Chhelu Ram VC (10 May 1905 – 20 April 1943) was an Indian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces. He was born to Ch Jiram Garhwal in a

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

family in Dinod village near Bhiwani then part of Hisar district of undivided

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

Death

He was 37 years old, and a Company Havildar-Major in the 4/

6th Rajputana Rifles The 6th Rajputana Rifles were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They were formed in 1922, after the Indian government reformed the army. They moved away from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. The regiment se ...

, in the

Indian Army during World War II The Indian Army during World War II, a British force also referred to as the British Indian Army, began the war, in 1939, numbering just under 200,000 men.Sumner, p.25 By the end of the war, it had become the largest volunteer army in history, ...

when he performed the following deed for which he was awarded the VC. On the night of 1920 April 1943 at Djebel Garci,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, the advance of a battalion of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade was held up by machine-gun and mortar fire. He gave the rallying cry ats and Mohammedans, there must be no withdrawal! We will advance! Advance!ref name=":0" /> while attacking. Company Havildar-Major Chhelu Ram dashed forward with a Tommy-gun, killed the occupants of a machine-gun post, and then went to the aid of his company commander who had become a casualty. While doing so he was himself wounded, but taking command of the company, he led them in hand-to-hand fighting. He was again wounded, but continued rallying his men until he died.He was a Jat from current Haryana State as RR recruits 40% Jats, 40% Rajputs and 20% others.

References

External links

Chhelu Ram
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ram, Chhelu 1905 births 1943 deaths Indian World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross British Indian Army soldiers Indian Army personnel killed in World War II People from Punjab, India Burials at Sfax War Cemetery Military personnel of British India