Dharam Vir Singh

Singh was born on 1 January 1939 in Bhamela, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India, in a military family. His father was also an army officer, Honorary Captain Tuly Ram Singh.

Singh was commissioned into the 8th Battalion of The Grenadiers Regiment on 11 December 1962.

During the 1971 war, Singh (then a major) and his battalion of Grenadiers were tasked with capturing a heavily defended Pakistani position at Chakra on the Western Front. The attack was launched on 10 December. The Pakistani army employed intense artillery and small arms fire, inflicting heavy casualties on Indian troops. Undaunted, Singh, who was commanding the left forward company, led his men through a minefield and through personal example and courage inspired his men to capture the objective after a fierce hand-to-hand fight. After losing their ground, on 11 December Pakistani troops subjected this position to heavy artillery bombardment and launched a strong counter attack. Singh moved from trench to trench motivating his men to stand fast, and they successfully repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy casualties. These actions earned Singh the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest gallantry award.[3]