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–210.214.84.10 05:38, 18 September 2007 (UTC) LAAT SUBEDAR BALBHADRA SINGH NEGI
(1829 - 1893) (Translated from Mr Bhakta Darshan’s book on outstanding personalities of Garhwal – “Garhwal Ki Dewangat Vibhutian”)
1. “A nation which can produce men like Balbhadra Singh Negi, must have a Battalion of their own” (Ek jaati jo Balbhadra Singh Negi sarikhe purushon ko paida karti hai, use apni ek battalion awashya milni chahiye)
2. The words of India’s Jangi Laat Lord Roberts are attributed to that man who was born in 1829 in Pauri Garhwal, Patti Aswalsyun, village Haida Kholi. His father Dhan Singh was a common man. Balbhadra was the middle one of the three sons. He was barely 17 years old when his father expired. He was thus compelled to face the harsh realities of life by leaving his home.
3. Those days there was no battalion of Garhwalis. They had to enroll in the Gurkha Battalions. 5 Gorkha Battalion was located at Abbotabad in the NWFP. At that time railways were nonexistent. After many days of walking & facing several difficulties, he arrived at Abbotabad in 1847 & was enrolled. Progress in Military Career
4. He made speedy progress in the Army. It was a place & life far from his home. Those days there was a stigma on serving with the Gurkhas in the backdrop of the infamous “Gurkhyani” (the brutal atrocity ridden rule of the Gurkhas over Garhwal & Kumaon). In this environment it was not easy for a non-Gorkha to progress in his career. However Balbhadra served with enthusiasm & courage. He was a recruit, under training, for one year. After 13 months he became a Lance Naik. Shortly after he was a Havildar. During the 1857 mutiny he was a Havildar Major.
5. During the Afghan War he astonished all with his valor & intelligence. At that time the war veteran, Lord Roberts was appointed as Commander. The latter faced many difficulties initially. Afghans remained hidden in the rugged mountains. Whenever the British Army advanced, the Afghans surprised them by directing deadly volley of fire causing several casualties. No one knew which was the best & safest way to advance against the Afghans & which place was the most appropriate to concentrate maximum force to vanquish the enemy. The British High Command was deeply concerned about this.
6. Finally Balbhadra was summoned for this difficult task to surreptitiously find the secret to the Afghan tactics. He set out as a Pathan ascetic. (He was well versed with the local dialect- my comment from his manuscript biography). He lay amongst dead bodies for 7 days! Pathan warriors came & taking Balbhadra too to be dead, talked about their country, army, & military plans which the latter noted. At the end of 7 days he finally obtained the vital intelligence needed & safely made his way back to his camp. On the basis of this intelligence Lord Roberts made his plan & gained success. Lord Roberts remained forever enamored with Balbhadra’s intelligence & capability. On returning to England after retirement, he personally wrote about the aforementioned episode in his memoirs.
7. During the Afghan War, Balbhadra gave a befitting account of the valor of his kin. In 1879, in Afghanistan, his valor earned him the honor of “Order of Merit”. Next year near Kabul he again earned fame. The British Army was facing reverses in this vicinity. Despite this he took his Company into enemy lines, & after inflicting heavy casualties on them, returned to his camp safe & sound. In this encounter, an enemy bullet grazed his head thus wounding him. He was unaware of this till his colleague queried him about his blood stained uniform. Only then he was administered first aid. Next day he was again in the battlefield!
8. During the battle for Kandahar he was a Subedar. After the defensive battle for Kabul he was promoted to Subedar Major, the highest rank any Indian could aspire for. After this he was again decorated with “Order of Merit”. The C-in-C had proclaimed an award for “Sarvottam Sainik” (Outstanding Soldier?) which Balbhadra was honored with. Following this he was granted the “Order of British India” as a consequence of which he became “Sardar Bahadur”.
