Jaswant Singh Rawat

 

The army is the supporting pillar of our country without which it won’t be able to stand properly. The army men sacrifice their sleep for ours and make us feel secure. Here we will be mentioning one such army man who is somewhat different. If you have heard of him, you might know about all the weird and eerie stuff. He is an inspiration to all those who are really inclined towards serving our country. Heroism and bravery are just two words but they are not enough to describe this man of valor.

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Jaswant Singh Rawat was an army rifleman and belonged to the four Garhwal rifles. He was born on 19 August 1941 in village Baryun of the Pauri Garhwal area of Uttarakhand to Shri Guman Singh Rawat.

uupbwThe story dates back to the year 1962. Indo-Chinese war was raging. Battle of Nuranang was fiercely going on in Arunachal Pradesh border with China. The Indo-China border is characterized by rocky terrain and freezing temperature. The Indian Army fought with great force but as the resources started ending, the forces were instructed to return. But Jaswant Singh Rawat was not going to leave so easily. He took the help of two local girls named Nura and Sela to set up the fire ground. What he did was that he selected three spots where he installed all the weapons with the help of these girls and then for the next three days, he alone fought the war. He kept firing from those spots for three days. The Chinese army was confused and could not make out how many soldiers are actually fighting against it. But at the end of the third day, they realized that it was just one soldier who had created havoc. Jaswant was surrounded by the Chinese on all sides and he did not want to be killed by them and therefore he shot himself. Out of those two girls, Sela was killed in a grenade blast and Nura was captured.

The Chinese were so infuriated that they cut Jaswant’s head and took it with them as a souvenir. But they were so impressed by his act of bravery that instead they honoured him. They returned his head along with a brass bust made up of Jaswant. This bust is still installed at the site of war. This great soldier was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra by the Indian government and to honor him, the area where he last fought was given the name Jaswantgarh.

It is still believed by the people residing in that region that Rawat is still present there and guards the border. His personal belongings are kept as it is. Even the army believes so. He has his own personal room and five army men are deployed to take care of him. They make his bed, clean his shoes, feed him etc. In fact, every morning they find his crumpled bed sheet and clothes lying. Often they find his shoes covered with mud. His promotions have not stopped. He is still promoted and right now is the Major General. Apart from promotions, he is also given his due salary and the official leaves too!

Image source: youthwithadream.com, imgur.com, Be On The Road