Gurbachan Singh Salaria - Wikipedia Gurbachan Singh Salaria Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria PVC ( 1935 - 11 - 29 ) 29 November 1935 Janwal, Punjab, British India ( now in Pakistan ) 5 December 1961 ( 1961 - 12 - 05 ) ( aged 26 ) Élisabethville, Katanga Province, Republic of the Congo Allegiance Republic of India Service / branch Indian Army Years of service 1957 -- 1961 Rank Captain Service number IC - 8947 Unit 3 / 1 Gorkha Rifles Battles / wars Congo Crisis Awards Param Vir Chakra Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria, PVC ( 29 November 1935 -- 5 December 1961 ) was an Indian Army officer and member of a United Nations peacekeeping force. He is the only UN peacekeeper to receive the Param Vir Chakra ( PVC ), India 's highest wartime military decoration. Singh was an alumnus of King George 's Royal Military College and the National Defence Academy. He was the first NDA alumnus and only UN Peacekeeper to be awarded a PVC. In December 1961, Salaria was among the Indian troops deployed to the Republic of the Congo as part of the United Nations Operation in the Congo. On 5 December, Salaria 's battalion was tasked to clear a roadblock of two armoured cars manned by 150 gendarmes of the secessionist State of Katanga on the way to the Elizabethville Airport. The plan was that Salaria and his men were to block their retreat. His rocket launcher team attacked and destroyed the Katangese armoured cars. This unforeseen move confused the gendarmerie, and Salaria felt it would be best to attack before they reorganised. Though his troops were badly outnumbered, they charged towards the Katangese and killed 40 men in a kukri assault. During the attack, Salaria was shot twice in the neck and eventually succumbed to his injuries. The remaining gendarmes fled in utter confusion leaving their dead and wounded behind. This helped the main battalion to easily overrun the Katangese and clear the roadblock. For his duty and courage, and disregard for his own safety during the battle, Salaria was awarded the Param Vir Chakra. Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Congo Crisis 2.1 Operation Unokat 2.2 Param Vir Chakra 3 Other honours 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References Early life and education Gurbachan Singh Salaria was born on 29 November 1935, in Janwal, a village near Shakargarh, Punjab, British India ( now in Pakistan ). He was the second of five children of Munshi Ram and Dhan Devi. His father had earlier been drafted into the Dogra Squadron of the Hodson 's Horse in the British Indian Army. Listening to tales of his father and his regiment motivated Salaria to join the army at a very young age. As a result of the partition of India, Salaria 's family moved to the Indian part of Punjab and settled in Jangal village in Gurdaspur district. Salaria enrolled in the local village school and later, in 1946, he was admitted to King George 's Royal Military College ( KGRMC ) in Bangalore. In August 1947, he was transferred to the KGRMC in Jalandhar. After passing out from KGRMC, he joined the Joint Services Wing of the National Defence Academy ( NDA ). On graduating from the NDA in 1956, he enrolled in the Indian Military Academy, completing his studies on 9 June 1957. Salaria was initially commissioned into the 2nd battalion, 3 Gorkha Rifles, but was later transferred to the 3rd battalion, 1 Gorkha Rifles in March 1960. Congo Crisis In June 1960, the Republic of the Congo became independent from Belgium. But during the first week of July, a mutiny broke out in the Congolese Army and violence erupted between black and white civilians. Belgium sent troops to protect fleeing whites and two areas of the country, Katanga and South Kasai, subsequently seceded with Belgian support. The Congolese government asked the United Nations ( UN ) for help, and on 14 July 1960, the organisation responded by establishing the United Nations Operation in the Congo, a large multi-national peacekeeping force and aid mission. Between March -- June 1961, under the command of Brigadier K.A.S. Raja, India contributed the 99th Infantry Brigade, around 3,000 men, to the UN force. After attempts at reconciliation between the Congolese government and Katanga failed, on 24 November, the UN Security Council approved UN Security Council Resolution 169. The resolution condemned Katanga 's secession and authorised the use of force to immediately resolve the conflict and establish peace in the region. In response, the Katangese Gendarmerie took two senior UN officials hostage. They were later released, but Major Ajit Singh of the 1 Gorkha Rifles was also captured and eventually killed, as was his driver. Roadblocks were erected by the gendarmes to prevent communication between the UN detachments and isolating them from each other, making it easier to take down the detachments one by one. On 4 December a block was established on the road between