Meet Lt Gen JS Dhillon, whose great grandfather fought in First World War, grandfather served British Indian Army in both world wars, father in WWII while he himself and his brother were part of the 1971 Indo-Pak war
Lt Gen Jasbir Singh Dhillon (retd) was all smiles as he shared the legacy of soldiering in his family. “In my case, I think that military service is like a tradition dating back to World War I,” he said.
His great grandfather Harnam Singh Dhillon was the first one to join the defence service. He was a havildar in the Punjab Regiment of the British Indian Army, who fought in the First World War.
From him the legacy passed on to his sons, Dharam Singh Dhillon, who fought in the First World War and Subedar Bishan Singh, who served in the British Indian Army as an artillery officer for over two decades and then in 1939, he joined the Army Service Corps.
General Dhillon said his grandfather Subedar Bishan Singh had fought in both World War I and World War II before retiring in 1947. “He was awarded land as an Order of British for his long and faithful service, but he didn’t accept the offer. Besides, he was also awarded a War Jagir (an allowance) for passing on the legacy to his sons,” he added.
“Then it was Santrain Singh Dhillon, corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), his father, who fought in the Second World War, but was later dismissed from the Army due to his association with the INA of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose,” said General Dhillon
General Dhillon said: “I can proudly say that valour runs in my veins, thicker than blood. Besides, I have decided to pass on this inheritance to serve the nation to my son as well who is at present posted near Jammu and Kashmir.”
Talking about his 39 years in the Army, the General said: “It takes a strong heart to be a soldier, a lot of pain and patience, and inspiration that comes from within.”
He served in various appointments from second lieutenant to lieutenant colonel to lieutenant general and participated in a number of operations and wars from the 1971 Indo-Pak War to Operation PAWAN (Sri Lanka) and the 1999 Kargil War.
He said all his batchmates were martyred in the 1971 war. At that time, they were all in the 21-23 age group. “But who remembers them now?” he questioned, while saying “the life of a soldier is tough, but the sad reality is no one, not even the government cares afterwards.”
After retirement, General Dhillon said he felt privileged to have received various offers from MNCs to join them, but he decided to return to his roots in rural Punjab.
At present he is working in Sant Baba Bhag Singh University as the Director-General, besides. He is also the Director of the university’s Armed Forces Preparatory Academy.
He said in the last 10 years, six of the boys of the university and one girl joined the Army and all are at present posted at Major rank. Moreover, he is also associated with various NGOs and social welfare organisations to encourage youngsters to make their future in defence services.
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