Major_General_Sakhi_Daler_Khan_with_Mashriqi

Raja Sakhi Daler Khan (or Sakhi Delair Khan) was born in the village of Sarsawa,

Kotli Kotli ( ur}) is a city in Kotli District of Azad Kashmir in Pakistan. It lies on the Poonch River, and the river contains several notable waterfalls including the Lala Waterfall near the town of Kotli and the Gulpur Waterfalls at the village of ...

in the year 1928. He led Pakistani troops and irregulars in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. Due to his major role in the liberation of the

Poonch Poonch, sometimes also spelt Punchh, may refer to: * Historical Poonch District, a district in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in British India, split in 1947 between: ** Poonch district, India ** Poonch Division, in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, ...

valley regions of

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

, the village of Sarsawa was subsequently renamed Sakhi Delair Abad in his honour.

Military career

Raja Sakhi Delair Khan joined the

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

. He resigned from his post and joined the All-India Muslim League on June 6, 1946. League leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah requested that he file a report about the current situation of the state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

. Khan visited the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir,

Ram Chandra Kak Ram Chandra Kak (5 June 1893 – 10 February 1983) was the prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir during 1945–1947. One of the very few Kashmiri Pandits to ever hold that post, Kak had the intractable job of navigating the troubled wate ...

and the last ruling Maharrajah, Maharaja Hari Singh, to better understand their views on whether Jammu and Kashmir should join with Pakistan as laid out in the British proposal for post-Independence India and Pakistan. He reported back to Jinnah at his residence at Aurang Zaib Road, Delhi in 1946 that an alternative plan was required to liberate

. Khan tried to organise army veterans and recruit them for the fighting for Jammu and Kashmir by showing them a circular signed by Jinnah establishing a War Council on September 5, 1947. Following this, Khan led many battles against the

Dogra The Dogras or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group in India and Pakistan consisting of the Dogri language speakers. They live predominantly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, and in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himachal ...

forces that were currently in control of the area, particularly in Kotli District and Rajouri District. Under the leadership of Raja Sakhi Daler Khan the Muslims of Rajouri rose against the Dogra rulers and took Rajouri. Rajouri was subsequently subject to a heavy armed assault lasting several days by the Fiftieth Parachute Brigade, the Eightieth Brigade, and the

19th Indian Infantry Brigade The 19th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in October, 1940 at Old Delhi in British Raj, India and assigned to the 8th Infantry Division (India), 8th Indian Infantry Di ...

supported by tanks of the Central Indian Horse. Rajouri fell under control of Indian forces on 12 April 1948, becoming part of the Indian state

Decorations

The War Council awarded Khan the following honours: * ''Fath-e-Kotli'' (Liberator of Kotli) * ''Fakhr-e-Kashmir'' (Honour of Kashmir) * ''Ghazi-e-Kashmir'' (Warrior of Kashmir) * ''Khadam-e-Din'' (Servant of the Deen) * Commander in Chief, Tehreek-e-Azaadi * Chief Convenor, Jammu and Kashmir Historical Committee

References

Bibliography

* ''Tarekh-e-Kotli Mangralan'', Raja Sarfraz Ahmad Khan Mangral * ''Shohaab Nama'', Qudarat-ulah-Shohaab * ''The Bleeding Kashmir'', Major Iqbal Hashmi * ''Mirpur Before 1947'', Sayad Sultan Shah * ''The Kashmir'', Khalid Mehmood Kokhar Adocate Kotli * ''Maghribi Jammu Main Jang-e-Azadi'', M. Latif {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Raja Sakhi Daler Date of birth missing (living people) 1928 births Living people