Who was Major Hoshiar Singh Dahiya — the Param Vir Chakra hero Varun Dhawan plays in 'Border 2'

On December 15, 1971, Major Hoshiar Singh of 3 Grenadiers led his company across the Basantar river in the Shakargarh sector under intense shelling and machine gun fire. A well-fortified enemy position lay ahead at Jarpal. Despite fierce resistance and later, despite being seriously wounded, he moved from trench to trench, rallying his men, repulsing repeated counterattacks supported by enemy armour, and refused evacuation until the ceasefire was declared.

These lines form the core of Major Hoshiar

Singh Dahiya’s Param Vir Chakra citation, a formal record of gallantry that captures what unfolded over three brutal days during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.

Born on May 5, 1936, in Sisana village in Haryana, Hoshiar Singh joined the Indian Army after a year at Jat College, Rohtak, and was commissioned into the Grenadiers Regiment in 1963. He had already seen combat during the 1965 war, but it was the Battle of Basantar in December 1971 that etched his name permanently into India’s military history.

That history now finds a contemporary retelling in Border 2, where Varun Dhawan portrays Major Hoshiar Singh Dahiya. The film, a sequel to the 1997 war classic Border, revisits the 1971 conflict through the stories of real-life heroes from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

At Basantar, the task before Hoshiar Singh and his men was unforgiving. On the night of December 15, at around 10 pm, they were ordered to cross the Basantar river and capture the village of Jarpal, roughly 20 kilometres inside Pakistani territory. The area was heavily defended with minefields, machine gun posts, tanks and ammunition dumps. Yet by midnight, his company had crossed the river and seized the objective.

The victory immediately drew retaliation. On the morning of December 16, Pakistani infantry launched the first counterattack, followed soon by tanks. Another armoured assault came at noon, and again at 4 pm. Recalling the battle in a 1997 interview, Hoshiar Singh said there were three consecutive tank attacks, all of which were repelled. In the process, 40-45 Pakistani tanks were destroyed.

It was during one of these tank assaults that Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal was martyred. The pressure on the Indian positions did not ease. On December 16 and 17, Pakistani forces attacked from two directions, tanks from one side, infantry from the other. Hoshiar Singh estimated that 300-350 Pakistani soldiers were killed during these engagements. Bodies of 97 enemy soldiers were later collected and handed over.

Amid continuous shelling, Hoshiar Singh himself was seriously wounded. He refused to leave the battlefield, moving through the trenches under fire, encouraging his men to hold their ground. When an enemy shell disabled a medium machine gun and injured its crew, he rushed to the post and manned the gun himself, inflicting heavy casualties and helping repel yet another attack.

By December 18, the tide had turned. A Pakistani brigade commander approached, waving a white flag, requesting the remains of fallen soldiers and declaring a withdrawal. A ceasefire had already been announced. When the Indian brigade commander later assessed the battlefield, Hoshiar Singh lay injured, having fought through the battle without once relinquishing command.

For his conspicuous gallantry, indomitable fighting spirit and leadership in the face of overwhelming odds, Major Hoshiar Singh Dahiya was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military honour.

The Battle of Basantar also claimed the life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, who was martyred during the same series of tank assaults and was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

Major Hoshiar Singh Dahiya continued to serve the army after the war, later becoming an instructor at the Officers Training School and the Indian Military Academy, before eventually commanding his battalion. He retired in 1988 with the honorary rank of colonel and settled in Jaipur. Major Dahiya died on December 6, 1998, at the age of 61.

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