'1962: The War in the Hills': War hero Nihal Singh shares his story

As many as 1,300 Chinese soldiers were killed by 124 Ahir soldiers of the Kumaon Battalion stationed at Rejangla Post in Rewari district, as they fought an unprecedented battle till their last bullet and last breath. Amongst those jawans who fought bravely, Havildar Nihal Singh shared some important moments from the war.

Rewari (Haryana): Recently released web series on the OTT platform Disney Hot Star titled '1962: The War in the Hills' has become very popular among the youth. The story is based on Ahir soldiers of Rewari district of Haryana, who sacrificed everything to defeat the enemy till their last bullet and last breath.

In this war, 124 Ahir soldiers of the 'C Company' belonging to the Kumaon Regiment had neutralised 1300 Chinese soldiers, while only 17 of our soldiers were able to survive the war. Nihal Singh Yadav, a resident of Chimnavas village in Rewari, recollects those tense moments as he was one among those soldiers who fought the war and returned to the Rezangla post.

Nihal Singh Yadav narrated all those stories related to the India-China war of 1962. He spoke about how the 13 Kumaon Charlie Company had fought an unprecedented battle of valour till their last breath at low temperatures of minus 40 degrees centigrade, at an altitude of 16 thousand feet.

He said that 113 of the 124 soldiers of Charlie Company were martyred, but none received bullet injuries on their back and kept firing facing the gunfire courageously. On the other hand, 1300 Chinese soldiers from among 3000 soldiers were killed on the first day itself. However, the remaining 1700 soldiers were injured and some among them managed to survive, as disclosed by the Chinese government.

It may be noted that 120 out of 124 soldiers from the battalion were from the Ahirwal region of South Haryana, comprising of Gurgaon, Rewari, Narnaul and Mahendragarh districts. Memorials have been built in Rewari and Gurgaon in memory of Rejangala heroes. Every year Rejangla Shaurya Day is celebrated with great pomp in Rewari and tribute is given to the brave soldiers.