JAMMU: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has urged the youth to dream big, aim high and pursue it with full courage and unshakable resolve. He said the youth are the engines of future growth of India and they alone can ensure Viksit Bharat. Due to their boundless energy, the youth can unleash forces that will propel India to become a great power and one of the most advanced nations in the world in the decades ahead, Mr Sinha said on Sunday while addressing a function at Gurha Salathia village in Samba district.
This village is unique in the entire Jammu region, as it is the only one where a member of the family is wearing a uniform. Be it of the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, BSF, CRP and other forces. The fascination for uniformity in this village transcends what is seen anywhere else in the country.
The tradition of joining the forces goes back to Maharaja Gulab Singh’s days of 1830s or so. This tradition has continued for several generations now. It is also unique in that this village has the honour of three real brothers becoming Generals in the Indian Army at one time. That is perhaps the only family in India which got this honour and it has duly been recorded in the Limca Book of Records.
The three brothers were Lieutenant General Anoop Singh Jamwal, his brother Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Jamwal and Major General Rajinder Singh Jamwal. At one time, they served concurrently as top Generals in the Indian Army. Lt Gen Anoop Singh Jamwal served as Adjutant General, and at one time as Corps Commander of 9 Corps, based at Yol camp in Himachal Pradesh.
This remarkable achievement is a rare example of three brothers serving in the Indian armed forces at the same time. Till date, this remains a unique record in the history of the Indian Army and seems to be there to stay, unchallenged.
Lt Gen Kuldip Singh Jamwal was commissioned into artillery and served as General Officer Commanding of the Eastern Command and, at one time, headed the Army Training Command ARTRAC.
Major General Rajinder Singh Jamwal was younger than these two named above, and the youngest brother, Purkah Singh, also retired as a Colonel. Besides, their brother-in-law, husband of their sister Satya Devi, was also a Lieutenant General in the Army.
Speaking among dozens of ex-servicemen, Sinha praised the village’s wonderful tradition of so many men serving in the armed forces. Speaking about some of the problems faced by the villagers, Mr Sinha said: “The damaged railway bridges will be restored within three months, while the restoration work of national highways’ stretches damaged due to floods will be completed in the coming 4 months.”
Responding to the demand for the construction of a railway overbridge in Samba, projected by Member of Legislative Assembly Samba, Mr Sinha assured that the issue will be taken up with the railway officials for early redressal. He further asked the MLA to develop a pond in the area, with volunteer support from youth and social organisations.
Sinha expressed gratitude to Radha Soami Satsang Beas and the High-range Rural Development Society (HRDS) India for their selfless service to society. He also commended the Guidance & Career Counselling Cell for Youth Development for their dedicated endeavours towards youth empowerment.
During his visit, the LG also reviewed the progress on the auditorium and upgradation work for the Government Higher Secondary School in the village. He directed the officials for the installation of proper sanitation and sports facilities.
Surjit Singh Slathia, MLA, Samba; Ramesh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Shakti Pathak, Director Anti-Corruption Bureau; Shiv Kumar Sharma, DIG Jammu-Samba-Kathua Range; Ayushi Sudan, Deputy Commissioner, Samba; senior officials; members of Guidance and Counselling Cell for Youth Development (GCC) and youth in large number of youth attended the event.
Maj Gen Goverdhan Singh Jamwal (Retd.) and various prominent personalities from diverse fields were also present. The highlight of the function addressed by LG Sinha was a stirring speech made 98-year-old Major General Goverdhan Singh Jamwal (retired). Born in September 1928, Major General Jamwal was the last general of the State Forces of Maharaja Hari Singh to be commissioned in 1947. He retired as a Major General in 1984 and has chronicled the valour of the various units of the State Forces in the 1947-48 war with Pakistan.
“We are lucky to have Sinha Ji as LG as he is one of the most dynamic heads among the States of the country. I am, therefore, encouraged to speak on something which is very dear to my heart and also to the soldiers, ex-servicemen, and the people of this Shivalik Kandi who laid down their lives to create this unique and largest State of India, and not only that, they also sacrificed to defend it under Brigadier Rajinder Singh Jamwal who belonged to the next village Rajendrapura.
“It was unfortunate that we (J&K forces) were pitted against Winston Churchill, who wanted the J&K State to accede to Pakistan, and if Maharaja Hari Singh did not accede, he had made plans to attack it. Plans for this were conceived in 1943 when Churchill was the Prime Minister, finalised in 1945, and executed in 1947 in the name of the Great Game, which was also Churchill’s idea.
“He has not been thoroughly exposed except by Walter Reid in his book `Fighting Retreat’. I recommend everyone to read this book to understand how we lost whatever we lost in the J&K State, nearly one-third of the State under two operations, Gulmarg and Dutta Khel.
I knew some of these facts when I spent one month with Maharaja Hari Singh Ji in 1954, when I was ADC with Dr. Karan Singh and Capt. Diwan Singh was ADC with Maharaja Hari Singh Ji.
“I could sense what had happened, but being in the Army, I could neither discuss nor was I allowed to speak about it until Modi Ji came. It is only after 2014 that things started coming out, and now we know exactly what happened. I want to share this with you so that you know the truth, on which you may like to read my book Valour and Betrayal.
“We all know that Churchill was not happy when Maharaja Hari Singh demanded freedom from the British in the Round Table Conference in London, supporting what Mahatma Gandhi and others were demanding, which was not expected of him as Head of the Council. As a result, Churchill initiated disturbances in Kashmir in 1931 with the aim of getting Gilgit transferred to the British on the pretext of fighting Russian blocks during World War II.
Maharaja Hari Singh Ji was not prepared to hand it over, but after the communal disturbances from 1931 onwards, he was pressurised and had to yield in 1935, when the Gilgit Agency was leased to the British Government of India for 60 years. This should have been handed back to us since Russia became a partner in World War II, but the British never returned it because the aim was never to do so. If Maharaja Hari Singh did not accede to Pakistan, they retained Gilgit-Baltistan, for which they conceived an operational plan called Dutta Khel and another plan, Operation Gulmarg to capture the rest of the State, that is, the Jammu and Kashmir provinces.’’
He said that in the 1947-48 war, the J&K State Forces lost 1,990 personnel, including 19 officers, out of about 7,000 infantry soldiers, i.e., 30 per cent of the force, as compared to 1 per cent of the entire Indian Army force of 40,000. Yet they saved one-third of the State.
“What I want to share with you today as a lesson from this history is that Pakistan is still after us. What Pakistan has done in Pahalgam, and what it is doing today in Poonch, Kishtwar, Basohli, and elsewhere, is a matter of grave concern. Here, I request the Hon’ble LG to help us. I have been looking after ex-servicemen—nearly one lakh of them—for about 40 years, and there is a serious problem today.
“They are not getting ammunition like cartridges. Perhaps there is a Home Ministry ban that must be removed. I feel the government and the people should be thankful to those who are buying weapons with valid licenses to defend their homes and villages, whether on the border or in the hinterland—Ramnagar, Basohli, Doda, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Rajouri, Poonch, or Pahalgam.
“The government must facilitate, particularly, ex-servicemen and youth, including women, to possess weapons and, if possible, organise them for their own defence,’’ he concluded.
