Lt. Gen. Hanut Singh Rathore, PVSM, MVC (6 July 1933 – 10 April 2015) was a

General Officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

in the Indian Army. He was decorated with the Maha Vir Chakra for his role in the Battle of Basantar in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Early life

Hanut Singh was born in

Jasol Jasol is a village in Pachpadra tehsil of Barmer district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. The historical village of Jasol, the capital of the former Malani area was ruled by the independent Mahecha clan of the Rathore Rajputs. It includes ...

in a Mahecha Rathore Rajput family in

Pachpadra Pachpadra is a village in Barmer district in Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a tehsil headquarter. One of the famous attractions in the city is the Pachpadra Lake, which is known for salt collection around it. There is one Jawahar Navodaya V ...

, Barmer District, to Lt Col Arjun Singh, who had served in the

Jodhpur Lancers The 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade was a brigade-sized formation that served alongside British Empire forces in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, during World War I. Originally called the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade it was formed ...

, and later commanded the Kachhawa Horse. He attended the Colonel Brown Cambridge School 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 ...

and joined the 1st course of the (jsw) Joint Services Wing.where he was in the Baker squadron.

Military career

Upon graduating from the Indian Military Academy in December 1952, he chose to join the Armoured Corps, and was commissioned into The Poona Horse. He did not participate in the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

as he was posted as the brigade major of the 66th Brigade. Hanut is widely known for his command of The Poona Horse in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, during the Battle of Basantar. For his conduct during the battle, he was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra.

Maha Vir Chakra

The citation for the Maha Vir Chakra reads as follows:

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Arun Khetarpal, also from Hanut's regiment, was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra for the same battle. Hanut was promoted to major general on 8 April 1983, and to Lieutenant General (India), lieutenant general on 30 December 1985. He subsequently commanded II Corps (India), II Corps during Operation Brasstacks, when India almost went to war with Pakistan. He is the only indian soldier whose bravery and valour was appreciated by Pakistan by giving him the title Fakhr-e-Hind after 1971 war.

Post-retirement

Upon retirement, he chose to live in

, dedicating his life to meditation. He died on 11 April 2015. The Indian Army announced plans for the construction of a war memorial in his memory, which will come up in Jasol.

Military Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Hanut Indian generals Recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra 1933 births Place of birth missing 2015 deaths Rajasthani people People from Barmer district Military personnel from Rajasthan Indian military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971