Muhammad Hussain (soldier)

Sowar

Muhammad Hussain Janjua

NH
Native name
محمد حسین جنجوعہ
Born18 June 1949 (1949-06-18)
Dhok Pir Bakhsh, Rawalpindi District, West Punjab, Dominion of Pakistan
Died10 December 1971(1971-12-10) (aged 22)
Harar Khurd, Shakargarh, Narowal District, Punjab, Pakistan
Buried
Rawalpindi District, Punjab, Pakistan
Allegiance Pakistan
Branch Pakistan Army
Service years1966–1971
RankSowar
Service number1028148[1]
Unit20 Lancers
ConflictsIndo-Pakistani War of 1971 †
Awards Nishan-e-Haider
Memorials
  • Dhok Pir Bakhsh village renamed to Dhok Muhammad Husain Janjua
  • Sawar Muhamad Hussain Shaheed (N.H) Boys Hostel[1]
Spouse
Arzan Bibi
​
(m. 1967)​
Children2, including Munawar Hussain
Websitehttps://pakistanarmy.gov.pk/Sowar-Mohammad-Hussain.php

Sowar Muhammad Hussain Janjua NH, (Punjabi, Urdu: سوار محمد حسین جنجوعہ; 18 June 1949 – 10 December 1971) was a Pakistani soldier and the 8th recipient of Pakistan's highest military award, the Nishan-e-Haider (Mark of the Lion), and the only soldier of the Pakistan Armoured Corps to be given this award.[2][3]

He is known for helping his Pakistan Army unit destroy 16 tanks with recoilless rifle attacks in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.[2][4][5]

Early life

Mihammad Hussain was born on 18 June 1949 in the village of Dhok Pir Bakhsh into a Punjabi Janjua Rajput family on 18 June 1949 to Roz Ali, a farmer.[5][4][6]

Personal life

Hussain was married to Arzan Bibi and had two children. At the time of his death, his daughter was a little over two years old and his son Munawar Hussain, was three months old. Sowar Hussain did not have a chance to see his son due to not getting leave and Hussain died before his son's birth.[7]

Military career

He enlisted into the Pakistan Armoured Corps as a Driver on 3 September 1966 at the age of 17[2] and later joined the 20th Lancers on 23 May 1967.[8][5]

Although he had a rank of a Driver in the Armoured Corps. Sowar is a low rank in the Pakistan Armoured Corps, equivalent to a Sepoy.[2] He would take part in every battle his unit got engaged in during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.[2] He was assigned his military duties on the frontlines in what was then called West Pakistan.[5] On 5 December 1971, in the Zafarwal-Shakargarh area of Punjab, Pakistan, he crawled from trench to trench under heavy enemy fire to deliver ammunition, and he skillfully evaded all enemy attacks for some time.[2]

Death

On 10 December 1971, he took part in a dangerous mission and went out for reconnaissance and to fight enemy patrols. During reconnaissance, near the village Harar Khurd, he spotted enemy tanks and on his own initiative, directed a recoil-less rifle crew towards the enemy and destroyed 16 enemy tanks. He was hit in the chest by a burst of machine-gun fire and killed while directing fire from recoilless rifles.[2][4][5] After his death, his father proudly said, "My son received bullets on his chest like a lion".

Naib Risaldar Ali Nawab and Lance daffadar Abdur Rehman picked up his body from the battlefield.[6]

Burial

The tomb of Hussain Janjua

Hussain was buried in a makeshift military graveyard in Shakargarh but his body was later excavated and buried in his native village of Dhok Pir Bakhsh.

Memorials

After Sawar Hussain's death, his village Dhok Pir Bakhsh was renamed Dhok Muhammad Hussain to commemorate his sacrifice. It is also referred to as Dhok Nishan-e-Haider due to Hussain being a receiver of the award.

Sawar Muhamad Hussain Shaheed (N.H) Boys Hostel was established in October 1992 to give free education to male children of Shaheed, deceased, war wounded and retired/serving junior commissioned officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Armoured Corps who were appointed on merit. When the school was established, the number of students was 40 and rose to 82. Students from year six to intermediate are eligible for admission into the hostel. All expenses such as boarding, lodging, medical treatment, books, stationery, school and extra coaching fee are paid by the Armoured Corps Centre.[1]

Awards and decorations

Nishan-e-Haider (NH)

References

  1. ^ a b c "Armoured corps. History". pakistanarmy.gov.pk. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Ambreen Arshad (6 September 2015). "They rest in honoured glory (Sawar Muhammad Hussain profile) (Conflict: Indo-Pak War 1971) (scroll down on the List to read his profile)". Dawn newspaper. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  3. ^ "Sawar Muhammad Hussain Janjua - Nishan-e-Haider". kiva.org website. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Sawar Muhammad Hussain profile". Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Sawar Muhammad Hussain Shaheed profile". Pakistan Army website. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Sawar Muhammad Hussain". 25 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Sawar Muhammad Hussain". www.meemainseen.com. 25 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Sawar Muhammad Hussain Shaheed". Daily Pakistan. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawar_Muhammad_Hussain