre. She found it hard to pronounce his name.
A company of 3/1 Punjab also formed part of the garrison.
Estimates of enemy strength at this battle are taken from contemporary records. Apparently, the enemy force consisted mostly of tribals and other ‘volunteers’, who were thrown in for the capture of Naoshera, and then dispersed. This is borne out by the fact that in Operation ‘Vijay’, which was later mounted for the recapture of Jhangar, only a brigade of the enemy was encountered.
This battalion was renamed 3rd Battalion (Rifles) The Kumaon Regiment in 1950.
Quote from Slender was the Thread by Lieutenant General Sen.
This battalion arrived in the valley just before the Banihal Pass closed for the winter.
Initially designated ‘Z’ Brigade.
77 (Para) Brigade mounted an operation to take the Haji Pir Pass in conjuction with Sen’s thrust along the Pir Panjal Range. But the attempt failed.
The battalion had two companies of 2 Dogra under its command.
‘La’ means ‘a pass’ in Tibetan.
Slender was the Thread by Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, pp. 192-93.
A supply column, consisting of 1,000 porters and 400 mules was sent to Leh across the Baralacha La in the middle of September to cater for the winter requirements of the garrison.
Red Coats to Olive Green by V. Longer, p. 311.
Karam Singh won the Military Medal for gallantry in the Second World War.
Quoted from India’s Paratroopers.
There was an uprising of Punchhi Muslims on account of the Pathan tribals’ atrocities against them. It was, however, “put down with great severity by a Pakistan Army Brigadier”. (Operation Rescue by Lieutenant General S.K. Sinha, pp. 92–3.)
In Thunder Over Kashmir.
After his retirement as Major General, Yadunath Singh devoted a good deal of his time towards reforming the dacoits infesting the Chambal ravines, not far from his native Gwalior.
2 Rajputana Rifles.
Brigadier Umrao Singh had earlier been relieved by Brigadier Yadunath Singh after the former had been wounded. Major General Atma Singh had thereafter assumed command of Operation ‘Easy’.
The Indo-Pakistani Conflict by Russell Brines, p. 75.
The exchange of prisoners of war did not form part of the negotiations at Karachi. They were exchanged a year later.