THEY DID THE CORPS PROUD

 In this section of our site our aim is to introduce our Signallers who have made us proud by their acts of unmatched bravery, courage and extra ordinary achievements. The signal Family will welcome such articles concerning our Corps for hosting here from our members for posterity   ....

1.         The following article had been compiled by Lt Col HS Bhandari (Veteran) and was publishes in The SIGNALMAN Feb 2011 issue. 

       We have attempted to bring out some of the most valiant feats of our gallant Signalers which have been recognised, appreciated and rewarded. This list, by no means bars us from singing in praise of all the other Signallers who achieved great success due to their sheer dedication, hard work and selfless service to the Corps and the Country. We are grateful to all such achievers and brave compatriots who brought laurels to the Corps – both known and the unknown heroes – and salute them with great reverence in the right earnest.

     Since all acts and the stories can not be covered due to the constraints of available

informationand also the print space, we bring out the excerpts from the records of only the more decorated soldiering feats. We may have missed out on compiling all aspects of

bravery of our awardees, although a sincere effort was made to trace out. We shall be happy to publish such stories, if brought to our  notice, in future --------- MORE    READ ON CLICK HERE

                   FROM CORPS HISTORY -  BY MAJ GEN VINAY SINGH.       

        Following articles have been contributed by  Maj Gen VK Singh which are now hosted by him on his blog. He writes in my request for a go  ahead to share these with Signals Parivar ------
                  " I have published the the stories of NC Gupta and PK Ghosh in the Signalman already. I have also posted excerpts from the   History of the Corps of Signals Volume 3 about them on my blog. The portions in red are being deleted due to objections from MI and MO, but signallers must know the real story. 
      Narinder.  Please go ahead and share  it with signallers. I know the story about NC's citation as I was also in the same unit at that time. As regards the men of 2nd Grenadiers running away, everyone in the division knew about it . When I interviewed Gen Sagat in Jaipur in 1997 for his biography, he told me this in no uncertain terms. In fact, I had recorded it on a tape recorder, which I had taken from MCTE. I did not bother to keep the tape and now it is not traceable. He said that at one stage he took a sten from the Sub Maj of the unit and said that he would personally shoot any soldier who he saw running away.

          I am enclosing a list of deletions that I have had to carry out in the Corps History, based on objections from MI and MO. I have sent it to most of the ex SO-in-Cs. See the portions dealing with Nathula, in Chapter 8. They contain most of what NC recorded in his diary". 

   We thank Maj Gen VK Singh for sharing these with us all as most of it is unknown to a majority of us..         

2.      THE SAGA OF CAPT PK GHOSH, VrC.

        The exploits of Captain Prashanta  Kumar Ghosh form an important part of the history of the Corps of Signals during the operations for the liberation of Bangladesh. Strangely enough, the story has never been told, partly because of the innate modesty of the person involved. For this lapse, the Corps also must share a part of the blame.

      Contrary to popular belief, Ghosh was not para-dropped with a signal detachment into East Pakistan. He crossed the border on foot, all by himself, with only a local lad of 14 years to help him with local dialects.  He crossed over in the area of  FJ Sector, then commanded by Brigadier Sant Singh, MVC**. The brigade major of the FJ Sector was a signaller - Major S.G. Mookerjee, who later became a lieutenant general and the SO-in-C.  Ghosh  soon established contact with ‘Tiger’ ------READ ON CLICK HERE

3      NATHULA 1967 - THE REAL STORY – 2Lt NC GUPTA‘s FEARLESS ACTS OF BRAVERY

           Background - Nathu La lies on the Old Silk Route between Tibet and India. In 1904 Major Francis Young husband, serving as the British Commissioner to Tibet, led a successful mission through Nathu La to capture Lhasa.   After  Chinatook control of Tibet in 1950 and suppressed a Tibetan uprising in 1959, refugees entered Sikkim through Nathu La. During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, Nathu La witnessed skirmishes between soldiers of the two countries. Shortly thereafter, the pass was sealed and was closed for trade. Five years later in 1967, Nathu La was the scene of a ‘border skirmish’ between Indian and China, which resulted in heavy casualties to both sides.

        Second Lieutenant N.C Gupta was commanding 112 Mountain Brigade Signal Company. He had recently relieved Major R.K. Marwaha, who had proceeded on leave. Gupta had joined the brigade after completing the Commando Course at the Infantry School, and was promptly christened ‘Commando’ by the brigade commander, Brigadier M.M.S. Bakshi, M.V.C.  A soft spoken and affable officer with a diminutive frame, Gupta made up in courage and diligence what he lacked in size. For his fearless actions in the Nathu La operations, he was awarded the Sena medal. Thanks to his innate modesty, very people in the Corps of Signals know that he was in fact recommended for a Maha Vir Chakra. --  READ ON CLICK HERE

      
     Note :-  Col NC Gupta, SM is not only my course mate but a very close and dear friend, We spent years together at same station but he never ever made a mention of his Great Acts in keeping the chinese at bay at Nathu La. When ever we asked him about it, he simply smiled and brushed it off. It was only last year when I was compiling a Commemorative CD for Golden Jubilee Reunion of our NDA course that he opened a bit and permitted me to include the details in the CD for the benefit of our entire NDA-28th Course.   Naveen we are proud of you..       Brig Narinder Dhand and all of us from the - YO Sigs -49.

4.     CAPT ADITYA MISHRA - Capt Aditya Mishra - The only Signal Officer who got Martyred during Kargil Operations. He remained un-sung and un-rewarded

Please read the account of his proven bravery  by Maj Gen PK Mallick, VSM at "CLICK TO OPEN" in your browser or read below in the window by moving it up by clicking on the arrows. On smart phones you can move up or doen the screen




 Col  ARVIND VASANT JOGLEKAR -    Col Arvind Joglekar is very happy & feel privileged that he was commissioned in Crops of Signals in December, 1962. The type of exposure we Armed Forces Officers get is very rare.  Thus after retirement he decided that he  should motivate young generation to join Armed Forces. Due to his various postings and visits to some foreign countries he started writing in English as well as in Marathi. He is very glad to inform that all his books published in Marathi so far have received prestigious awards. His books are generally published by Continental Prakashan, Pune which has been declared as the best publication in Maharashtra,       READ MORE



READ ALL ARTICLES ON THE SUBJECT --  CLICK


OUR BRAVE HEARTS