20 October 1962: Param Vir Chakra awardee Lt. Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa’s historic battle of Srijap in Indo-China War

 

 

Lt. Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa (June 10, 1928- September 6, 2005) was a renowned Indian Army officer in 1st Batallion, 8th Gorkha Rifles Regiment and recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, the highest military decoration in India. He displayed exceptional bravery during the 1962 Sino-Indian War. Thapa's leadership and courage in the face of adversity made him a hero in Indian military history.

 

 

He was involved in a major action in Ladakh during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. The Sirijap valley, north of Pangong Lake in Ladakh, was considered vital for the defence of Chushul airfield. The 1/8 Gurkha Rifles had outposts there to thwart any Chinese encroachment in the area. One of these outposts named Sirijap-1 was held by a platoon of 'C' Company under the command of Major Thapa when the Chinese attacked on 20 October 1962. At 06:00 on 20 October 1962, the Chinese opened a barrage of artillery and mortar fire over Sirijap-1 post. The shelling continued till 08:30 and the whole area was set ablaze. Some shells fell on the command post and damaged the wireless set. This put the post out of communication. The Chinese then attacked in overwhelming numbers. Major Thapa and his men repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy casualties. The Chinese mounted another attack in greater numbers after shelling the area with artillery and mortar fire.

 

Major Thapa once again repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy losses on the Chinese. A short while later, a third Chinese attack included tanks in support of the infantry. The defenders were weakened by the casualties suffered in earlier attacks, but held out while the ammunition lasted. When the Chinese finally overran the post, Major Thapa jumped out of his trench and killed many intruders in hand-to-hand fighting. He was eventually overpowered and captured. For his gallant act, Major Dhan Singh Thapa was honoured with the highest wartime gallantry medal, the Param Vir Chakra. He was believed to have been killed in this engagement, and the original citation reflects this. He was later discovered to have been taken prisoner and after his release from the POW camp in May 1963, he resumed his duty and got promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He retired as Lieutenant Colonel and passed away owing to natural causes at the age of 77 on 05 September

 

 

 

 

 

Major Dhan Singh Thapa was in command of a forward post in Ladakh. On 20 October 1962, it was attacked by the Chinese in overwhelming strength after being subjected to intensive artillery and mortar bombardment. Under his gallant command the greatly outnumbered post repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy casualties on the aggressors. The enemy attacked again in greater numbers after heavy shelling by artillery and mortar fire. Under the leadership of Major Thapa, his men repulsed this attack also with heavy losses to the enemy.

 

 

 

The Chinese attacked for the third time, now with tanks to support their infantry. The post had already suffered large casualties in the earlier attacks. Though considerably thinned, it held out to the last. When it was finally over-run by overwhelming numbers of Chinese, Major Thapa got out of his trench and lulled several enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand fighting before he was eventually overpowered by Chinese soldiers.