Brigadier Sher Jung Thapa is the first Gurkha to win the Indian Army's one of the highest military decorations, Mahavir Chakra (MVC).[1]
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Sher Jung Thapa was born in Abbottabad, Pakistan on 15 April 1907 and died at Army Hospital, Delhi on 25 February 1999.[2] His ancestral home was at Tapke Gaun, Gorkha District, Nepal. His grandfather was Subedar Balkrishna Khundrung Thapa Magar (2/5 GR) who had settled at Dharmasala, Himachal Pradesh, India. His father was Honorary Captain Arjun Thapa (2/5 GR) and was a World War II veteran.[2]
Personal life Brigadier Sher Jung Thapa was married to Dhan Shobha Thapa. The couple had eight children. While their ancestral house has been in a small village of Dari, Mrs. Thapa bought an English bunglow in Mcleodganj. Brigadier Thapa spent his last years in this bunglow. Brigadier Thapa has been a person of commitments and service. He was one of thr first families in the hilly town of Dharamshala to own a car. His mighty blue Ambassador would always catch attention of the passers-by.
His best friend was Mr. Nowrojee, a Parsi man whose family was the first one to settle down in Mcleodganj.
Thapa joined the army in 1928 and was appointed as a second lieutenant in 1930, joining the Jammu & Kashmir Rifles (J&K Rif). In February 1948, during operations in Kashmir during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, Sher Jung Thapa, while holding the rank of lieutenant colonel, commanded a force of about 100 men during a six month long siege in Skardu in the Ladakh region. Facing a force of about 600 men—mainly tribesmen and rebels from the State Forces that were equipped with 3 inch mortars and medium machine guns (MMGs)—Thap's men held out and he was later awarded the Mahavir Chakra (MVC).[3][4] He was the first Nepalese to reach the rank of acting brigadier in 1954. Later, on 1 January 1960, this was made substantive in the regular Indian Army, although he retired six months later in June 1960.[2]
Mahavir Chakra (1948), General Service Medal, 1947 Class J&K, Indian Independence Medal, War Medal, India Service Medal, Military Service Medal.[2]