Vijay Rattan Choudhry

Major Vijay Rattan Choudhry (July 1939 - 13th Dec 1971), was a soldier who served in the 9 Engineers Regiment regiment of the Indian Army. He was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for bravery displayed in the Indo-Pak war of 1971 [ [http://prideofindia.net/79.html MVC citation] at the Pride of India website] .He belonged to the Datt clan of the Muhiyal community, noted for its martial tradition [The history of the Muhiyals: The militant Brahman race of India,by T. P. Rusell Stracey, Lahore, 1911 ] .

Award of Maha Vir Chakra

On the night of 12th-13th December, 1971, Maj. Choudhry was stationed in the Shakargarh sector, where the advance of Indian Army was checked by a dense and widespread deployment of land mines by the Pakistani Army. Major Choudhry and the men under him volunteered to clear those mines despite continuous heavy shelling from Pakistani Artillery. By the time that shelling claimed his life, Maj. Choudhry had cleared enough mines to enable the advance of Indian tanks that night [History of the Mohyals, by P.N. Bali (1986)] .

Other Honors

To honor his bravery, the Municipal Committee of the City of Ambala Cantonment aubsequently named the main crossroad at the city's Saddar Bazaar after him, now called 'Vijay Rattan Chowk'.

References