Abdul Hamid, the Indian war hero who not only destroyed 8 tanks during the Indo-Pak war of 1965 but also changed the direction of the war. Abdul Hamid was born on 1st July 1933 in Ghazipur district in Uttar Pradesh. He was only 20 years old when he was recruited into the Army. After his training, he was posted in 4 Grenadiers, in 1955. Initially, he served in a rifle company. He also fought in the 1962 war with China.
Abdul Hamid had just finished ten years of administration in the Indian armed force when India and Pakistan did battle in 1965. During the war, the news of Pakistan’s attack on Akhnoor in Jammu came. The Pakistani armed force expected to cut off the correspondence and gracefully courses to the Indian powers on the fringe of Jammu and Kashmir through this assault. In the war, the Pakistan Army was using M48 Patton Tanks which were supposed to be very strong and a distinct strategic advantage for them. 4th Grenadiers, which was Abdul Hamid Battalion, occupied an important area near Chima village on the road to Punjab’s Khem Karan sector. His contingent was given the activity of holding the adversary close to the town of Asal Uttar. This town is far 60 km from Amritsar in Punjab.
On September 8, 1965, the Grenadier’s position was attacked repeatedly. They were however able to push them back each time. Seeing their resilience, the Pakistani army initiated a serious assault with the advancement of a regiment of Patton tanks. As soon as Abdul Hamid saw this, he moved out with his gun mounted on a jeep. When the tanks drew near a shooting separation, he terminated at one of them. The shell hit its objective and the tank went up on fire. At the point when the aggressors saw this, they surrendered two additional tanks. After this, he called armed force designs promptly and asked them to spread out the enemy of tank mines. Only after two hours, another armored battalion tried to move forward and the 4th grenadiers were able to shoot two tanks.
The following morning he again took care of business with his recoilless firearm. His legion clutched their situation under outrageous assaults. They were likewise ready to decimate two additional tanks on ninth September. Abdul Hamid was so powerful during the war with his vital developments under extreme terminating that a reference to grant him the Param Vir Chakra – the most elevated military decoration in the forces was sent immediately. At this point, he had previously had the demolition of four tanks surprisingly. There were four additional tanks that he devastated which were not added to the reference at that point.
On September 10, 1965, a brigade of Pakistani Patton tanks assaulted the holding zone of the fourth Grenadier positions viciously. Indian soldiers came under intense artillery bombardment but they tried to hold on to their position and didn’t respond. Within an hour’s time, the Pakistan army penetrated forward in Indian positions, and the situation worsened. In this stressful situation, Abdul Hamid noticed six Pakistani tanks heading towards his men. He immediately took a decision and hopped onto his jeep which had a gun mounted on it, without caring for his life. He rushed towards the tanks.
The enemy was firing intensely but that didn’t stop him from going into the offense. He used the tall crops growing in the field in a very clever manner and camouflaged his position. This permitted him to assault the tanks without being spotted. He destroyed the leading tank at first. He then changed his position and kept attacking. He ended up destroying two more tanks.
However, the enemy had spotted him until then. They utilized automatic weapons and explosives to assault him. He shot on the fourth tank yet as he hit it, he got mortally injured by a detonating shell. All through this assault, Abdul Hamid had figured out how to crush eight foe tanks without anyone else. This feat is really unparalleled in war history because the amount of damage to the enemy army is difficult even with an armored formation. His fortitude propelled others to set up a solid battle and to beat back the substantial tank ambush.
Around 97 Pakistani tanks were pulverized or surrendered during this fight. The Pakistani army was defeated and never made it past Khem Karan. This was actually the first time that an armored division of tanks was so heavily damaged by RCL rifles. Pakistan’s General Ayub Khan had longed for catching Amritsar during the war however that fantasy transformed into a bad dream.
Abdul Hamid was after death granted India’s most noteworthy wartime courage grant, Param Vir Chakra. He lies in a humble grave at Asal Uttar today. It has a roadside plaque with the memories of the words of CQMH (Company Quarter Master Havildar) Abdul Hamid.
Source: Youtube