In 1947 Pakistan sent tribal irregulars into the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in an attempt to capture it and accede it to Pakistan. Brig Mohammad Usman, then commanding the 77th Parachute Brigade, was sent to command the 50th Parachute Brigade, which was deployed at Jhangar in December 1947. On 25 December 1947, with the odds stacked heavily against the brigade, Pakistani forces captured Jhangar.......
Not many people must have heard
about Brigadier Mohammed Usman. He is known as the Lion of Nowshera for his
brave exploits in repulsing the enemy in the state of Jammu & Kashmir
fighting the invading Pakistan forces. Brigadier Mohammad Usman MVC was the
highest ranking officer of the Indian Army killed in action during the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. As a Muslim, Usman became a symbol of India's
inclusive secularism, a true patriot.
He was born on 15 July 1912 in Uttar Pradesh and he died on 3 July 1948
in Nowshera in Kashmir. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously for his gallantry in
leading his forces and driving away the invading Pakistan army who launched an
attack on Kashmir to annex the state of Jammu & Kashmir. He also saw action
in World War II. He held the commands of 50 Para Brigade, 77 Para Brigade and
14/10 Baluch.
Brigadier Mohammad Usman was born on July 15, 1912,
in Bibipur in the Mau district of present-day state of Uttar Pradesh. Son of a police
officer Mr Mohammad Farooq Khunambir and Mrs Jamilun Bibi, Brig Usman had three
elder sisters, and two brothers, one of whom, Gufran, joined the Army, and also
rose to the rank of a brigadier. Brig Usman was brave boy who at a young age,
when just 12 years, he jumped into a well to save a drowning child. His father
wanted him to join the civil services, but he was destined to don the military
uniform and joined the Army.
Indians had begun to join the Army as commissioned
officers since 1920, though the competition was very tough, and only the scions
of the aristocracy or landed gentry were given preference. Though Brig Usman
did not belong to the preferred class, he applied for Sandhurst and got
selected, and in July 1932, sailed for England. In fact, this was the last
course at Sandhurst to which Indians were admitted since subsequent batches
joined the Indian Military Academy, which opened in Dehradun in the same year.
Brig Usman passed out from Sandhurst on 01 February 1934, along with ten other
Indians.
On 19 March 1935, as a young officer he was
appointed to the Indian Army and posted to the 5th battalion of the 10th Baluch
Regiment (5/10 Baluch). He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 30 April
1936 and Captain on 31 August 1941. In April 1944, he served in Burma and was
mentioned in dispatches as an acting Major in the London Gazette of 27
September 1945. He commanded the 14th battalion of the 10th Baluch Regiment
(14/10 Baluch) from April 1945 to April 1946. During the partition of India,
Brig Usman, being a Muslim officer in the Baluch Regiment, was under intense
pressure from the Pakistani leadership to opt for the Pakistan Army. However,
despite the fact he was promised a future position as the Pakistan Army Chief,
he was unconvinced and remained in India. And the Baluch Regiment was allotted
to Pakistan, Brig Usman was transferred to the Dogra Regiment.
Indo-Pak War: 1947- 48: In 1947 Pakistan sent tribal irregulars into the
princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in an attempt to capture it and
accede it to Pakistan. Brig Mohammad Usman, then commanding the 77th Parachute
Brigade, was sent to command the 50th Parachute Brigade, which was
deployed at Jhangar in December 1947. On 25 December 1947, with the odds
stacked heavily against the brigade, Pakistani forces captured Jhangar. Located
at the junction of roads coming from Mirpur and Kotli, Jhangar
was of strategic importance. On that day Brig Usman took a vow to recapture
Jhangar a feat he accomplished three months later, but at the cost of his own
life.
In January–February 1948 Brig Usman repulsed fierce
attacks on Nowshera and Jhangar, both highly strategic locations in
Jammu and Kashmir. During the defence of Nowshera against overwhelming odds and
numbers, Indian forces inflicted around 2000 casualties on the Pakistanis
(about 1000 dead and 1000 wounded) while Indian forces suffered only 33 dead
and 102 wounded. His defence earned him the nickname Lion of Nowshera. Frustrated
Pakistani forces then announced a sum of Rs 50,000 as a prize for his head.
Unaffected by praise and congratulations, Brig Usman continued to sleep on a
mat laid on the floor as he had vowed that he would not sleep on a bed till he
recaptured Jhangar, from where he had had to withdraw in late 1947.
