The Indian Army’s Tiger Division recently honored Lieutenant Colonel Sharad Dev Singh Jamwal on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Lt. Col. Jamwal, recognized as a World War II hero, actively participated in key military operations, including the 1961 Goa Liberation campaign, the 1962 Sino-Indian War, and the Indo-Pakistani Wars.
Born in Jammu on August 13, 1926, Colonel Jamwal was raised in a family with a strong tradition of military service. His father, Colonel Prabhat Singh, served in World War I. Jamwal’s early education was at The Doon School, followed by studies at the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College in Dehradun.
Lt. Col. Jamwal’s remarkable military career includes involvement in the Burma campaign, the 1947-48 India-Pakistan War, the 1961 Goa Liberation, and the 1962 India-China War. He was inducted into the 7th Light Cavalry in 1946, towards the end of World War II.
World War II, which spanned from 1939 to 1945, was a period of intense global conflict and immense loss of life, with approximately 70 million fatalities. The war saw the division of the world into two main factions: the Allied forces and the Axis powers. The Allied forces included Britain, France, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, while the Axis powers comprised Germany, Italy, and Japan.
The Goa Liberation campaign of 1961, also known as Operation Vijay, was a decisive effort to liberate Goa, Daman, and Diu from Portuguese rule. The operation was initiated on December 17, 1961, with approximately 30,000 Indian soldiers participating. The Portuguese forces initially prepared for conflict but ultimately surrendered.