Gajender Singh Bisht (1 July 1972 – 28 November 2008) was an NSG commando and

Havildar Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergeant, ...

(

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

) who was killed during the

2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of Terrorism, terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from P ...

. His act of bravery was honoured with the

Ashoka Chakra award The Ashoka Chakra (alternative spelling: Ashok Chakra) is India's highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valor, courageous action, or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra ( ...

by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on 26 January 2009, India's

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...

Childhood

Hailing from Ganeshpur in

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, young Gajender Singh studied at the Janata Inter College in Naya Gaon. He was remembered by his teachers as a disciplined student who participated in every event organised in the school, sports or cultural activities. He had a particular interest in boxing.

Operation Black Tornado

Gajender Singh was a member of the

National Security Guard The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a counter-terrorism unit of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star, for combating terrorist activities and p ...

’s 51 Special Action Group. He was part of the team of NSG commandos who were fast-roped onto the roof of Nariman House in an operation to neutralize the terrorists inside who were holding at least six hostages. According to Jyoti Krishna Dutt, Director General of the NSG, Singh was leading one of the teams that entered the building. The team came under intense fire from the terrorists and returned fire while trying to dominate the situation. The terrorists also hurled several grenades at the commandos. At this point, Singh had the option of retreating with his team. However, he realized that they had to seize this opportunity and continued moving ahead. Rather than turn his back on the militants, he instead created a way for the other commandos despite a grenade thrown at him. Despite sustaining multiple bullet injuries while doing so, he moved forward and ultimately succumbed to his injuries. This enabled his team to secure a dominating position in the encounter.

Death

While securing the

Nariman House The Nariman House, designated as a Chabad house ( he, בית חב"ד '), is a five-storey landmark in the Colaba area of South Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The building was home to a Chabad house, a Jewish outreach centre run by Gavriel and Rivk ...

during Operation Black Tornado, Singh, a member of the Parachute Regiment was fatally wounded while storming the Jewish centre.

Ashoka Chakra Award Citation

The official citation for the

Ashoka Chakra Award The Ashoka Chakra (alternative spelling: Ashok Chakra) is India's highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valor, courageous action, or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra ( ...

reads:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Havaldar Gajender 2008 deaths Deaths by firearm in India Terrorism victims in India Victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks Recipients of the Ashoka Chakra (military decoration) 1972 births Military personnel from Dehradun Military personnel from Uttarakhand Ashoka Chakra

Childhood

Operation Black Tornado

Death

Ashoka Chakra Award Citation

See also

References