A deeply spiritual person, Uban was drawn towards mystics and religious leaders, seeking answers to the deeper meaning of life and the afterlife… Ganapathy (Retd), a senior fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), recounts that the Pakistani defences were mainly based on the high ground around the railway station and the built-up areas near it… Seven Heroes of 1971: Stories of Courage and Sacrifice By Man Aman Singh Chinnaįor a commander who raised, trained and led into battle the Special Frontier Force (SFF), comprising mainly an intrepid group of Tibetan fighters, Major General Sujan Singh Uban (Retd) was not quite your typical military man of action. He was also the only one to be awarded the Param Vir Chakra in the eastern sector in that war.Ī detailed account of the battle at Gangasagar written by Col V. Lance Naik Ekka was the only jawan (non-commissioned officer) awarded the Param Vir Chakra in the 1971 war.
At the end of the battle – one of the bloodiest battles of the 1971 war, fought in hand-to-hand combat – the gravely wounded soldier died on the battlefield. Just nine years later, on December 3, 1971, his heroism in battle at Gangasagar, East Pakistan, would silence Pakistani guns, save the lives of dozens of his fellow soldiers and enable the Indian Army to take control of the strategically crucial junction at Gangasagar.
In December 1962, at the age of twenty, physically superbly fit and with a spirit of adventure hungering for bigger challenges, he joined the Bihar regiment of the Indian Army, later transferring to the 14 Battalion of the Brigade of Guards.
He grew into an expert marksman with the bow and arrow, and he learnt to move stealthily through the jungles near his home as he tracked deer, quail or hare…. As a child growing up in the village of Jari in what is now Jharkhand, Albert Ekka became adept at the traditional skills of the Oraon tribal community to which he belonged.