The then astute Lieutenant General K M
Cariappa (later General and Chief of Army Staff and years after
retirement made Field Marshal), who had taken over as Western Army
Commander, brought his tactical headquarters forward to Jammu to
oversee the conduct of two important operations, namely the capture of Jhangar
and Poonch. The operations commenced in the last week of February 1948.
The 19th Infantry Brigade advanced along the northern ridge, while the 50th
Parachute Brigade cleared the hills dominating the Nowshera-Jhangar road in the
south.
The enemy was eventually driven from the area, and
Jhangar was recaptured. Pakistan brought its regular forces into the fray in
May 1948. Jhangar was once again subjected to heavy artillery bombardment, and
many determined attacks were launched on Jhangar by the Pakistan Army. However,
Brig Usman frustrated all their attempts to recapture it. It was during this
defence of Jhangar that Brig Usman was killed on July 3, 1948, by an enemy
25-pounder shell. He was 12 days short of his 36th birthday. His last words
were “I am dying but let not the territory we were fighting for fall for the
enemy”. For his inspiring leadership and great courage, he was awarded the Maha
Vir Chakra posthumously.
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and
his Cabinet colleagues attended the funeral of Usman. He was given a state
funeral as a martyr. A popular Indian journalist, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas
wrote about his death, "a precious life, of imagination and unswerving
patriotism, has fallen a victim to communal fanaticism. Brigadier Usman's brave
example will be an abiding source of inspiration for Free India".
Serving with the Dogras in Burma, he had turned
into a vegetarian. He exhorted his men to keep a fast on Tuesdays so that the
food could be distributed to the villagers. A bachelor, a bulk of his salary
would be spent in providing education to poor children. He was religious yet a
staunch loyalist. On receiving reports that 50000 tribal marauders had taken
refuge at a mosque near Naushera and that our troops were hesitant in firing at
the religious structure, he reached there personally and ordered fire to be
opened, stating that the place no longer remained religious as it had been
occupied by marauders. Brigadier Mohammed Usman remains one of the greatest
soldiers and an inspiring military leader India has ever produced.
Usman was buried in the Okhla cemetery near
the Jamia Millia Islamia campus in New Delhi. Film
directors Upender Sood and Ranjan Kumar Singh produced a film on Brigadier
Usman's life. In 2020, photos of the grave's defaced headstone were widely
circulated and triggered outrage on social media. This led several Army
veterans to condemn the dishonour done to his memory, ultimately leading the
Army to initiate the restoration of the vandalised grave. A memory to the brave
son of India that will inspire generations and remind them of his valor and
courage he displayed on the battlefield.
His birth centenary was celebrated in 2012 by the
Indian Army at Jhangar, Jammu and Kashmir. A Paramotor Expedition was
organized by Gorkha Training Centre in the memory of Brigadier Usman. He was a true patriot who laid down his life for
Kashmir and India. The present and coming generations should learn about the brave men who sacrificed their lives for the nation without thinking about their personal safety.
20 Indian firms in 500 most valuable globally, Reliance top: Hurun report
Apple, worth $2.4 trillion, is the most valuable
company, followed by Microsoft with a value of $1.8 trillion: 2022 Hurun Global
500 report
Twenty Indian companies, up eight from last year,
are among the 500 most-valuable ones in the world, a report released recently
showed. With a valuation of $202 billion, Reliance Industries was the
most valuable Indian company on the list. Globally, it was the 34th biggest
company. Apple, worth $2.4 trillion, was the most valuable company, followed by
Microsoft, with a value of $1.8 trillion.
In the last year, the top
500 companies of the world lost $11.1 trillion of their value, the
2022 Hurun Global 500 report released by Hurun Research Institute said.
"This year the Hurun Global 500 lost $11
trillion of value, losing all the value created last year but still $7 billion
ahead of where the Hurun Global 500 were two years ago," Rupert Hoogewerf,
chairman and chief researcher at Hurun India, said.
Tata Consultancy Services, valued at $139 billion,
was the second most valuable Indian company on the list.
Four companies of the Gautam Adani-led Adani Group featured in the
top 500. These were Adani Transmission, Adani Green, Adani Green Energy and Adani
Total Gas. At $63 billion, Adani Enterprises was the most valued
among these.
Saudi Aramco was the world's most valuable listed
state-controlled company, with a total value of $2.03 trillion. State Bank of
India (SBI), at $62 billion, and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC),
at $45 billion, were the two biggest state-owned Indian companies. These did
not feature in the list as they contained only non-state-controlled companies.
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