Dalvir Singh

Major General Dalvir Singh AVSM, VrC, VSM
Nickname	Saint Soldier
Born	7 April 1946(1946-04-07)
Place of birth	Rohtak, Haryana, India
Allegiance	Republic of India
Service/branch	Indian Army
Rank	Major General
Service number	IC-26279
Unit	10 Para (Special Forces)
Commands held	10 Para (Special Forces), 52 Special Action Group NSG, Kilo Force Rashtriya Rifles, Territorial Army (India)
Battles/wars	Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War, Kargil War
Awards	AVSM, VrC, VSM
Relations	Tara Chand (father)

Major General Dalvir Singh AVSM, VrC, VSM is a retired Indian Special Forces operator, a former General Officer of the Indian Army and the recipient of Vir Chakra, India's third-highest war-time gallantry award. He has commanded 10 Para (Special Forces), 52 Special Action Group of the NSG, Kilo Force of the Rashtriya Rifles and the Territorial Army (India), with distinction. After retirement from active military service, he has been training the young commando cadets of the Rajasthan Police.

Early life

Dalvir Singh was born in Rohtak in the north Indian state of Haryana as the son of Tara Chand. He is an alumnus of Rashtriya Military School, Ajmer.

Early Period

Dalvir Singh was commissioned into the Corp of Engineers but he volunteered for Special Force and joined the 10 SF, also known as Desert Scorpions. He was also one of the pioneer officers who played a vital role when National Security Guard was set up. He was also part of the 52 Special Action Group (SAG) which specialised in anti-hijack missions and led many covert operations. Dalvir Singh famously earned the nickname "Saint Solder", a name given by LTTE supremos as he was as humble as a Saint and extremely ferocious as a soldier should be. He would eat all three meals of the day with his soldiers, every single day in their kitchen. As per reports, LTTE was so terrorised by 10 Para (SF) that ADC to LTTE chief Prabhakaran confessed that, there is only one unit that we fear the most – the Saint Soldier’s unit. These were the words he used to describe Dalvir Singh and his unit.

Operation Pawan

Dalvir Singh was the first Indian Special Forces Commanding Officer, along with his unit, to enter Sri Lanka and the last to leave as well. The unit was told that the mission was for 10 to 15 days and can return soon; the unit returned to India after 3 years, from a war-torn Sri Lanka.

The operation H-Hour was set at midnight of the 11th. Led by Major Rajiv Nair as the Team Commander of the 10 SF Commandos, the first stick of forty were inserted in the first flight of two Mi-8s. As the SF commandos tried to hold their ground, waiting for the rest of the detail to reinforce, however, they came under sniper fire. The LTTE had already moved in snipers armed with telescopic sights, and as the battle raged, they were able to inflict casualties on the SF commandos trying to hold their ground. The SF commandos were numbered eighty instead of the preplanned hundred and twenty. The news of the failure of the op reached the HQ and with the SF commandos holding out, plans were put in place at the 54 Division to extricate them. The 10 SF CO, Dalvir Singh, leading a relief force consisting of a small group of SF commandos, after 2 days of fighting, rescued his troops. Dalvir Singh was awarded Vir Chakra for volunteering and successfully rescuing his trapped SF troops during the Jaffna University Helidrop. He showed "conspicuous courage and valiant leadership in the face of strong militant opposition" as per his award citation.

Later career

After leading operations in Sri Lanka, Dalvir Singh went on to do his higher command course from Army War College, Mhow. He commanded the elite 52 SAG of National Security Guards, as well as the Counter Insurgency Kilo Force of Rashtriya Rifles which handle Kupwara, Baramulla and Srinagar regions. He also headed India's Territorial Army. His peers in the military consider him as one of the toughest soldiers as he, despite suffering from Asthma throughout his life, he kept on leading missions and maintained the fitness needed for serving in the Special Forces. Dalvir Singh is also credited as one of the core officers who set up and modernised the training strategies for National Security Guards. He is also credited for raising the training standards of the Territorial Army (India) while he served as its GoC.

Dalvir Singh finally retired at the rank of Major General.

Post Military Career

Dalvir Singh has been training cadets at Rajasthan Police Training Centre, Jodhpur, since early 2011. Under his tutelage Thar Falcons, from Special Home Guards, were selected for guarding Cairns India oil field in Barmer, Rajasthan.

Honours and decorations

Vir Chakra Citation

CITATION
Lieutenant Colonel Dalvir Singh

Lieutenant Colonel Dalvir Singh, Commanding Officer, 10 Para Commando was deployed in Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. He launched his team of para commandos to hit the militants' headquarters in the heart of Jaffna town, for searching the defence, preliminary to the final assault. As the militants were very strong, the link-up of our forces with the para commandos was not successful. The officer volunteered to move with columns of infantry and armour to the objective area, to establish contact with the para commandos and, with utter disregard to his own danger, led his team to the objective in the face of heavy militant fire. He extricated the commando team, along with its casualties, fighting his way out of the militants' cordon to safety.

Lieutenant Colonel Dalvir Singh thus displayed conspicuous courage and valiant leadership in the face of strong militant opposition.

Dalvir Singh was also awarded the VSM in 1998 for commanding the 52 SAG with distinction, and the AVSM in 2001 for successfully commanding the Kilo Force.

See also

• Special Forces of India
• Special Protection Group

External links

• NSG

• After 16 days of bloody battle, IPKF finally captures LTTE stronghold Jaffna

• Commando operation to capture LTTE leadership turns disastrous