1971 India-Pakistan War: AIIMS-Jodhpur, Hero Of Longewala Passes Away

Bhairon Singh Rathore, a BSF veteran of the 1971 India-Pakistan war whose bravery at Rajasthan’s Longewala post was shown in the Bollywood movie “Border” by actor Suniel Shetty, died on Monday in Jodhpur. He was 81.

In a Tweet, the Border Security Force (BSF) said, “The braveheart took his last breath at AIIMS, Jodhpur, today.”

Sawai Singh, Rathore’s son, That his father was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jodhpur on December 14, two days before the 51st anniversary of the war, because his health was getting worse and his limbs were acting like they were paralysed.

“Doctors have told us that my father may have had a stroke. In the last few days, he has been in and out of the ICU “Singh said. The Singhs lived in the village of Solankiatala, which was about 120 kilometres from Jodhpur.

Rathore was sent to the Longewala post in the Thar desert, where he was in charge of a small BSF unit and a company from the 23 Punjab regiment of the Army. On December 5, 1971, a Pakistani brigade and tank regiment were attacking this area, but they were wiped out by the bravery of these men.

In 1972, he was given the Sena Medal for his bravery. During the war, Bhairon Singh Rathore was with the 14th BSF battalion. He left the army in 1987.

BSF records about the 1971 war at Longewala post say, “When one of the 23 Punjab boys was killed, Lance Naik Bhairon Singh took his light machine gun and killed a lot of the advancing enemy.”

“They won because they were brave and determined to do their jobs or die trying,” the official records say. “Lance Naik Bhairon Singh became a great inspiration to his other comrades on the post.”