Narinder Singh Sandhu

Brigadier Narinder Singh Sandhu MVC (1 September 1932 – 30 March 2018) was an Indian Army officer who was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the second-highest Indian military decoration, for gallantry, leadership and devotion to duty during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. Sandhu was commissioned into the Indian Army Armoured Corps in 1953, and participated in the Battle of Asal Uttar during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, and was mentioned in dispatches. He transferred to the Dogra Regiment in 1970, and it was for his performance as commanding officer of the 10th Battalion, Dogra Regiment during an assault on a fortified Pakistan Army position that he was awarded the MVC. He retired as a brigadier and was active in veterans' and gallantry award recipients' matters until his death of colorectal cancer in 2018.

Early life and family Narinder Singh Sandhu was born on 1 September 1932 at Narli, Amritsar, in the British province of Punjab, the son of Shri Hari Singh. His grandfather, Thakur Singh, was a major in the British Indian Army in World War I during which he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry; he was subsequently made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He attended Khalsa College, Amritsar. His wife's name was Harinder, and they had two children: a son, Sandeep; and a daughter, Mandeep; both were born in 1965. Mandeep married Lieutenant General Alok Singh Kler. and his unit was responsible for destroying several Pakistani M47 Patton tanks for which he was mentioned in dispatches. He transferred to the Dogra Regiment in 1970. The award was promulgated on Independence Day in 1972. A contingent from the 3rd Cavalry and Dogra Regiments formed a ceremonial guard at his funeral, which was also attended by several senior military officers.