Gabbar Singh Negi VC

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

 (October 1893 - 1915) was an Indian soldier

Indian Army

The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

, and recipient of the Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

, the highest Commonwealth award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy", during the First World War.

Details

Gabar Singh Negi was born on 21 April 1895 at Manjood village near Chamba

Chamba

Chamba may refer to:*Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, city in Himachal Pradesh, India*Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh, India*Chamba State, princely state*Chamba, Uttarakhand, small town in Tehri-Garhwal district, Uttarakhand, India...

 Garhwal Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

. He joined the Garhwal Rifles in October 1913. He was 21 years old and a Rifleman

Rifleman

Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th century musketeers and streltsy, the term rifleman originated from the 18th century. It would later become the term for the archetypal common soldier.-History:...

 in the 2/39th Garhwal Rifles

39th Garhwal Rifles

The 39th Garhwal Rifles were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1887, when they were raised as the Aligarh Levy, but was disbanded after disgracing itself at the Rawalpindi Review in 1888....

, Indian Army

Indian Army

The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

 during the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 10 March 1915 at Neuve Chapelle, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

:

"during an attack on the German position Rifleman Gabar Singh Negi was one of a bayonet party with bombs who entered their main trench, and was the first man to go round each traverse, driving back the enemy until they were eventually forced to surrender. He was killed during this engagement."

The Gabar Singh Negi fair is organised annually in Chamba (Tehri) in the memory of Gabar Singh. In 1971, the Garhwal Regiment adopted the Fair, to give it the much-needed boost. A memorial was constructed and with the inclusion of army traditions in the ceremonies, the Gabar Negi fair started attracting villagers from far and near to pay their homage to this brave soldier.

Every year, on April 20/21 (depending on the Hindu calendar), the area around the Negi Memorial in Chamba comes alive with many kiosks being set up. This is the only fair of its kind in the state.