This was the citation read for major Hoshiar Singh, who was awarded the Paramvir Chakra, India's highest gallantry award in wartime. On 15 December 1971, a battalion of the grenadiers was given the task of establishing a bridgehead across the Basantar river in the Shakargarh sector. major Hoshiar Singh was commanding the left forward company and he was ordered to capture the enemy locality of Jarpal. Though seriously wounded by enemy shelling, major Hoshiar Singh again went from trench to trench moving about in the open with utter disregard to his personal safety when an enemy shell landed near the medium machine gun post injuring the crew and rendering it inoperative. Major Hoshiar Singh, realizing the importance of machine-gun fire, immediately rushed to the machine-gun pit and though seriously wounded himself, manned the gun inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. The attack was successfully repulsed and the enemy retreated leaving behind 85 dead including their commanding officer and three other officers. Though seriously wounded, major Hoshiar Singh refused to be evacuated till the ceasefire. It was a war to liberate East Pakistan that the Indian armed forces completed in 3 weeks. Yes, Dhaka captured and Lahore surrounded, almost a 100,000 Pak pows taken, in 3 weeks. Today our army must prepare for the challenges of defence in the 21st century. What's required to get it ready? Just days after China announced a major restructuring of the PLA, in the rarest of rare interviews, India's military secretary has spoken to us, giving us an insight on what the modern Indian army should look like. Our defence and survival is the most important conversation a country can have.