9. Later, Lord Roberts introduced a new appointment, i.e. Aide de Camp to the Jangi Laat (Lord Roberts), for Balbhadra which the latter held. Balbhadra was now referred to as “Laat Subedar”. This job entailed hardly any work. Yes, great respect & fame accompanied it. After five years as ADC, he proceeded on pension. For his immensely meritorious service he was gifted 1600 acres of land free of cost in village Ghosi Khatta of Kotdwara-Bhabhar. Raising Of Garhwal Regiment
10. When the Gurkhas were defeated in 1815, & Garhwal came under British rule, the inherent valor of Garhwalis was unknown to the world. The British had never contemplated raising a separate Regiment of the Garhwalis. After some time they raised a “khichri paltan” comprising of Gorkhas, Garhwalis & Kumaonis –“Nasiri Sirmoor Kumaon Battalion”. The same was later named Gorkha Rifles. Garhwalis could only enroll in its five battalions. Thus the number of Garhwalis was low, & it was very difficult to achieve career progression.
11. Balbhadra had himself experienced the slim chances to progress in the Gurkha battalions for any Garhwali. Thus he often pondered over the possibilities of a separate Garhwal Battalion so that Garhwalis could earn a name for themselves, apart from providing employment for several youth. Fortunately he found an opportunity to realize his cherished wishes.
12. Balbhadra’s valor & soldierly qualities had found a permanent place in Lord Robert’s heart. Finding an opportune moment, in 1880, the former expressed his desire to Lord Roberts and the latter assured him of sympathetic consideration.
13. Regarding this matter, Lord Roberts initiated correspondence with Viceroy Lord Dufferin, & in one meeting, uttered the historical & memorable sentence which has been quoted at the beginning of this chapter. While Balbhadra was ADC, he remained obsessed with his vision. His efforts continued even after retirement. Even the Viceroy was skeptical about a small place like Garhwal’s capability to provide men for a battalion. Then, Balbhadra gave the assurance that if a military cantonment was established within Garhwal, the requisite men can be provided. On this note, the proposal was accepted.
14. Eventually, in 1887, some Sardars & soldiers of the Gorkha Regiment laid the foundation of The Garhwal Rifles at Lansdowne, under the command of Major Mainwaring on 4 Nov 1887, after the name of Viceroy Lord Lansdowne. Since then it has grown into a beautiful cantonment.
15. The battalion that was raised as a consequence of his efforts earned a great name in the Indian Army. (Briefly I translate) 1889- Niti; 1891- 39 Garhwal Regiment; 1904 – Lhasa Tibet; 1922 – Malabar Moplah Rebellion & later RGR. 1914-18. -------- ( I World War) 1935-45. ---------- (lists awards & decorations) 1925--------------- (Raising of bns, Brahmins & later Shilpkars too enrolled. Opened avenues for the entire cross-section of society of Garhwal for employment) 1939--------------- (Peshawar episode, 1942-45 INA) Post Independence---- (J&K, NEFA, Indo Pak Wars, Bangla Desh etc)
(Now back to Balbhadra Singh Negi)
16. His retired life was very peaceful. He kept company with saadhus/ saints & spent time in service to others, prayers, fasting & meditation. Despite his age he bathed daily with cold water, applied sandalwood paste & prayed. He never consumed liquor, nor smoked. He drank tea rarely; only when it was bitterly cold. He was a stickler for time. He is a role model for the current day soldiers who claim that they cannot survive without meat & liquor! A man of exceptionally strong character he was.
17. What can one say about this brave man? When the Garhwal paltan was being raised, his eldest son Amar Singh Negi was given the first direct Viceroy Commission into the Regiment. The uniform of a Jemadar & a sword was handed over to him at his home with orders to assume the rank at the Centre, Lansdowne! He is the same Amar Singh who sustained a bullet wound in the thigh in the Burma War. A telegram was received by his father Balbhadra Singh Negi, “Your son wounded by bullet in thigh”. Promptly this veteran soldier replied,” If of any service to the Government, keep him, else shoot him”. At the same time he telegraphed to his son, “Don’t worry. If you come out alive you will earn fame. If you die, you will still earn fame!”
