Tales of Glory | Captain Arvind Vikram Singh: An epitome of courage, fortitude and devotion to duty

This is a series of stories on officers of the Indian Armed Forces who gave their all to the Motherland. We shall be publishing these stories over the next year on the date these bravehearts performed in the highest traditions of the Indian Armed Forces but left us forever.

The famous saying — “Being a soldier requires more than courage. It is sacrificing yourself for something greater than yourself” — holds apt for Captain Arvind Vikram Singh, Shaurya Chakra, whose life proved to be a legacy to be emulated.

In February 1983, as a student of Class VII D of the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi, Captain Arvind Vikram Singh sat in the majestic Raina Auditorium listening attentively to a Lieutenant General of the Indian Army deliver a talk on life as a soldier. That day, AV, as he was affectionately called by his classmates, took a firm resolve to join the Indian Army.

Army life was not new to AV as his father, Lieutenant Colonel Vijay Singh, was from the Madras Regiment. AV had travelled across the country staying in different cantonments wherever his father was posted. However, that talk by a serving Lieutenant General of the Indian Army in uniform with full regalia, had AV choose the calling of his life.

AV was the only child of his parents and had a distinguished lineage. Apart from his father being an Army officer, his mother was a teacher and a social worker too.

AV was a bespectacled soft spoken and a bright student with a pleasing demeanour who was part of the school volleyball team. After passing Class XII in First Class as part of the Class of 1988 of the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, AV cleared the eighth toughest exam of the world, the National Defence Academy (NDA) examination. AV reported to NDA Khadakwasla in June 1988 as part of the 80 NDA Course. He was allotted Foxtrot Squadron.

AV excelled during the three-year training in NDA and was part of the Foxtrot Squadron Volleyball Team. On passing out from NDA in June 1991, AV reported for the last one-year pre-commissioning training to the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He was allotted the Keren Company.

On 13 June 1992, after an impressive Passing Out Parade as part of the 90 Regular Course, Second Lieutenant Arvind Vikram Singh was pipped by his proud parents. AV was commissioned in 2 Garhwal Rifles. Garhwal Rifles is a famous and decorated Regiment of the Infantry.

AV topped the Young Officers Course in the Infantry School, Mhow, and was awarded the Best Student Award. Thereafter in the Commando Course in Junior Leadership Wing, Belgaum, AV yet again topped the course and was awarded the Best Student Award once again.

In just two years, AV won the heart of every officer and soldier of the battalion because of his honest, impartial and fair approach. The battalion was located in the Kashmir Valley which was a highly terrorist-prone area.

On the night of 22-23 May 1994, to check the movement of terrorists who were moving during the hours of darkness, AV volunteered to lead an ambush on track Palhalan-Wusan Khul. They reached the ambush site by 2130 hours on 22 May 1994 in total stealth and the troops waited in silence to spring the ambush.

At 2230 hours, suspicious movement of three persons was observed from the direction of Village Palhalan. Captain Arvind Vikram Singh being the Commander of the ambush party, displaying calm courage and nerves of steel, let the three persons come to the centre of the ambush and exhibiting utter disregard to personal safety challenged them. The three persons opened fire and AV Singh killed one of the three terrorists. The other two terrorists lobbed grenades and opened fire with automatic weapons but the brave AV Singh and his team captured one terrorist alive.

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Also Read: Other pieces in the Tales of Glory series

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The apprehended terrorist was identified later as a dreaded company commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. Two AK-56 rifles, six magazines, one grenade and 147 rounds were recovered in this ambush.

On 3 June 1994, Lt Arvind Vikram Singh was promoted to the rank of Captain.

About a month later, after conducting operations in Village Hayanat at 1830 hours on 7 July 1994, the battalion moved tactically to cross the Indus river having a span of 400 meters with three prominent water channels, the intervening portion of the river bed being dry. At about 1920 hours on 7 July 1994 while crossing the Indus river over an improvised three-feet wide wooden bridge, Rifleman Digamber Singh lost his balance and fell into the fast-flowing current of the Indus river.

Captain Arvind Vikram Singh displayed exemplary courage with total disregard to personal safety and without a second’s hesitation jumped in the torrential current of the river Indus to save his company soldier.

AV negotiating through huge boulders fought the ominous walls of crashing water and displaying sheer dogged determination managed to grab hold Rifleman Digamber Singh and tried to bring him to the safety of the river bank but himself got swept away in doing so and made the supreme sacrifice of his life in the performance of his duty.

For his bravery and display of exceptional valour and devotion to duty, Captain Arvind Vikram Singh was conferred the award of Shaurya Chakra, which is the nation’s third highest award for gallantry.

We pay homage to Captain Arvind Vikram Singh on this solemn day. You shall forever remain in our hearts and memories and will always be a source of inspiration to all of us.

Captain Arvind Vikram Singh truly immortalised the legendary quote of George S Patton, Jr: “It is a proud privilege to be a soldier, a good soldier, with discipline, self-respect, pride in his unit and his country, a high sense of duty and obligation to comrades and to his superiors, and a self-confidence born of demonstrated ability”.

The writer, who retired from the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army, is an alumnus of NDA, Khadakwasla, and IIT Kanpur. He is a M.Tech in Structures, has done MBA and LLB, and is a prolific writer and a public speaker. He tweets and Koos at @JassiSodhi24. The views expressed are personal.

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