AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 6 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 126 of 332 Mentioned in Despatches and two Battle honours – POONCH and SKARDU, for the brilliant stand that the forces exhibited in spite of heavy odds. Declaration of the Cease Fire caused a great feeling of apprehension and anxiety in the minds of the men about their future. Rumours were rife. The battalions were moved out of the state boundaries and moved to peace time locations in the country under different formations. There was an unfortunate tendency on the part of some commanders to rate them in a lower standard in comparison to the regular Indian Army troops. It thus became a struggle for survival and recognition of its competence in battle. A god given opportunity came up for our 4 JAKRIF (FATEH SHIBJI) our stalwart unit that had distinguished itself in combat against the formidable Japanese Army in Burma during World War II. In March 1956 the battalion carrying out collective training near Ferozepur was ordered to relieve the battalion guarding the Hussainiwala head works where tension was building up and a clash was imminent. 4 JAK started intensive and aggressive patrolling to enable the improvement of the defence works and boost up the morale of the Indian repair force. In the battle of Hussainiwala, the Pakistani brigade comprising of some of the crack battalions had to bite the dust. Even after several counter attacks they could not dislodge the troops of the 4 JAK who fought valiantly and had done the Indian Army proud. The Pak Divisional commander Maj Gen Mohd Azam Khan requested for a flag meeting with the General Officer Commanding East Punjab Area, Maj Gen Gurubaksh Singh. The Cease fire came in to effect thereafter. FATEH SHIBJI had triumphed and covered itself with glory by winning One Ashok Chakra for L/NK later Honorary Captain Sundar Singh, Kirti Chakra for Naik Muktiar Singh, two Shaurya Chakras and four Sena medals for throwing back a Pakistani Brigade. Largely due to the action fought by FATEH SHIBJI at Hussainiwala and the stellar role played by the JAK battalions in the Jammu and Kashmir operations, the government took the momentous decision on 1 January 1957 to integrate en-bloc, the six state force battalions in to the Indian Army. The step taken was a unique privilege and honour that was accorded only to the J&K State Forces and no others. It was renamed as the JAMMU AND KASHMIR REGIMENT. The regiment was now raised to a status that it earned by sheer dint of merit and the valorous actions in battle. In the coming years, every member of the JAK fraternity had to toil hard to live up to the reputation it had earned and contribute to enhance it. From December 1957 onwards, the Indian Military Academy Dehradun started posting Regular commissioned officers every six months to the JAK battalions to increase the cadre strength and progressively build the regiment. JAK battalions were posted to serve in different terrains to gain first-hand experience in all types of warfare. Over the