Lieutenant General Raj Mohan Vohra, PVSM, MVC (7 May 193214 June 2020) 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 ...

of the Indian Army. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for his bravery and leadership in the Battle of Basantar during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Early life and education

Vohra was born on 7 May 1932 in

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

, India to Bakshi Sant Ram. He attended St. Edward's School in Shimla. He had four brothers, all of whom joined the Indian Army. They all served in the Indian Armoured Corps as well. All the brothers rose to be General Officers – two Major Generals and two Lieutenant Generals.

Career

Vohra was commissioned into 14 Horse on 4 December 1952. As a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, in 1963, he was selected to attend the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. During 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 ...

, he fought in the Punjab sector.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Vohra posing in front of a destroyed Pakistani Patton tank

As a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, he commanded the 4 Horse in

Shakargarh Shakargarh ( ur, ), the capital of Shakargarh Tehsil, is a city in the north-eastern part of Narowal District in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. It borders Jammu, India to the north and Sialkot to the west Its literacy rate i ...

sector during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. On 5 December, his regiment spearheaded the advance of the 54th Infantry Division, commanded by Major General WAG Pinto, and captured well protected important positions such as Bhairo Nath, Bari Lagwal, Chamrola, Dharman, Chakra and Dehlra. During the Battle of Basantar, his regiment came under heavy fire from the enemy and faced heavy resistance but destroyed 27 enemy tanks. His unit suffered little casualties and faced repeated attacks from the enemy. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for his bravery and leadership.

Maha Vir Chakra

The citation for the Maha Vir Chakra reads as follows: As a General Officer, Vohra commanded the

Army War College, Mhow The Army War College, Dr.Ambedkar Nagar (A.W.C.) is a defence service training and research institution of the Indian Army located in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. It develops and evaluates concepts and doctrines for tactics and logistics for the arm ...

(then called College of Combat), which was also commanded by his brother, Inder Mohan Vohra. Vohra served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command from 1988 to 1990.

Honours and decorations

Death

He died on 14 June 2020 from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vohra, Raj Mohan 2020 deaths Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal 1932 births Recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra Indian generals Military personnel from Shimla Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India Commandants of Army War College, Mhow Defence Services Staff College alumni