The Immovable Post
Lance Naik Karam Singh - A Living Legend
At Richhmar Gali near Tithwal on October 13, 1948, Lance Naik Karam Singh's section faced eight enemy attacks in a single day. Outnumbered ten-to-one, wounded twice, he refused evacuation and continued fighting - at one point bayoneting two enemy soldiers who breached the defenses. Unlike most PVC recipients, he survived to receive India's highest gallantry award in person.
The Man Who Survived
Of the 21 Param Vir Chakra recipients in India's history, the majority were awarded posthumously. They died in the act of heroism that earned them the medal. But a few survived their moment of supreme valor - and Lance Naik Karam Singh was the first among them.
His story is different from the others in this chapter. Major Somnath Sharma, CHM Piru Singh, and Naik Jadunath Singh all died achieving their objectives. Karam Singh achieved his - and lived to tell the tale. He would become an Honorary Captain, a national hero, and a living symbol of the Sikh Regiment's fighting spirit.
The Making of a Warrior
Karam Singh was born on September 15, 1915, in Sehna village, Sangrur district of Punjab. He came from a farming family, but like many Sikh youth of his generation, the martial traditions of the community called to him. On September 15, 1941 - his 26th birthday - he enrolled in the 1st Battalion of the Sikh Regiment (1 SIKH).
His timing placed him directly in the path of history. World War II was raging, and Indian soldiers were fighting across the globe as part of British Indian forces. Karam Singh would see action in one of the war's most brutal theaters: Burma.
Tested in the Jungles of Burma
The Burma Campaign (1942-45) was among the most punishing of World War II. Japanese forces had swept through Southeast Asia, and Allied troops fought in conditions of extreme hardship - dense jungles, tropical diseases, limited supplies, and a determined enemy.
Karam Singh distinguished himself during the Battle of the Admin Box in February 1944. This two-week battle saw British and Indian forces encircled by Japanese troops but refusing to surrender. Instead of retreating, they held their ground and were resupplied by air - a turning point in the Burma campaign.
For his actions during this battle, Karam Singh was awarded the Military Medal (MM) - a British gallantry decoration. This made him, years later, the only Indian soldier to receive the highest gallantry awards from both the British Empire and independent India.