Battle of Rezang la — A battle which lasted till last bullet and last breath.
Battle of Rezang la which initiated on 20th October 1962 lasted approximately for a month. China won this war (statistically), captured most of the land which belonged to India. China backed off from the war on 21th November 1962, major reason being battle of Rezang la which occured on 18th November 1962. So what exactly happened in this battle which left no option for to china but to retreat ? Let’s have a look.
Geographical Location — Rezang la is a mountain pass located at 18,000 ft.in south ladakh, on LAC.
Importance of Rezang la — Having control over Rezang la meant having the control over ladakh and ultimately control over an airfield in Chushul, which was crucial from war point of view.
The responsibility to defend chushul was given to Major Shaitan Singh and 120 soldiers. These 120 soldiers were “Veer Ahir’s" from Ahirgadh, Hariyana. Tall, strongly built. These soldiers had guns of inferior quality and very limited ammunition, but their courage? It was skyrocket.
Dance of death — 18th November 3:30 A.M., there was heavy snowfall, Chinese army with strength of 5000–6000 soldiers attacked Chushul. Considering seriousness of situation Major Shaitan Singh tried to call for a backup. What he heard on call was enough to shatter even the braveheart — “Due to heavy snowfall it’s not feasible to send backup. You may retreat if you wish to, decision is solely yours, OVER and OUT".
Major Shaitan Singh tried to explain gravity of the situation and asked soldiers to return if they wanted to. “I ain’t leaving this post though"- he exclaimed. No one from the soldiers was ready to back off either. “Kalika mata ki jai" (All hail kalika mata) their proclamation felt like a lightning strike.
Chinese army started attacking consecutively in batches of 700–800 soldiers, Major Shaitan Singh was trying his best to keep spirits uplifted, however amount of ammunition they possessed was not favourable. That didn’t effect the lionhearts though, by crushing skulls of chinese army with stones, Slashing away their heads with butt of their guns “Veer Ahir’s" kept fighting.
Amidst this Major Shaitan Singh had an injury and Ramachandra Yadav assisted him to take a rest.
Major Shaitan Singh ordered him, retreat to the base and spread a word about incredibly courageous fight which “Veer Ahir’s" fought.
This battle lasted from 3:30 a.m. to about 8–9 a.m.
114 out of 120 jawans were martyred, 5 were taken as war hostages. China lost 1300 soldiers (Some sources mention over 1800). China was shaken and had to retreat.
Post-war scenario which left everyone awestruck —
2–3 months later when snowstorm slowed down, during the search of martyrs it was found that many soldiers were holding their guns despite of being hit by multiple bullets all over their bodies. There was also a martyr nearby who had been hit by multiple bullets, he had one string attached to thumb of his feet, other end of which was attached to a machine gun’s trigger!! He was none other than Paramvirchakra Major Shaitan Singh.
Legends like Major Shaitan Singh and “Veer Ahir’s" are the ones who give meaning to slogan “Seva paramo dharma" (Service is our duty).
Salute to such bravehearts who fought till their last breath, not for themselves but for our country. शत् शत् नमन । 🙏