the city of Élisabethville and the nearby airport. UN troops reacted by initiating Operation Unokat to defend their positions and reestablish their freedom of movement in the region. Operation Unokat On 5 December 1961, the 3rd battalion, 1 Gorkha Rifles was tasked to clear the roadblock on the way to Élizabethville Airport at a strategic roundabout. The roadblock was held by 150 gendarmes with two armoured cars. The plan was for the first attack to be made by Charlie Company, led by Major Govind Sharma. Captain Salaria, with a platoon from Alpha Company close to the airport road, was to block the gendarmes ' retreat, and to attack them if required. The rest of Alpha Company was kept in reserve. The plan was to be executed at midday. Captain Salaria and his troops reached the specified location with their armoured personnel carriers. They were positioned around 1,500 yards ( 1,400 m ) from the target. His rocket launcher team was soon able to get to close enough to the gendarmes ' armoured cars to destroy them. This unforeseen move left the gendarmerie confused and disorganised. Salaria felt that it was the prudent to attack before the gendarmes reorganised. His last words over the radio to another officer were, `` I am going in for attack. I am certain I will win. '' Though his troops were heavily outnumbered by the gendarmes to a ratio of 4 : 25, he charged towards them, engaging in a hand - to - hand kukri assault whilst shouting the Gorkha war cry Ayo Gorkhali ( English : The Gorkhas have arrived ). Salaria and his men killed 40 gendarmes before he was shot twice in the neck by automatic gunfire. Eventually Salaria collapsed due to blood loss at the last line of trenches. His second - in - command was ordered to evacuate him in an armoured personnel carrier to the airport hospital as soon as possible. Regardless, Salaria succumbed to his injuries. The close engagement with the Indian troops resulted in the gendarmerie losing about half their men ; they fled in utter confusion leaving their dead and the injured behind. This enabled the main battalion to easily overrun the Katangese force, clear the roadblock, and prevent the gendarmes from encircling the UN Headquarters in Élisabethville. For his duty and courage, and disregard for his own safety, Salaria was awarded the Param Vir Chakra. Param Vir Chakra For his gallant actions on 5 December 1961, Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria was awarded the Param Vir Chakra. The citation read : On 5 December 1961, 3 / 1 Gorkha Rifles was ordered to clear a roadblock established by the gendarmerie at a strategic roundabout at Elizabethville, Katanga. The plan was that one company with 2 Swedish armoured cars would attack the position frontally and Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria with two sections of Gorkhas and two Swedish armoured personnel carriers would advance towards this roadblock from the airfield to act as a cutting - off force. Captain Salaria with his small force arrived at a distance of 1500 yards from the roadblock at approximately 1312 hours on 5 December 1961 and came under heavy automatic and small - arms fire from an undetected enemy position dug in on his right flank. The enemy also had two armoured cars and about 90 men opposing Captain Salaria 's small force. Captain Salaria appreciating that he had run into a subsidiary roadblock and ambush and that this enemy force might reinforce the strategic roundabout and thus jeopardise the main operation, decided to remove this opposition. He led a charge with bayonets, khukris, and grenades supported by a rocket launcher. In this gallant engagement, Captain Salaria killed 40 of the enemy and knocked out the two armoured cars. This unexpected bold action completely demoralised the enemy who fled despite their numerical superiority and protected positions. Captain Salaria was wounded in his neck by a burst of automatic fire but continued to fight till he collapsed due to profuse bleeding. Captain Salaria 's gallant action prevented any enemy movement of the enemy force towards the main battle scene and thus contributed very largely to the success of the main battalion 's action at the roundabout and prevented the encirclement of UN Headquarters in Elizabethville. Captain Salaria subsequently died of his wounds. -- Gazette of India No. 8 -- Press / 62, ( Cardozo 2003, pp. 185 -- 186 ) Salaria was the first graduate of NDA to win a PVC, and also the only UN Peacekeeper to be awarded a PVC. Other honours In the 1980s, the Shipping Corporation of India ( SCI ), a Government of India enterprise under the aegis of the Ministry of Shipping, named fifteen of its crude oil tankers in honour of the PVC recipients. The tanker MT Capt. Gurbachan Singh Salaria, PVC was delivered to SCI on 26 October 1984, and served for 25 years before being phased out. During an October 2017 episode of the radio progamme Mann Ki Baat about Indian contribution