1971 India-Pakistan war: Bhairon Singh Rathore, hero of Longewala passes away in Jodhpur
Jodhpur/New Delhi, Dec 19: Bhairon Singh Rathore, a BSF veteran of the 1971 India-Pakistan war whose bravery at Rajasthan's Longewala post was portrayed by actor Suniel Shetty in the Bollywood movie 'Border', died in Jodhpur on Monday.
He was 81.
"The braveheart took his last breath at AIIMS, Jodhpur, today. DG BSF and all ranks condole the passing of Naik (retd) Bhairon Singh, Sena Medal, the hero of the Longewala battle during the 1971 war. BSF salutes his intrepid bravery, courage and dedication towards his duty," the force said in a tweet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed grief over his death.
"Naik (retd) Bhairon Singh Ji will be remembered for his service to our nation. He showed great courage at a crucial point in our nation's history. Saddened by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family in this hour of sadness. Om Shanti," Modi tweeted.
Shah, in his Tweet, remembered his meeting with the war hero during his visit to Jaisalmer in December last year, saying the "tale of his bravery will keep motivating the future generations."
Rathore's son Sawai Singh told PTI on Saturday that his father was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Jodhpur on December 14, two days before the 51st anniversary of the war, after his health deteriorated and his limbs got affected in what seemed like a paralysis.
"Doctors told us that my father possibly suffered a brain stroke. He was in and out of ICU over the last few days," Singh said.
The Rathore family lives in Solankiatala village, about 100 km from Jodhpur.
A BSF spokesperson said Bhairon Singh Rathore's body has been taken to a training centre of the force in Jodhpur where a wreath laying ceremony will be held on Tuesday after which the cremation will be conducted in his village with full military honours.
Rathore was deployed at the Longewala post in the Thar desert of Jaisalmer, commanding a small BSF unit of six to seven personnel that was accompanied by a 120 men company of the Army's 23 Punjab regiment. It was the bravery of these men that decimated an assaulting Pakistani brigade and tank regiment at this location on December 5, 1971.
He received the Sena Medal in 1972 for his gallant action. Posted with the 14th BSF battalion during the war, Bhairon Singh Rathore retired from service as a Naik in 1987.
BSF records about the Longewala battle state, "When one of the 23 Punjab boys was killed, Lance Naik Bhairon Singh took his light machine gun and inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing enemy."
"It was only their courage and determination to do or die that won the day and Lance Naik Bhairon Singh became a great inspiration to his other comrades on the post," official records state.
Actor Suniel Shetty, who essayed Bhairon Singh Rathore's bravery in the 1997 movie 'Border', paid tributes on Twitter. "Rest in power Naik Bhairon Singh Ji. Heartfelt condolences to the family," he tweeted.
The war veteran, during his past interaction with reporters, said he has watched the movie where certain things about Longewala were shown correctly, like the Army taking over their post in the run-up to the war and he along with his men taking the then Army commanders Captain Dharamveer Singh (role played by actor Akshaye Khanna) and Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri (played by Sunny Deol) to show the area during a two-day patrol.
He had said it was Captain Dharamveer, sent for a reconnaissance of the forward area, who relayed over the wireless information of the advancing Pakistani tank and foot columns to his commanders back at the Longewala post.
Rathore had also confirmed that when Pakistan launched heavy artillery in the area, to conceal the reverberating sound of the enemy's advancing tank regiment, he had rushed inside the house of a reluctant local to fetch the holy Quran so that they could leave the war zone.
He, however, said he got married a year after the 1971 war and not as shown in the movie where his character (Shetty) rushed to the border immediately after his wedding.
The retired soldier said he and his men posted at Longewala had immense faith in 'Tanot Mata' whose temple is close to the post in Jaisalmer and has also been depicted in the war film.
Rathore continued to tell the tale of guts, glory and courage undertaken by the soldiers in one of India's biggest military victories for 51 years, as against his reel version getting killed in action.
DG BSF & all ranks condole the passing of Naik (Retd) Bhairon Singh, Sena Medal, the hero of #Longewala battle during 1971 War. BSF salutes his intrepid bravery, courage & dedication towards his duty.
— BSF (@BSF_India) December 19, 2022
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All-round Mumbai go past MP by 5 wickets to clinch Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
Bengaluru, Dec 15: Mumbai leaned on their collective batting strength to subdue a spirited Madhya Pradesh by five wickets to clinch the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Sunday.
Mumbai were stretched on more than one occasion during the chase of 175, a target MP built around skipper Rajat Patidar's fluent unbeaten 81, on a slightly tacky pitch, but eventually they reached 180 for five in 17.5 overs.
This was Mumbai's second SMAT title after winning it for the first time in 2022, while MP's wait for a maiden trophy prolonged to another season.
After a brief period of lull, Suryakumar Yadav (48, 35b, 4x4, 3x6) reactivated his run-making ways and added 52 runs for the third wicket with Ajinkya Rahane (37, 30b, 4x4).
It helped Mumbai to recover from the early dismissals of Prithvi Shaw and skipper Shreyas Iyer, both of them falling to rather causal shots.
Just when it seemed that the two veteran batters would carry Mumbai home, Rahane slashed Venkatesh Iyer straight into the hands of Rahul Batham at deep.
Suryakumar followed soon, top-edging off-spinner Shivam Shukla to Avesh Khan at short fine leg.
At 129 for five in 14.4 overs, Mumbai needed 46 runs but any worries were soon eased by the big-hitting Suryansh Shedge (36 not out, 15b, 3x4, 3x6) and Atharva Ankolekar (16 not out, 6b, 2x6) who knocked off the remaining runs without much fuss in a little over three overs.
Earlier, Patidar shone brightly while hammering his fifth fifty of this tournament.
The right-hander, who was retained by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, entertained an over 15,000-crowd, who backed him and MP to the hilt, with twinkling shot-making.
In fact, Patidar singlehandedly held the MP innings together as the next highest was a 23 by Shubhranshu Senapati.
Madhya Pradesh had made a rather sedate beginning to their innings after losing openers Arpit Gaud (3) and Harsh Gawli (2).
They reached 38 for two in the Power Play, which later transpired to 114 for five in 15 overs.
However, Patidar found an able ally in Batham (19, 14b) as they added 56 runs for the sixth wicket as MP added 60 runs in the last five overs.
Patidar, a clean-striker of the balls, too upped the level of his play, as indicated by a stunning walk-across-the-line six off pacer Shardul Thakur.
But individual brilliance was not enough to stop the Mumbai juggernaut on the night.
Brief scores:
Madhya Pradesh: 174/8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 81 not out, Subhranshu Senapati 23; Shardul Thakur 2/41, Royston Dias 2/32) lost to
Mumbai: 180/5 in 17.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 48, Ajinkya Rahane 37, Suryansh Shedge 36 not out; Tripuresh Singh 2/34) by 5 wickets.
