Param Vir Chakra: Abdul Hamid
Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo
Rishi Kumar
September 1965 Pakistan waged war against India for the second time. Her basic aim, as always, was the annexation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Pakistan planned her offensive in three phases. Phase 1. An offensive in the Rann on Kutch to try out her newly acquired weapons gifted by the US. Phase 2. To infiltrate a force of 30,000 guerrillas across the Cease Fire Line (CFL). Phase 3. To launch an offensive across the CFL and the International border (IB) to capture Akhnur and to cut the Line of Communication (LOC) between Jammu and Poonch. India responded by an offensive across the International Border in Punjab and after a series of hard-fought battles reached the outskirts of Lahore. Pakistan counter attacked and her 1st Armoured Division was practically annihilated at Khem Karan and Asal Uttar. One particular soldier played a key role in the destruction of Pakistan's 1st Armoured Division. His name was Abdul Hamid. This is his story.
Major General Ian Cardozo was born in Mumbai and studied at St Xavier’s School and College. In July 1954, he joined the Joint Services Wing which later became the National Defence Academy. Here he was the first cadet to win the gold medal for being the best all-round cadet, and the silver medal for being first in order of merit. He was commissioned at the Indian Military Academy into the 1st Battalion the Fifth Gorkha Rifles (FF) in 1958, and was the first officer of the Army to be awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry on a patrol in NEFA in 1959. Wounded in the battle of Sylhet in Bangladesh in 1971, he overcame the handicap of losing a leg and became the first war-disabled officer to be approved for command of an Infantry Battalion. He retired in 1993 from his appointment as Chief of Staff of a Corps in the East. Author of The Sinking of INS-Khukri: Survivor’s Stories and Param Vir: Our Heroes in Battle, he has worked with the Spastics Society of Northern India and was chairman of the Rehabilitation Council of India for nine years. At present he is the Vice President of the War Wounded Foundation.
Rishi Kumar is a graduate from Delhi College of Art in the Applied Art course. He has worked as an illustrator with various advertising and publishing companies. He is currently working as a freelance illustrator. Besides art he has an interest in computer gaming. His name has been acknowledged in the Limca Book of National Records 2016 for his work.
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