to international peacekeeping, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi said, `` Who can forget the sacrifice of Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria who laid down his life while fighting in Congo in Africa ? Every Indian feels proud while remembering him. '' See also Bangalore Military School Chail Military School Joginder Singh Sahnan Notes Footnotes Jump up ^ United Nations Security Council Resolution 169, adopted on 24 November 1961. Jump up ^ As per Chakravorty, there were 90 gendarmes. Jump up ^ Some sources claim that Captain Salaria was leading 16 men, while some claim 26. Citations ^ Jump up to : Chakravorty 1995, p. 69. Jump up ^ Rawat 2014, p. 70. ^ Jump up to : Cardozo 2003, p. 187. ^ Jump up to : Cardozo 2003, p. 188. ^ Jump up to : `` Param Vir Chakra Winners Since 1950 ''. The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 25 January 2008. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017. Jump up ^ Cardozo 2003, p. 182. Jump up ^ `` UN Resolution 169 '' ( PDF ). United Nations Documents. United Nations. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017. Jump up ^ Mockatis 1999, pp. 32 -- 33. ^ Jump up to : Cardozo 2003, p. 183. ^ Jump up to : Mockatis 1999, p. 33. Jump up ^ Bhattacharya 2013, p. 331. Jump up ^ Army Training Command 1997, p. 113. Jump up ^ Singh 2007, p. 102. Jump up ^ Cardozo 2003, p. 184. ^ Jump up to : Cardozo 2003, p. 185. Jump up ^ Reddy 2007, p. 35. ^ Jump up to : Sainik Samachar 1994, p. 28. Jump up ^ Chakravorty 1995, p. 70. Jump up ^ Jayanta Gupta ( 29 September 2018 ). `` Demand for Rashtriya Military School in Kolkata ''. The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018. ^ Jump up to : `` Mann ki Baat : PM Modi says India always spread message of peace ''. The Indian Express. 29 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018. Jump up ^ `` Salaria, IMO 8224157 ''. Baltic Shipping Services. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017. References Army Training Command, Indian Army ( 1997 ), The Indian Army : United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Lancer Publishers, ISBN 978 - 18 - 9782 - 901 - 1 Bhattacharya, Brigadier Samir ( 2013 ), Nothing But !, Partridge Publishing, ISBN 978 - 14 - 8281 - 626 - 6 Cardozo, Major General Ian ( retd. ) ( 2003 ), Param Vir : Our Heroes in Battle, New Delhi : Roli Books, ISBN 978 - 81 - 7436 - 262 - 9 Chakravorty, B.C. ( 1995 ), Stories of Heroism : PVC & MVC Winners, New Delhi : Allied Publishers, ISBN 978 - 81 - 7023 - 516 - 3 Mockaitis, Thomas R. ( 1999 ). Peace Operations and Intrastate Conflict : The Sword Or the Olive Branch ? ( illustrated ed. ). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275961732. Rawat, Rachna Bisht ( 2014 ), The Brave : Param Vir Chakra Stories, Penguin Books India Private Limited, ISBN 978 - 01 - 4342 - 235 - 8 Reddy, Kittu ( 2007 ), Bravest of the Brave : Heroes of the Indian Army, New Delhi : Prabhat Prakashan, ISBN 978 - 81 - 87100 - 00 - 3 Sainik Samachar : The Pictorial Weekly of the Armed Forces. 41. Director of Public Relations, Ministry of Defence. India. 1994. ISSN 0036 - 2743. Singh, Brigadier M.P. ( 2007 ), History of the Indian Military Academy, Unistar Books, ISBN 978 - 81 - 8989 - 956 - 1 hide Param Vir Chakra Recipients Somnath Sharma ( 1947 ) Jadunath Singh ( 1948 ) Rama Raghoba Rane ( 1948 ) Piru Singh Shekhawat ( 1948 ) Karam Singh ( 1948 ) Gurbachan Singh Salaria ( 1961 ) Dhan Singh Thapa ( 1962 ) Joginder Singh ( 1962 ) Shaitan Singh ( 1962 ) Abdul Hamid ( 1965 ) Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore ( 1965 ) Albert Ekka ( 1971 ) Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon ( 1971 ) Arun Khetarpal ( 1971 ) Hoshiar Singh ( 1971 ) Bana Singh ( 1987 ) Ramaswamy Parameshwaran ( 1987 ) Manoj Kumar Pandey ( 1999 ) Yogendra Singh Yadav ( 1999 ) Sanjay Kumar ( 1999 ) Vikram Batra ( 1999 ) Designer Savitri Khanolkar Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gurbachan_Singh_Salaria&oldid=835255900 '' Categories : Indian Army officers Recipients of the Param Vir Chakra 1935 births 1961 deaths Punjabi people Military personnel from Punjab, India Indian military personnel killed in action People of the Congo Crisis Indian Military Academy alumni National Defence Academy alumni Hidden categories : Good articles EngvarB from September 2014 Use Indian English from December 2017 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Use dmy dates from February 2018 Pages using infobox military person with unknown parameters Articles containing explicitly cited English - language text Talk Contents About Wikipedia ગુજરાતી हिन्दी Edit links This page was last edited on 7 April 2018, at 15 : 20. 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Question: which soldier was awarded the param vir chakra after he was martyred during un peacekeeping mission
Answer: Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria