Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri (retired), who is known as the hero of the historic 1971 Battle of Longewala, died on November 17 in a private hospital in Mohali.
He passed away only five days before he would celebrate his 78th birthday.
Brigadier Kuldip Singh’s cause of death
- Brigadier Kuldip Singh was allegedly suffering from cancer, but did not let go of his fighting spirit. He is an inspiration for everyone going through DaTscan parkinsonian syndrome (PS) test and fighting the cancer battle.
- He is survived by his wife and three sons.
Brigadier Kuldip Singh’s achievements
Brigadier Singh was decorated with the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) for the heroic stand-off that forced the enemy to retreat.
The MVC citation read:
“Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri was commanding a company of the Punjab Regiment occupying a defended locality in the Rajasthan Sector. On the 5th December 1971, in the early hours of the morning the enemy launched a massive attack on this locality with infantry and tanks. Major Chandpuri exhibited dynamic leadership in holding his command intact and steadfast.”
“Showing exceptional courage and determination, he inspired his men moving from bunker to bunker, encouraging them in beating back the enemy till reinforcements arrived. In this heroic defence, he inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy and forced them to retreat leaving behind twelve tanks.”
“In this action, Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri displayed conspicuous gallantry, inspiring leadership and exceptional devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the Indian Army.”
Kuldip Singh Chandpuri’s role in Battle of Longewala
The battle of Longewala/Laungewala (1971) was one of the first major engagements in the western sector during the Indo-Pak war of 1971, fought between Pakistani forces (2,000 soldiers) and Indian defenders (120 soldiers) at the Indian border post of Longewala in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan.
Commissioned into the Indian Army in 1963 after completing his training course at the Officers’ Training Academy-Madras (now Chennai), Kuldip Singh Chandpuri was assigned to the 23rd battalion of the Punjab Regiment.
Being the commander of the regiment, was left with the choice of either attempting to hold out until reinforced, or fleeing on foot from Pakistani force.
Choosing the former, Kuldip Singh lived up to the regiment by ensuring that all his assets were correctly deployed, and made the most use of his strong defensive position and weaknesses created by errors in enemy tactics.
A heroic Singh led his men to hold back the advancing Pakistanis and finally decimate them with support from the Indian Air Force (IAF).
22 Pakistani tanks were destroyed in the Battle of Longewala.
The valour he showed in the battle to stop the onslaught by Pakistani Army’s Patton tanks, Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri was known to always be a fighter — be it for Chandigarh’s civic issues or his last battle against cancer.
The personal life of Kuldip Singh
A soft-spoken but firm man, Kuldip Singh Chandpuri settled in his corner house in Chandigarh’s Sector 33 after retiring from the Army, remaining active socially.
The famous photograph of his soldiers dancing atop vanquished Pakistani tanks after the Battle of Longewala was won, adorned the wall in a big frame in the living room of his house.
The feat of Kuldip Singh and his men later became celluloid history through the JP Dutta-directed Bollywood blockbuster Border,’ which was released in 1997.
His action-packed role was played by actor Sunny Deol.
The decorated war veteran, who took the Chandpuri surname from his native village Chandpur in Balachaur sub-division of Punjab, was born on November 22, 1940 in Montogomery (now in Pakistan) in undivided India.
Singh saw action in the 1965 India-Pakistan war in the Western sector, served in the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in Gaza (Egypt) and was twice an instructor at the prestigious Infantry School, Mhow (Madhya Pradesh), combat training.
Kuldip Singh Chandpuri was nominated as a Councillor in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, where he served actively (2006-2011) — raising issues of civic amenities, sports and other local matters.
Chandigarh and Punjab have lost a great fighter.