You must have seen Ajay Devgan’s film ‘Bhuj’, released in 2021, in which Air Force Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik, with the help of 300 women, turned the tide of the war by rebuilding the ruined airstrip in Bhuj overnight. Air Force officers became the heroes of this story of hard work of common people, that too when someone made a film on them. There are many such stories in the history of India, in which the hero always got the credit, but the people who helped him are not discussed. Similarly, neither the volunteers who cleared the snow for the landing of the Army’s Dakota plane from the Srinagar Airport, nor the volunteers who guarded the airport along with the Army, got credit, nor did the volunteers who along with Brigadier Pritam Singh in Poonch convert the narrow path of the village into an airstrip overnight.
It has always been discussed among the people of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that the role of the volunteers of the Sangh never came to light during the partition or wars. The role of the volunteers of Poonch was among them. Poonch district is a border district and even at that time there were 90 thousand Hindus out of a population of five lakh. The branch was started here for the first time in 1942 with the efforts of Sangh volunteers Suryaprakash Khadwal and Mirpur’s Karyavah Vishwanath Bakshi. Among the early volunteers, Badrinath Kapahi, Surendra Nath Phool, Srinivas Sharma, Omprakash Gupta etc. became the foundation stones of this branch. Later Rooplal Advocate was made the city administrator and Omprakash Gupta was made the chief teacher. But a young man named Amrit Sagar left the biggest impact among them. The work of the Sangh expanded so rapidly in Poonch and its tehsils that people were surprised.
Before the formation of Pakistan, Poonch and Mirpur came under Rawalpindi department, but later this area was added to Jammu department. Here Amrit Sagar was made in-charge of the evening branches. Amrit Sagar was also entrusted with the task of cautioning the Hindus living away from the district centre, because neither the intentions of the Pakistani Army nor of the tribals were clear. Sporadic attacks had started from the Pakistan border. Many Muslims of Poonch were also supporters of Pakistan, so information was continuously coming about them that if there is any attack from Pakistan, then these people can openly help.
40 thousand refugees had come to Poonch city
After capturing Uri, Pakistan sent a contingent towards Poonch. There was a contingent of the army of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir near Poonch, which had set up a tight barricade on behalf of the local volunteers and the local public. That’s why the Pak contingent was not able to succeed. The situation was such that gradually the Hindu neighbors of the rural areas had come to the Poonch district headquarters due to the attitude of the majority Muslims, attacks and fear of the Pak Army, thus about 40 thousand people had gathered in the city in the form of refugees. On the other hand, the Pakistani army had started occupying the hills above the roads passing through Poonch city, waiting for the remaining troops.
Pritam Singh, who escaped from Japan’s captivity, saved Poonch
The story of Pritam Singh, the hero of this story, is also quite interesting. Pritam was born in Dina of Firozpur (Punjab). He was commissioned in 4/19 Hyderabad Regiment in Secunderabad in 1938. This regiment is today known as 4 Kumaon Regiment. The very next year the Second World War broke out and the British army commanders sent Pritam Singh to Singapore with 12 Indian Infantry Brigade. On 8 December 1941, when he was Captain in 3/16 Punjab Regiment in Singapore, he was sent to Northern Malaya to fight the Japanese. The Japanese had come with full preparation, so their unit had to face a severe defeat, most of them were either martyred or taken as prisoners of war.
Pritam Singh was also a prisoner of war, but he somehow escaped from the Japanese camp at Tenaga along with two of his fellow officers and reached Burma via Thailand. From there both of them took another route and Pritam alone chose a different route. Pritam reached an area in Manipur 2000 miles away through the forests. From there to Dimapur and then to Calcutta by train. There he was admitted to the Army Hospital. When Military Intelligence investigated him, he was awarded the Military Cross for this indomitable courage and was made a Major. After that Pritam took a long leave and also got married.
After the country’s independence, when Raja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947, India sent its forces and on the morning of 27, Dewan Ranjit Rai of 1 Sikh Regiment was sent as the first unit from Palam Airport, along with two Dakota planes, one of which was being flown by Biju Patnaik. Pritam Singh’s team was also sent in the same planes, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and the commanding officer of 1 Para (Kumaon) on the same day. He was not even given a chance to leave his wife at her parents’ house.
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After the martyrdom of heroes like Dewan Ranjit Rai in the defense of Baramulla and Major Somnath Sharma in the defense of Srinagar, Srinagar was captured, but Baramulla was still left. By 14 November, control over Baramulla had been re-established and on the way, the force led by Pritam Singh had spread the dead bodies of 600 tribals and Pakistani soldiers. By 18 November, Uri had also come back under control. He was thinking of moving towards Muzaffarabad when on 20th November he received orders to reach Poonch. It is surrounded by enemies from all sides and they can enter the city at any time.
