Piru Singh

Havildar Major Piru Singh Shekhawat was born on 20 May 1918 and died on 18 July 1948. He joined the British Indian Army on 20 May 1936 and was assigned to the 1st Punjab Regiment. Between 1940 and 1945 he served on the North‑West Frontier and as an instructor before being deployed to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.

After India’s independence he served with the Indian Army’s 6th Rajputana Rifles during the Indo‑Pakistani War of 1947. During the battle at Tithwal in Jammu and Kashmir he was part of the leading section of a company tasked with capturing a Pakistani post. The company suffered heavy casualties shortly after the attack was launched.

Singh managed to occupy a Pakistani medium machine‑gun post, but by that time the rest of his company had been killed or wounded. He was left alone to achieve the objective. He moved out and lobbed grenades at the next enemy post, and before moving to another trench he received a mortal bullet wound to the head.

For his gallantry he was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military decoration for gallantry.

Piru Singh was born during the late British Raj on 20 May 1918, in the tiny village Rampura in Beri, Rajputana. He was the son of Lal Singh. His family consisted of seven children—three brothers and four sisters—with Singh being the youngest son.

As a young boy, Singh always hated school, as he was unable to cope with the restricted environment. One day, after being scolded by his class teacher for quarreling with one of his classmates, Singh ran away, and never returned to school.

After that, Singh continued to help his parents in their farm, and grew up to be well‑built and handsome youth. Shikar, a local Indian sport, was his favourite game.

Though Singh wanted to join the army from his childhood, he was rejected twice, as he was too young, before he was accepted at the age of eighteen.

Piru Singh was born on 20 May 1918 in the village of Rampura in Beri, Rajputana, during the late British Raj. He was the youngest son of Lal Singh in a family of seven children, comprising three brothers and four sisters. As a child he disliked school and left after being scolded by a teacher, thereafter helping his parents on their farm. He was well-built and handsome, and his favourite game was Shikar, a local Indian sport. Though he wanted to join the army from his childhood, he was rejected twice for being too young before finally being accepted at the age of eighteen.

On 20 May 1936 Singh was enrolled in the 10th Battalion of the 1st Punjab Regiment at Jhelum. After completing his training he was posted to the 5th Battalion of the same regiment on 1 May 1937. Despite his earlier hostility to schooling, he took education seriously and passed the Indian Army Class Certificate of Education. He was promoted to lance naik on 7 August 1940, to naik in March 1941, and to havildar in February 1942. He served as an instructor at the Punjab Regimental Centre from September 1941 until October 1945. In May 1945 he was promoted to company havildar major.

During the Second World War he saw action on the North‑West Frontier. After the war he was sent to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, where he served until September 1947. Following the partition of India he was transferred to the 6th Battalion of the Rajputana Rifles.

In the war of 1947 over Jammu and Kashmir, Singh’s unit was moved from Uri to Tithwal and assigned to the 163rd Brigade. On 18 July 1947 the battalion’s ‘D’ Company launched an attack on a Pakistani position held on a narrow path overlooking the Tithwal bridge. The company suffered heavy casualties, and Singh’s section was reduced to half strength. Singh advanced toward a Pakistani medium machine gun post, was wounded by shrapnel, but continued to fight, killing the defenders with his bayonet and Sten gun. He then moved to a second post, was almost blinded by a grenade, ran out of ammunition, lobbed grenades, and killed two soldiers with his bayonet before being hit in the head. He died from his wounds, hurling a grenade into a nearby trench as he fell.

The account of Singh’s actions during the battle highlights his bravery and determination, as he continued to fight despite severe injuries and dwindling supplies, ultimately sacrificing his life for his objective.

Piru Singh was married and had a son named Om Prakash Singh. In the 1980s, the Shipping Corporation of India, a Government of India enterprise operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Shipping, named fifteen of its crude oil tankers in honour of the Param Vir Chakra recipients. One of these vessels, the MT "Company Havildar Major Piru Singh, PVC", was delivered to SCI on 12 October 1984.

Due to the MARPOL Convention on single hull tankers, SCI phased out all its fifteen PVC series crude tankers once they reached an economic age of 25 years. In recognition of his service, a road roundabout called "Shahid Piru Singh Shekhawat Circle" was named after him in Jhunjhunu by the Government of Rajasthan. An intersection called "Piru Singh Chowk" was also named in his honour in Yol, Himachal Pradesh.

The war memorial Balidan Stambh in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, erected in 2009, paid tribute to him by inscribing his name on the pillars arranged in a semi‑circle for the martyrs of the 1947‑48 war. His name is displayed near the Amar Jawan Jyoti (Eternal Flame) and as a relief mural on the other semi‑circular wall with the Param Vir Chakra awardees who attained martyrdom in J&K.

In popular culture, the fifth episode of the TV series Param Vir Chakra, which aired on DD National in 1988, featured him. A graphic novel titled Param Vir Chakra by Amar Chitra Katha dedicated their fifth story, written by Sahil Rizwan and drawn by Rakesh C S, was released in 2015. Another graphic novel, Param Vir Chakra Piru Singh, published by Roli Books, was written by Ian Cardozo and drawn by Rishi Kumar in 2019.