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Col Dilbag Dabas (Retd)
“Once a diver, always a diver” — Petty Officer Chiman Singh Yadav, MVC.
It is for all to notice how elegant a person looks attired in Navy Whites with peak cap on. And his salute with the palm down is indeed impressive par excellence.
Chiman Singh Yadav, son of Rao Nand Kishore Yadav, was born at Gokal Garh village in Gurgaon district of then undivided Punjab on June 1, 1945. As a student, Chiman was passionate about swimming and diving in the village pond. In 1961, he accompanied a group of senior students to watch the Republic Day parade in Delhi. There he saw for the first time a tableau of a naval ship and sailors attired in immaculate whites, performing mock drills on diving from the deck. He was so fascinated with what he saw that he needed no counselling on what career to chose.
Chiman passed matriculation from BS Ahir High School, Rewari, and at just 16 joined the Navy as a sailor through the boys’ entry on June 8, 1961. Within seven years, Chiman, as Leading Seaman, was a Clearance Diver class II and underwater bomb disposal specialist at Naval Diving School, Cochin. He also specialised in the use of limpet mines against enemy warships and submarines. Before the 1971 war with Pakistan, Chiman was also associated with East Pakistan revolutionaries in training their “Mukti Bahini”.
Post-Operation ‘Cactus Lily’, Chiman was promoted to the rank of Petty Officer, a rank equivalent to Subedar in the Army. He was also awarded the Friends of Liberation War Honour by the President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in 2013.
After most satisfying innings in the Navy Whites, Petty Officer Chiman Singh Yadav, the living legend, has settled down in Rewari and lives as the head of an extended family of six brothers.
Chiman, an ace diver, believes “once a diver, always a diver”. He is now a visiting faculty at the INS Venduruthy (Naval Diving School, Cochin), a premier training establishment that trains commandos not only from the Indian tri-services but also from friendly countries. He is often invited to attend seminars on updating of standard operating procedures regarding the use of limpet mines against enemy targets.
Petty Officer Chiman Singh Yadav is the only Sailor (Jawan) in the Indian Navy to have been conferred with the coveted Maha Vir Chakra.
The summary of the battle in Naval archives reads...
During Operation ‘Cactus Lily’ (1971 War with Pakistan), Leading Seaman Chiman Singh was part of the crew of a small Naval Vessel entrusted with the task of attacking enemy targets in Mangla and Khulna bays in East Pakistan between December 9 and 11, 1971. The vessel was subjected to enemy air attack while operating off Khulna and was sunk. Leading Seaman Chiman Singh was thrown overboard during the attack and was seriously injured by shrapnel. The enemy shore defences simultaneously opened fire at the survivors in water. Chiman Singh noticed that the survivors, including an injured officer, were finding it difficult to keep afloat. In spite of the injuries and unmindful of his personal safety, he rescued them and escorted them to the shore through a heavy enemy fire. On reaching the shore, in spite of his wounds, Chiman Singh rushed at the enemy, exposing himself to the hostile fire, thereby making it possible for his two colleagues to escape from being captured. Leading Seaman Chiman Singh was eventually overpowered and taken prisoner by the enemy. He, however, was released upon liberation of Bangladesh. His valiant action behind the enemy lines and in the face of perceivably insurmountable opposition was an embodiment of the Navy’s core values of duty, honour and courage and the diving cadre’s ethos of strong will to succeed and surmount all odds.
For his conspicuous act of bravery and display of utmost courage and determination in the face of the enemy, Leading Seaman Chiman Singh Yadav was awarded the coveted Maha Vir Chakra by the President of India, Sri VV Giri, during the investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 31, 1972.
(The writer is veteran Gunner, 6 Field Regiment)
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