Lt. Colonel I J S Butalia  Maha Vir Chakra  IC-159

Lt Colonel Inderjit Singh Butalia was born on 12th Feb, 1911. He was commissioned in Indian Army on 31st Jan, 1937. During World War II, he saw action in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Turkey, Persia, Singapore and Burma. He was wounded in head in Burma in 1944. After completing Staff College, he was posted in Meerut Selection Center in 1947. He became the first Indian Officer to take command of 4 Dogra Battalion. In early 1948 he was ordered to move to fight against the Pakistani infiltrators in Jammu & Kashmir in the Naushera Sector. His family is settled in Ambala district, Haryana.

1948 India-Pakistan War: On 22nd Feb, 1948 his battalion was covering the withdrawal of an Independent Infantry Brigade Group. Artillery support was not available. Lt Colonel I J S Butalia carried out the withdrawal successfully and personally supervised the laybacks. He gallantly withdrew two pickets of an infantry battalion when the enemy were on them. At this siege he came under heavy fire and was seriously wounded. His left hand was completely blown off. This did not deter Lt Colonel Butalia and he refused evacuation. He preferred to remain with the rear-most party so that others could withdraw safely.

Lieutenant Colonel Butalia was killed in this action. He showed supreme devotion to duty and a fine example of leadership which led to the success of the operation. For his bravery he was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) in 1948.