.: July 2010

Param Vir Chakra Dhan Singh Thapa

Major Dhan Singh Thapa (April 10, 1928 Shimla – September 6, 2005) was an Indian Army major in 1st Battalion, 8th Gorkha Rifles Regiment.
Brief biography
Dhan Singh Thapa was born to P. S. Thapa in Simla, Himachal Pradesh. He was commissioned on August 28, 1949 with service number IC-7990 in the 8 Gorkha Rifles on 28 August 1949. He was involved in a major action in Ladakh on October 20, 1962 during the Sino-Indian War. He retired as Lieutenant-Colonel.
Military Action
The Sirijap valley, north of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh, was considered vital for the defence of Chushul airfield. The 1/8 Gorkha 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 Dhan Singh Thapa when the Chinese attack came on 20 October 1962. At 06:00 on 21 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 commission. The Chinese then attacked the outpost in overwhelming numbers. Major Thapa and his men repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy casualties on the Chinese. But the Chinese were not dismayed by the defeat. They mounted another attack in greater number after shelling the area with artillery and mortar fire.
Major Thapa again rose to the occasion and repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy losses on the Chinese. He encouraged his men to be prepared for a third assault, which came after a short while indeed. The third Chinese attack was, however, more powerful and intense. The Chinese now came with tanks in support of the infantry. The platoon post was now in a much-depleted strength owing to the casualties suffered in earlier attacks. But the post held out till the ammunition lasted. When the Chinese finally overran it, he jumped out of his trench and killed many intruders in hand-to-hand fighting. He was eventually overpowered and captured. His cool courage, conspicuous fighting qualities and leadership were in the highest traditions of the Army.
Major Thapa was believed to have been killed in this engagement, and the original citation given below reflects this. He was later discovered to have been taken prisoner by Chinese soldiers and after his release from the POW camp, he resumed his military career. For his gallant act, Major Dhan Singh Thapa was honoured with the highest wartime gallantry medal, Param Vir Chakra.
Citation
The citation for the Param Vir Chakra awarded to him reads:
MAJOR DHAN SINGH THAPA 1/8 GORKHA RIFLES (IC-7990)Major Dhan Singh Thapa was in command of a forward post in Ladakh. On 20 October 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 most 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 the infantry. The post had already suffered large numbers of casualties in the earlier two attacks. Though considerably reduced in number it held out to the last. When it was finally overrun by overwhelming numbers of the enemy, Major Thapa got out of his trench and killed several of the enemy in hand-to-hand fighting before he was finally overpowered by Chinese soldiers.
Major Thapa’s courage, conspicuous fighting qualities and leadership were in the highest traditions of our Army.