Dewan Ranjit Rai

Lieutenant Colonel Dewan Ranjit Rai (1913 - 1947) was a senior Indian Army officer who played a key role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. He was posthumously awarded the Mahavir Chakra.

Dewan was born in Gujranwala in a Panjabi Jat family on 6 February 1913. He studied at the Bishop Cotton School (Shimla). He attended the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun.

He was commissioned on the 1 February 1935 and was attached for a year to a British Army regiment stationed in India. He was appointed to the Indian Army and posted to the 5th battalion, 11th Sikh Regiment on the 24 February 1936. He was promoted Lieutenant 4 May 1936 He was promoted Captain 4 February 1942 and by April 1944 he was serving as a temporary Major on the Recruiting Staff.

He was commanding 1st battalion of the Sikh Regiment in Gurugram making arrangements for refugees, when Pakistan invaded Kashmir. Two companies of his troops were airlifted in 30 Dakota aircraft, one of which was flown by Biju Patnaik, to Srinagar. He led his troops to guard the Baramulla-Srinagar highway near Pattan against the numerically superior Pakistani tribal irregulars who were moving towards Srinagar after looting, raping and burning people of all religions in Baramulla. He successfully protected the Srinagar airfield, paving the way for more Indian troops to land who expelled the Pakistani tribal irregulars. He died leading and defending Pattan. He was the first officer of the Indian Army after independence to fight a battle on October 27, 1947. He was the first officer to be awarded the Mahavir Chakra. He died on October 27, 1947 in a paddy field near Pattan. Five generations of his family have served in the Indian Army, including his grandson Maj (retd) Shivjit Singh Shergill and great grandson Faridjit Singh Shergill.

Lieutenant Colonel Dewan Ranjit Rai was honoured with a Mahavir Chakra.