Company Quarter Master
Havildar Abdul Hamid (July 1, 1933 – September 10, 1965) was a soldier in the
4 Grenadiers,
Indian Army, who died in the
Khem Karan sector during the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, and was the posthumous recipient of the
Republic of India‘s highest
military decoration, the
Param Vir Chakra. The award was announced on 16 September 1965, less than a week after the battle that cost his life.
During the India-Pakistan war Vir Abdul Hamid had blasted several tanks of the enemy country. For his bravery, Hamid was awarded posthumously with the country’s highest military decoration Pram Vir Chakra.. The award was announced on 16 September 1965, less than a week after the battle that cost his life..The award was presented to his spouse, Shrimati Rasoolan Bibi by Dr
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, then
President of India during the 1966
Republic Day Parade.
The Param Vir Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea, or in the air. The decoration may be awarded posthumously.
Abdul Hamid was born in a
MuslimDarzi family at Dhamupur village of
Ghazipur District of
Uttar Pradesh on July 1, 1933, the son of Mohammad Usman, who was also a wrestler.
He was enrolled in the 4 Grenadiers on 27 December 1954. In the 1988 Television serial
Param Vir Chakra by
Chetan Anand, Abdul Hamid is played by actor
Naseeruddin Shah.
Born
July 1, 1933
Dhamupur village of
GhazipurDistrict in
Uttar Pradesh
Died
September 10, 1965 (aged 32)
[1]
Chima,
Khem Karan Sector,
Tarn Taran Sahib
Allegiance
India
Service/branch
Infantry,
Indian Army
Years of service
1954–1965
Rank
Company Quarter Master
Havildar
Unit
4th Battalion,
The Grenadiers
Battles/wars
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Awards
Param Vir Chakra(posthumous)
The tank battles of 1965 form part of military history as the most intense armored battles between the end of World War II and the 1991 Gulf War. Close to a thousand tanks, on both sides, took part in the pitched battles and offensives. At the start of the war, Indian strength was limited to one armored division and one independent armoured brigade, along with six armoured regiments supporting infantry divisions. Pakistan had two armored divisions, with the then very modern M-48 Patton tanks. India had an equivalent tank in the Centurion, but their strength was limited to only four armored regiments.
Patton Nagar
Near the
Bhikhiwind village, a strip of land was called Patton Nagar for a short while in 1965
.It was here that more than 60 tanks of the
Pakistani armywere displayed at the end of the September India-Pakistan conflict. The Pakistan Army tanks were captured at the
Battle of Asal Uttar by India's 4 Mountain Division and it became a memorial to the Pakistani tanks being bogged down in the marshes during the 1965 War. The tanks were displayed for some time after which they were shipped to various cantonments and army establishments in India for display as war trophies.
97 tanks captured at Assal Uttar
The Indian Army managed to capture 97 Pakistani tanks as a result of the botched assault by the 1 Armoured Division of the Pakistan Army at the Battle of Assal Uttar on 10 September 1965.Six Pakistani Armoured Regiments took part in the battle, namely the
19 Lancers (Patton),
12 Cavalry (
Chaffee),
24 Cavalry (Patton)
4 Cavalry (Patton),
5 Horse (Patton) and
6 Lancers (Patton).
The Indian forces in the field that day consisted of three Armoured regiments with tanks of varying quality, the
Deccan Horse (
Shermans),
3 Cavalry(
Centurion) and the
8 Cavalry (
AMX- The battle was so fierce and intense that at the end of the war, the Pakistani 1st Armored division had lost about 97 tanks in destroyed/damaged or intact condition. This included 72 Patton tanks and 25 Chaffees and Shermans. 32 of the 97 tanks, including 28 Pattons, were in running condition. The Indian 4th division lost 32 tanks, mostly Sherman tanks, fifteen of which were captured by the Pakistan Army.
KHEMKARAN
The 1965 Indo-Pakistani War was witness to the largest tank battle in military history since World War II. This battle led to the creation of Patton Nagar (or Patton City) at the site of the battle viz., Khemkaran. This is because many Patton tanks fielded by the Pakistani forces were either captured or destroyed at the scene.
