Major MH Khan VrC

Maj Mahmood Hasan khan hailed from Dhanuri village in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan and was born on 02 March 1941. Son of Risaldar Nawab Mohd Hasan Khan, he was born in a military family, but lost his father at an early age. He was brought up his uncle Major Akbar Ali Khan who was serving with the then Nizam of Hyderabad. He completed his school education in Hyderabad and later went to Aligarh Muslim University for higher studies. He joined the Indian Army in the year 1962 as a Sepoy and subsequently got commissioned as a commissioned officer. He was commissioned into 14 Grenadiers of the Grenadiers Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its brave soldiers with a rich history of various battle honours. In 1971, Maj MH khan got involved in the thick of operations as his unit got deployed on the western border when the war with Pakistan became imminent. 

"Battle of Daruchian" (Indo-Pak War): 13/14 Dec 1971

During Indo- Pak 1971 War, Maj MH khan’s unit 14 Grenadiers was deployed on the western front. In December 1971, India had to go to war with Pakistan as the genocide perpetrated by the Pakistani army in their erstwhile eastern part of the country had resulted in an unprecedented influx of millions of refugees into India. Though the war was concentrated on the eastern front, Pakistan launched operations on the western front too. On 06 Dec 1971, Maj MH khan was tasked to carry out a raid on an enemy supply depot located inside the enemy territory. The raid involved going through a heavily guarded area and destruction of the objective of platoon strength. Major Khan led his men to the objective by shrewd manoeuvres, destroying post after post. The raid was thus successfully carried out after twelve hours of constant action. By the second week of Dec 1971, India had almost achieved victory on the eastern front but the border skirmishes were still going on, on the western front. Maj MH khan's unit 14 Grenadiers was involved in operations in the "Battle of Daruchian" during that period. 

After the failure of the Pakistani divisional attack on Poonch, Indian Army decided to carry out local and limited actions all along the ceasefire line to improve its defensive posture. One such attack was launched by an infantry battalion in the area opposite Madarpur on the night of 10/11 December, and having captured Nangi Tekri, Jungle Tekri, Bump and other features denied the use of the Kotli-Madarpur-Hajira road to the enemy. As a follow-up to these operations, it was decided to secure Daruchian, a feature blocking the Balnoi neck of the Kotli-Balnoi road between the Poonch river and the ceasefire line. Daruchian was a conical feature, narrow and rugged at the top and with steep projections. It was forested on all sides except the southwest spur and was reported to be held by less than one Pakistani company of regular troops and some Mujahids as part of the main picquet line. 14 Grenadiers battalion under the command of Lt Col Inderjit Singh was tasked to launch an attack on Daruchian and it was allotted an additional company and artillery support of four to six fire units. , Maj MH khan was functioning as a Company Commander.

It was a multi-pronged attack involving primarily B, C, and D companies of 14 Grenadiers and elements of other outside resources. Besides the commanding officer Major MH Khan, Lt Col Inderjit Singh, and Capt Hamir Singh as company commanders were involved in planning and executing the operational plan. The attack was launched in the night of 13/14 Dec 1971 in four phases with four assault groups attacking from different directions. The enemy gave a very stiff resistance and the battle for Daruchian continued for over 12 hours. Maj MH khan as the Company Commander of 'D' Company fought valiantly and led his men to give a befitting reply to the enemy fire power.  In the fierce exchange of fire during the battle a total of eight officers, seven JCOs, and one hundred and forty-nine other ranks were martyred, wounded, or missing in action. Major MH Khan too got severely injured and was soon martyred.  

Major MH Khan displayed commendable gallantry and devotion to duty during the operation and laid down his life in the service of the nation. He was given the gallantry award, “Vir Chakra” for his act of conspicuous gallantry, unyielding fighting spirit and supreme sacrifice.

The citation for the ‘Vir Chakra’ awarded to him reads:-

During the operations against Pakistan in December 1971, Major Mahmood Hasan Khan was the commander of a company of the Grenadiers which was given the task of raiding an enemy locality in the Jammu and Kashmir Sector. The raid involved going through a heavily guarded area and destruction of the objective of platoon strength. Major Khan led his men to the objective by shrewd manoeuvres, destroying post after post. The raid was thus successfully carried out after twelve hours of constant action. In this action, Major Khan displayed gallantly and leadership and made the supreme sacrifice for the call of duty in keeping with the best traditions of the Indian Army.