New Delhi: Today is the birth anniversary of Major Rama Raghoba Rane, an Indian military officer who was the first living recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military decoration. He was honoured with that along with Karam Singh. Rane was born on June 26, 1918, in a financially poor family in Karnataka and his father was a police constable. He got a chaotic early education due to the frequent transfers of his father and was influenced by the Non-Cooperation Movement.
The journey in the Army
Rane enlisted in the Bombay Engineer Regiment on July 10, 1940, and he quickly rose through the ranks to become a Naik (corporal). Later, he went to the 28th Field Company and fought the Japanese in Burma. During the war, he and his men destroyed key assets in Buthidaung and crossed a river by expertly evading the Japanese to reach their lines. Due to this bravado, he was made a sergeant. After India gained independence, Rane remained in the new Indian Army and was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers.
Role during the India-Pakistan War
During the war with Pakistan, on April 8, 1948, Rane was entrusted with the charge of the mine and roadblock clearing party on Naushera-Rajouri road’s Mile 26. The enemy started a vicious attack which killed two men of the mine-clearing party and injured five.
Rane himself was wounded, but he braved the injury to crouch under a monstrous Stuart tank and began to crawl with it. His movements became synchronized with the movements of tank wheels. Showing immense bravery, he navigated the tank through the minefield by tying a rope to the tank driver, enabling other tanks to advance safely. For this immensely courageous act, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra and was the first living recipient of it.
Rane would later go on to become a Major in the Indian Army and would retire with the designation. He passed away on July 11, 1994, at the age of 76 and is remembered as one of the greatest names in the history of the Indian Army.
During the war with Pakistan, on April 8, 1948, Major Rama Raghoba Rane was entrusted with the charge of the mine and roadblock clearing party on Naushera-Rajouri road’s Mile 26. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
