Sepoy Satbir Singh

Sepoy Satbir Singh hailed from Kanjhawla village in Nangloi tehsil of Delhi and was born on 13 Nov 1944. Son of Shri Tara Chand and Smt Dhankaur, he had a younger brother Satya Dev Dabas as his sibling. He joined the Army on 13 Nov 1962 after completing his initial education at the age of 18 years. He was recruited into the 3 Jat Battalion of the well-known Jat Regiment, an infantry regiment widely respected for its intrepid soldiers and numerous battle exploits.

After serving for sometime, on 27 May 1964, he got married to Ms Vidya Wati. In the very early part of his service career, he got involved in active operations, when his unit got deployed on the western border as the war clouds gathered on the horizon in 1965. 

Battle of Dograi (Indo-Pak War) : 06 Sept 1965

During Sep 1965, Sepoy Satbir Singh's unit 3 Jat was deployed in Punjab sector and was functioning under the command of Lt Col Desmond Hayde. After Pakistan Launched operation Grand Slam aimed at occupying the important town of Aknoor in J & K, Indian Army decided to shift the theater of war to Pakistan’s Punjab area. The intended aim was to attack from the west so that the enemy would be forced to relocate troops engaged in the Aknoor operation to defend Punjab. This move planned by 54 Infantry Brigade using 15 Dogra, 13 Punjab, C squadron of 14 Horse and 3 Jat, proved to be the turning point of the war. 3 Jat battalion had been moved to the battle zone from the Eastern Sector and was short of men and ammunition. However disregarding the handicaps, the battalion started the advance towards Ichhogil canal at 9 am on 06 Sep 1965. Sepoy Satbir Singh and his comrades launched a fierce attack on the enemy on the banks of the canal.

As the area was of strategic importance to the enemy, the advancing troops of Indian Army came under heavy attack from the enemy ground forces as well as the Pakistan Air Force. But the soldiers of 3 Jat battalion held on to their positions and continued to engage the enemy on the eastern bank of the canal. Eventually the soldiers of 3 Jat went on to capture the town of Dograi. However during the heavy exchange of fire, Sepoy Satbir Singh got severely injured. He soon succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Sepoy Satbir Singh was a valiant soldier, who laid down his life at the age of 21 years in the service of the nation. 

Sepoy Satbir Singh is survived by his wife Smt Vidya Wati and brother Shri Satya Dev Dabas.