By now, some armed squads of 1 Para, 2 Dogra and Cavalries had arrived to help the princely army and Sangh volunteers, but the vehicles carrying ration and weapons were only 24 in total. The route from Uri to Poonch via Hajipir was not easy in those days, on the way we encountered tribals, the result of which was that 16 of their soldiers were martyred and 14 were injured. In such a situation, there was a discussion about returning back, but asking to send the injured soldiers back to Uri, Pritam Singh said – 1st Para will definitely go to Mission Poonch.
When the wooden bridge caught fire, volunteers gathered
In his book Poonch, India’s Invincible Citadel (Lancers Publishers), Brigadier JS Grewal writes that when the tribals saw that these people would not stop, they also set fire to the wooden bridge lying on the way. Pritam still did not stop. An alternative route was searched and they managed to reach Poonch at midnight on 21 November with 419 soldiers and some supply vehicles. At that time Poonch was completely cut off from India. So when he reported the news at Srinagar headquarters, no one believed it. But in the book ‘Jyoti Jala Nij Pran Ki’ by Manik Chandra Bajpayee and Shridhar Paradkar, it has been told that there was a wooden bridge built by the Dogra government on a drain named Chhajan, 13 km away from Poonch. Whose security was being guarded by Subedar Brajlal along with retired soldiers.
No one knew that a contingent of the Indian Army was coming this way at night, the mission was kept a complete secret. Pritam’s army was trying to draw out the hidden tribesmen or Pakistani soldiers by raising slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. Seeing them moving in the night with the slogan of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’, Braj Lal asked the civil authorities of Poonch on wireless what to do? Got the answer, do whatever feels right. Brajlal sprinkled kerosene oil on it and set it on fire. And withdrew his troop.
This book also claims that Chief Engineer Daulatram Sharma along with the army had put 400 laborers on diversion. But it was not an easy task. Later, Daulatram sought help from Amrit Sagar, the main face of the Sangh in Poonch, and in the morning itself 60 volunteers reached there with hoes, shovels and other materials and completed the work within 3 hours. It is possible that Pritam Singh may have arrived in the night itself and then other vehicles may have arrived later.
Here, the commanders sitting at the front in Poonch had lost courage and were thinking of leaving the place because the ration was also ending. Pritam gave them courage and said that they will fight till the last bullet remains. Pritam also met the local volunteers and refugees of the Sangh and along with the princely army commander Kishan Singh, also carried out some attacks on the surrounding hills. But soon they realized that the enemy sitting on the hill was in a safe place and without help (logistics and weapons) coming from outside, it was not easy to overcome them.
the airstrip was the only way
After that, Pritam Singh, after discussing with Kishan Singh, called the local people who were till now engaged in the service of refugees and security of Poonch, among whom apparently the prominent face of the Sangh, Amrit Sagar was also included. There were most of the people with him who could do anything to save Poonch. Pritam Singh’s problem was a little more serious than the incident in the film ‘Bhuj’, there was no existing airstrip there, that is, a new one had to be built, so it took a lot of time, it was impossible to know the enemy’s movements and the ration was fast ending, as well as the ammunition.
Despite this, Sangh volunteers gathered and a campaign to widen a footpath and convert it into an airstrip and to level the nearby Hazuribagh garden began rapidly. Big trees were cut down, some houses were also demolished. In Manik Chandra Bajpayee’s book, the names of the volunteers and other people involved in this work have been given, among them Master Mulraj Sharma, Sardar Kuber Singh, Master Beliram, Giani Jeevan Singh, Giani Thakur Singh, Babu Bihari Lal, Sardar Gopichand Contractor, Munshilal etc.
Pritam Singh became ‘Lion Child’
Within 10 days, in the first week of December, the airstrip was ready. On 6 December, Pritam Singh became Brigadier Pritam Singh. The first aircraft landed there with Group Captain Baba Mehar Singh and Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee. People showered the pilots and Brigadier Pritam Singh with garlands. Those people were angels for those who narrowly escaped death. The same evening a Dakota plane also landed with weapons and supplies. Then it seemed as if planes started landing there one after another. The local people were so happy with Pritam Singh that they named him ‘Sher Bachha’. Later Pritam Singh formed two units of the youth of Poonch. Many youth of Poonch had already joined the army during the Second World War.
Although it took a year to remove the Pakistani army and tribals from the hills, when the ceasefire was signed on January 1, 1949, the people of Poonch were able to heave a sigh of relief, but in the final agreement, some part of Poonch remained in Pakistan, on the other side of the Line of Control. In such a situation, the families of those 40,000 people still believe in people like Sardar Pritam Singh and Amrit Sagar of the Sangh. It is a different matter that during that time, on the basis of a case registered by the Raja of Poonch, in which Brigadier Pritam was accused of theft of valuable heritage items from his house, which had been converted into the Force Headquarters. He was court martialed. However, army veterans still believe that the king himself had fled leaving his people behind, and considering the historical contribution of Pritam Singh, he should have received pardon from the President.
Back story: These stories of the martyred volunteers of partition will bring tears to the eyes
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