Major General JDS Bedi (retd) addresses the event at Khalsa College in Amritsar on Tuesday. Sunil Kuma

Celebrating the 111th birth anniversary of Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh, who famously took charge during the 1965 war and turned hero from a soldier, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) organised a special seminar at Khalsa College to make the young generation aware about the country’s military history and heroes.

Born on October 1, 1913 in Badrukhan village near Sangrur, Lt General Harbaksh Singh completed his education at Government College, Lahore. He was commissioned into the Indian Army in 1935 as a Second Lieutenant in 5th Sikh. He served during World War II in the British Indian Army and later saw action in the Burma campaign. But it was his famous front during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, when he saved Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and other border areas from falling into enemy hands, which made him a hero.

Maj Gen Mukesh Sharma, GOC, 15 Infantry Division, was the chief guest on the occasion. Archna Tyagi, senior research scholar, also spoke about Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh’s education and initial uPunjabringing. Brig Kuldip Singh, an author, spoke about the General’s military career.

“The purpose of the seminar was to make the younger generation aware of our important personalities, who have played a pivotal role in saving our culture and heritage,” said Maj Gen Balwinder Singh, INTACH state convener