PITHORAGARH: The photograph and citation of an Indian soldier,
Hawaldar Gajendra Singh
, a native of village Badalu in
Pithoragarh district
, has been included in the Russian armed forces museum’s gallery of gallant soldiers in Moscow. Gajendra Singh was awarded the ‘Order of the Red Star’, a Soviet military decoration, for his bravery in the Second
World War
in 1944. Apart from him, only one other Indian soldier, hailing from Tamil Nadu, has been honoured with the ‘Order of the Red Star.’
The Indian embassy in Moscow informed the family of the late soldier about the felicitation last week. A letter signed by DB Venkatesh Verma, the Indian ambassador to
Russia
, was sent to the family in which the ambassador, referring to the inclusion of Gajendra Singh's name in the Russian armed forces museum, termed it "a matter of great pride for India and a testament to the bonds of friendship between India and the Russian federation."
Speaking to TOI, Bhagwan Singh, Gajendra Singh’s son, said that his father was recruited in the British Indian Army in 1936. “My father told us he was sent to Chakwal (Rawalpindi) which is now in Pakistan, for training after which he was posted in the Royal Indian Army Service Corps. Most of his service was in the North- West Frontier Province which is now Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area.”
Reminiscing further, Bhagwan Singh said, “ My father told us that when WWII broke out, he was posted at Basara in Iraq. As part of the Allied Forces, he was deputed to carry ration, arms and ammunition to Soviet soldiers through difficult terrain. One night in 1943 when he was on duty, he was attacked by enemy soldiers and badly wounded. Army doctors advised that he be sent back to India but my father insisted on staying and after recovering, joined his battalion again and continued to supply provisions to Soviet soldiers.” He added that “seeing his dedication towards duty, the Soviet army awarded him the ‘Order of the Red Star’ in July 1944.”
In 1975 on the 30th anniversary of the Allied victory in the Second World War, Gajendra Singh was invited to Moscow to be a part of the victory day parade, recalls Bhagwan Singh. “An official from the Russian embassy in Delhi came to our village Badalu and met my father. The embassy made arrangements for my father to travel to Moscow and attend the victory parade there. It was a very proud moment for him,” Singh said.
He added that this year is the 75th anniversary of the victory and the Russian embassy had once again approached his family to attend the victory day parade. “Because of my poor health and the Covid-19 scare, I had to decline although I would have loved to have gone there in memory of my father.”
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