Gurbakhsh Singh
Gurbakhsh Singh | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1904 Badrukhan, Jind State, British India |
| Died | 11 December 1979 |
| Allegiance |  British India India |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Commands held | Jind Infantry, Indian State Forces Patiala Brigade, PEPSU forces Unknown Infantry Brigade under 26 Infantry Division, Jammu and Kashmir state Indian Custodian Force, Korea |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Singapore, World War II Korean War |
| Awards | Padma Shri Distinguished Service Order (DSO) Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) |
| Alma mater | Khalsa College, Amritsar |
| Relations | Lt. Gen. Harbaksh Singh, VrC (brother) |
Major General Gurbakhsh Singh, DSO, OBE (1904 - 11 December 1979),[1][2] also spelled as 'Gurbaksh Singh', was a general officer who served in the British Indian Army and later the Indian Army. He is known for his leadership of his battalion of the British Indian Army under the gruelling captivity of the Japanese forces in Singapore for three years. Later, he served with the Indian Custodian Force in Korea following the Korean War.
Early life[edit]
Gurbaksh Singh was born in the village of Badrukhan in the princely state of Jind, in British India. His father, Harnam Singh, was a doctor who had studied at the Medical College in Lahore.[1]
In the Introduction to Gurbaksh Singh's autobiography, Sardar Surjit Singh Majithia writes that Gurbaksh Singh studied at the Khalsa College, Amritsar, from where he got a commission in the Jind state army.[3] He joined the Jind State Forces as a cadet on April 1, 1923, and got commissioned as an officer on December 15, 1923.[4]
His younger brother, Harbaksh Singh, joined the British Indian army.[5]
Singh was married twice, his second wife being Sudesh Gurbaksh Singh.[6][2]
World War II[edit]
During World War II, in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Singh commanded a battalion of the Jind Infantry of the Indian States Forces in Singapore, when the British forces surrendered to the invading Japanese. For three years, he and his battalion were prisoners of war for the Japanese. But he refused to defect and join the Indian National Army, and coaxed his soldiers from doing so too. With the turning of the tide and the defeat of the Japanese, Singh brought his battalion back to India. For his 'leadership of his battalion under extreme adversity' during captivity, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Order of the British Empire.[7][8][9][10]
In 1947, he was appointed as Commandant of the Jind State Forces, and promoted to the rank of brigadier.[4]
Post-Independence[edit]
In 1948, following the merger of the Jind State Forces with the PEPSU forces, he was appointed as the Commander of the Patiala Brigade. After the integration of the PEPSU force with the Indian Army, he was given the command of an Infantry Brigade. In 1953, he commanded an Infantry Brigade in Jammu and Kashmir.[4]
In 1953, Singh was appointed as deputy commander to the Custodian Force of India in Korea - responsible for the repatriation of prisoners of war from the Korean War - by the force's leader Maj-Gen S.P.P. Thorat.[11] He served in this capacity from August 1953 till March 1954. Later in 1954, he took the command of the East Punjab Area and was promoted to major general.[4]
In 1957, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.[12]
He retired from the Indian Army with the rank of Major General on 5 February 1958.[2]
While he appears to have prepared a draft of his autobiography in 1978, it was completed and published by his wife Sudesh Gurbaksh Singh in 2013.[13]
See also[edit]
- Others with the name Gurbaksh Singh.
References[edit]
- ^ a b Singh, Gurbakhsh (2013). Indelible Reminiscences: Memoirs of Major General Gurbakhsh Singh. Lancer Publishers. ISBN 978-1-935501-38-1.
- ^ a b c "Smt. Sudesh Gurbakash Singh v. Union Of India & Others, Armed Forces Tribunal, Judgment, Law, casemine.com". casemine.com. December 16, 2009.
- ^ Majithia, Surjit Singh (2013). Introduction to 'Indelible Reminiscences - Memoirs of Major General Gurbaksh Singh'. Lancer.
- ^ a b c d "General Gurbakhsh Singh retires today". The Tribune. February 5, 1958.
- ^ Singh, Lt Gen Harbakhsh (2000). In the Line of Duty: A Soldier Remembers. Lancer Publishers LLC. ISBN 978-1-935501-78-7.
- ^ "Army veteran's wife fights apathy to war widows". The Times of India. 2019-03-10. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ "Indelible Reminiscences: Memoirs of Major General Gurbakhsh Singh | www.1947partitionarchive.org". www.1947partitionarchive.org. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ McClenaghan, A.N. "The Imperial Service Troops and Indian States Forces (Part II)". www.usiofindia.org. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ "sikhchic.com | The Art and Culture of the Diaspora | Unsung Heroes - WWII Prisoners of War". www.sikhchic.com. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ Johnson, Rob (2014-06-26). The British Indian Army: Virtue and Necessity. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-4438-6285-1.
- ^ Singh, V. K. (2023-11-30). Leadership in the Indian Army: Biographies of Twelve Soldiers. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-5708-360-7.
- ^ "Padma Awards | Interactive Dashboard". dashboard-padmaawards.gov.in. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ Gurbaksh Singh, Sudesh (2013). Acknowledgements in 'Indelible Reminiscences - Memoirs of Major General Gurbakhsh Singh'. Lancer.