History News Desk !!! Veer Abdul Hamid (English: Abdul Hamid, born: 1 July 1933, Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh; martyrdom: 10 September 1965) was a famous soldier of the Indian Army, who was honored with the Military Service Medal, Summer Service Medal and Defense Medal during his service period. He received the Mahavir Chakra and Param Vir Chakra for extraordinary bravery in the Indo-Pakistani War in 1965.
Abdul Hameed was born on 1 July 1933 in a Muslim tailor family in Dharampur village of Ghazipur district in Uttar Pradesh. Abdul Hameed, the son of Mohammad Usman who did tailoring for a living, had no interest in his family work. Abdul Hameed was also influenced by his father who was interested in wrestling moves. As a village boy, Hameed was proficient in all these fields – wielding a stick, practicing wrestling, crossing a swollen river, aiming with a slingshot. One of his great qualities was to be ready to help everyone as much as possible. He did not like to tolerate any injustice. This is the reason that once when about 50 goons of a landlord reached a poor farmer’s field to forcibly cut and take away his crop, Hameed challenged them and they had to return without fulfilling their purpose. Similarly, he displayed his indomitable courage by saving the lives of two girls drowning in a river in a flood-affected village.
21 year old Abdul Hamid joined the railways to earn a living, but his values inspired him to join the army and serve the country. So he started his work as a soldier in 1954. Hamid was inducted into the Grenadiers Infantry Regiment on 27 December 1954. Abdul Hamid, posted in Jammu and Kashmir, used to have fun while tracking down intruders coming from Pakistan. When he caught one such terrorist dacoit Inayat Ali, he was promoted as a Lance Naik in the army as an encouragement. In 1962, when China stabbed India in the back, Abdul Hamid was posted in NEFA at that time. He did not get a special opportunity to fulfill his desires. His desire was to kill the enemy by showing some special valor.
Not much time passed and in 1965 Pakistan attacked India. Abdul Hamid again got a golden opportunity to fulfill his duty towards his motherland. Before going to the front, his words to his brother, “Those who have a chakra are respected a lot in the platoon, see Jhunnan, we will definitely return with some chakra after fighting in the war.” express his dreams. His prophecy came true and on 10 September 1965, when the Pakistan army was ready to surround Amritsar with its evil intentions and take it under its control, Abdul Hamid saw the Pak army advancing with its impenetrable Patton tanks. Without worrying about his life, Abdul Hamid parked his jeep fitted with a cannon near the mound and destroyed three enemy tanks by raining shells. The Pak officers were angry and surprised, they saw Abdul Hamid who was an obstacle in their mission and surrounded him and started raining shells on him. Before he could destroy another tank, he was killed by enemy fire. Abdul Hamid’s valour and sacrifice inspired the remaining soldiers and the enemy was driven away.
We salute this brave man who sacrificed his life for the country at the age of 32. With his amazing bravery, he destroyed the dangerous and evil intentions of the Pakistani enemies and inscribed his name in golden letters in history forever, and also gave a message that wars cannot be won on the basis of resources alone. He fulfilled the promise made to his brother and was posthumously awarded the highest military honour, the Param Vir Chakra, which was received by his wife Mrs. Rasuli Bibi. Apart from this, he was also awarded the Samar Seva Medal, Military Service Medal and Defense Medal.
On 28 January 2000, the Indian Postal Department issued a pictorial postage stamp of Rs 3 in a set of five postage stamps in honour of gallantry award winners. The stamp has a line drawing of Veer Abdul Hamid riding on a jeep and firing a recoilless rifle as an illustration. The 4th Grenadiers have built a mausoleum on Abdul Hamid’s grave in his memory. Every year a fair is organised here on the day of his martyrdom. The residents of the north run a dispensary, library and school in the village in his name. The Military Postal Service has issued a special cover in his honour on 10 September 1979.
