Sepoy Sukhwinder Singh

Sepoy Sukhwinder Singh hailed from Kalanaur village in Gurdaspur district of Punjab and was born on 04 Aug 1980. Son of an army veteran Hav Sita Ram and Smt Kamaljeet Kaur, he had a brother Lakhwinder Singh and sister Sukhwinder Kaur as his siblings. He did his schooling at Govt Senior Secondary School, Kalanaur up to Class XII.  He was fascinated with army life like many youngsters in Punjab and nursed a dream of joining the army since his childhood. Consequently, he joined the army in the year 1998 at the age of 18 years after completing his 12th Class. He was recruited into the 22 Punjab battalion of the Punjab Regiment, an infantry Regiment of the Indian Army, well known for its intrepid soldiers and numerous battle & theater honours. He got posted to the trouble torn Kashmir valley after completing his training. 

Rajouri Cross Border Firing: 01 Mar 2000

During 2000, Sepoy Sukhwinder Singh's unit 22 Punjab was deployed in the Rajouri district of J&K.  Out of the total of 3000 Km border with Pakistan, around 740 km of LOC fell in Jammu & Kashmir. 22 Punjab was deployed at the LOC, which was highly active and where ceasefire violations occurred very often during that period. Besides cease-fire violations, the LOC in Rajouri district was also used by the militants for infiltration into Indian territory.  Besides manning the forward posts, the Army deployed armed patrols on a regular basis to check infiltration. Though the Kargil war officially ended on 26 July 1999, the border skirmishes and ceasefire violations continued thereafter in the following year too. One more such ceasefire violation took place on 01 Mar 2000 in Rajouri district of J&K.  At that time Sep Sukhwinder Singh was manning one of the forward posts of the unit at Shishnia along the LOC. 

On that day, the Pakistani troops initiated unprovoked firing on the Indian posts on a wide front from across the border in the  Rajouri district. Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked firing using small arms, automatics and mortars. The Indian forces retaliated forcefully giving a befitting reply and the fierce exchange of fire continued for several hours. However, during the cross-border exchange of fire, Sep Sukhwinder Singh received a direct hit and got severely injured. He soon succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Sep Sukhwinder Singh was a valiant soldier with  a high sense of duty, who laid down his life at the age of 20 years in the service of the nation, following the highest traditions of the Indian army.

Sep Sukhwinder Singh is survived by his father an army veteran Hav Sita Ram, mother Smt Kamaljeet Kaur, brother Shri Lakhwinder Singh and sister Smt Sukhwinder Kaur. 

• There is a Petrol Pump in Vadala Bangar village in Gurdaspur district of Punjab in his honour.