Sepoy Kewal Singh MVC

Sep Kewal Singh was awarded Maha Vir Chakra for his exemplary bravery during the 1962 War.

His wife Surjit Kaur died on 3 August this year.

Sepoy Kewal Singh was born in the year of 1943, to Sri Sohan Singh and Smt Kartar Kaur in Kotli Than Singh village of Jallandhar district in Punjab. Sep Kewal Singh joined the Army at the age of 18 years on 20th October 1961. He was recruited into 4 Sikh of the famed Sikh Regiment, a regiment known for its valiant soldiers and numerous battle honors.

By the time Sep Kewal Singh completed his initial training, the war clouds were on the horizon on the eastern border. His unit, 4 Sikhs got deployed to the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), the present-day Arunachal Pradesh to defend the Indian posts on the border. On 20 Oct 1962, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army launched attacks on two fronts of India, one in Thag La in NEFA and the other in the Chushukl sector of Ladakh.  In the eastern theater, the Chinese overwhelmed the Indian troops in a series of flanking maneuvers south of the McMahon Line and prompting their withdrawal from Namka Chu. Within a few days, the Chinese forces captured all of the territory that was under dispute at the time of the Thag La confrontation and continued to advance into the rest of NEFA.

Battle of Walong (Indo-China War) : 26 Oct 1962

During the Indo-China war, Sep Kewal Singh’s unit, 4 Sikh was deployed to defend the Indian positions at Walong. On 22 Oct 1962, the Chinese forces attacked the Walong garrison, an Army cantonment located in present day Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh. Some 400 Chinese troops attacked the Indian positions but the initial Chinese assault was halted by accurate Indian mortar fire. The Chinese were then reinforced and launched a second assault. The Indians managed to hold them back for four hours, but the Chinese used weight of numbers to break through. Most Indian forces were withdrawn to established positions in Walong, while a company supported by mortars and medium machine guns remained to cover the retreat.

Over the following days, there were clashes between Indian and Chinese patrols at Walong as the Chinese rushed in reinforcements. On the night of 26/27 Oct 1962, Sepoy Kewal Singh’s company was holding a defensive position on the forward-defended localities of the Walong garrison. This position was threatened by enemy forces, as some of them had managed to get dangerously close to the defenses. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sep Kewal Singh in a rare display of courage, rushed out of his section post and charged the enemy soldiers with his bayonet. He killed a few enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand fighting but got seriously injured in the process. However, in total disregard for his injuries, Sep Kewal Singh bayoneted yet another soldier before collapsing. Sep Kewal Singh’s gallantry and daredevil action motivated his comrades to repulse the enemy attack. Sep Kewal Singh later succumbed to his injuries and thus sacrificed his life in the line of duty.

Sep Kewal Singh was given the nation’s second-highest gallantry award, “Maha Vir Chakra” for his outstanding bravery, unyielding fighting spirit, and supreme sacrifice.

When Sep Kewal Singh was killed in action, his daughter was barely 3-4 months old.  His wife Surjit Kaur did not remarry and spent her entire life as a single mother.  On 3 August, 2023 she also passed away in Surrey, Canada, and was cremated there on 12 August.  

The Rising Panjab Bureau pays homage and salute to the real hero of Sikhs brave heart Sep Kewal Singh for sacrificing his life for the nation in his prime youth.  His wife Late Surjit Kaur deserves equal praise and respect for braving the adversities of life all alone and for living as a proud wife of a brave heart.  We salute her courage. 

The blog is written on the basis of content and images from the Honourpoint site and information taken from immediate family members of Sep Kewal Singh.