18. One day, in 1893, near Gumkhal, in a place called Badru, he was in deep in meditation when a boulder fell on him. His thigh suffered serious injury. In this state he was evacuated to MH Lansdowne for treatment. During treatment, he peacefully passed away at the age of 64 years. The entire Garhwal paltan was in mourning. He was given a military funeral.
19. He left behind four sons – (a) Amar Singh, direct commission to Jamadar, attended King George V coronation ceremony at England as Sub Maj. He died on 4 Sep 1912 at Lansdowne at the age of 47. His eldest son Chandra Singh Negi rose to the rank of Capt in Garhwal Rifles. During 1942-45 he joined INA & as a Lt Col, was the Comdt of its Officers Training School. (b) Bhagwan Singh served for some years in the army, after which he spent his life as a landlord. (c) Shib Singh Negi also served for a short time in the army. He engaged in his private enterprise. He died in1942. His eldest son Gopal Singh was a successful businessman of Lansdowne & was a member as well as the Vice President of the Cantonment Board. (d) Girdhari Singh Negi retired as Sub Maj.
20. Thus, today, the clan of Balbhadra Singh Negi is leading a peaceful & prosperous life. But his extended family is the populace of Garhwal who have been, are & will be benefiting from the employment created by the mere creation of The Garhwal Rifles in 1887. Garhwal battalions & Lansdowne are indeed a fitting tribute to Balbhadra Singh Negi (whether the present generation acknowledges it or not).
(End of translation)
3. May I request you to help my Regiment to locate these from any Archives that will help us to verify all the above mentioned. If all the above is indeed true, we would like to give the rightful honor due to this gallant soldier.
4. I went to his estate at Kotdwar during March 1988, & met his grandchildren who were in possession of an exhaustive biography, as well as the following medals (These I tried to replicate with my pen in my diary which I still possess):- (a) OBI mark IIII. (b) Indian General Service Medal (1854-1895) - with.... Queen Regina embossed on Obverse side & an Angel blessing a man on the Reverse. Clasps of LUSHAI 1889 - 82, & BURMA 1889-92. (c) India Medal 1895-1902) Medal with embossed VICTORIA REGINA ET IMPRATRIX Clasps PUNJAB FRONTIER1897-98, & TIRAH 1897-98. (Same clasps were earned by Sgt David Mac Adie of the 72nd Duke of Albany’s Own Highlanders) (d) OBI 2nd Class with a maroon ribbon. (e) AFGHANISTAN MEDAL (elephant embossed) with Clasps PEIWAR KOTAL, CHARASIA, KABUL, KANDAHAR, with a ribbon light green on the sides & navy blue band in the centre. (f) Three more medals, belonging to Balbhadra? (i) Crown with GR & 22 June 1911 on reverse & Queen & King( Bearded) on Obverse. (ii) Brown maroon & green ribbon with a medal embossed with Persian? script embellished with leaves. (iii) DELHI DURBAR 1903, Edward VII
With the assistance rendered by friends in UK, I have been able to identify the above mentioned medals. However, I have been informed that Lord Roberts’ personal records are lying at Kew, enclosed in 48 boxes, last opened in 1859 by Countess Roberts in 1952 “The National Archives WO - Records created or inherited by the War Office, Armed Forces, JAG, & related bodies. Record Summary Title - War office. Lord Roberts, C-in-c (South Africa & England) & President of National Service League:- Papers Legal Status - Public Record Language - English Creator Name - Frederick Sleigh Roberts, Ist Earl Roberts 1832-1914 Dates - 1835-1913 Physical Description- 48 boxes & files Access Custodial History - Ada Roberts, 1875-1955 Countess Roberts in 1952 Held By - The National Archives, Kew”
I am seeking the help of anyone who can access these boxes to corroborate Lord Roberts’ association with Balbhadra Singh Negi. I shall be indeed grateful.
[edit] Sources
Translation from chapter written by late Mr. Bhakta Darshan 210.214.84.10 05:38, 18 September 2007 (UTC) Articles for creation/2007-09-18
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