Introduction: Baramulla’s tiger Sherwani turned the tide in the army’s favour during the 1947 J&K operations. On Independence Day, TOI remembers an unsung hero who saved Srinagar from failing to Pak raiders
They are ordinary men with extraordinary courage. History is replete with tales of unsung heroes who have sacrificed their lives to protect their motherland. Such is the story of 19-year¬old Mohd Maqbool Sherwani, who laid down his life in the 1947 war and saved the Indian Army from the ignominy of defeat. Unfortunately, outside Baramul¬lah, very few have heard of this brave boy who changed the course of history.
Sherwani had played a decisive role in saving Srinagar from falling in the hands of Pakistani raiders, who attacked Kash¬mir in the year of Independence. A gutsy boy he single-handedly thwarted the ad¬vance of thousands of Kabailis from Baramulla, thereby giving valuable time to the Indian Army to arrive in Srinagar.
The nation may not be aware of his sacrifice, but the legend of Sherwani lives on in Baramulla. His plan to hold back the raiders was simple, but innova¬tive. On October 22,1947, he went around on his bike telling the Kabailis, who stormed Baramulla, not to advance towards Srinagar as the Indian Army had reached the outskirts of the district. His game-plan worked. The enemy froze in its tracks for four days. By then the 1st Sikh regiment arrived in Sri¬nagar on October 27, now celebrated as Infantry Day.
When the Kabailis realised that they were taken for a ride by Sherwani, they shot him. Ali Mohammed Bhat, 93, an eyewitness to the gruesome murder of Sherwani, told TOI, “The Kabailis could¬n’t digest the fact that a young boy had fooled them. I saw a Kabaili on a motor¬cycle with a half-dead Sherwani slung across the petrol tank. He was nailed to a wooden cross and shot 10-15 times. The brave boy’s body remained nailed to the cross for two to three days, till the Army reached the place.”
Sherwani’s novel idea gave the Army
precious time to prepare for the historic Battle of Shalateng, near Srinagar,
where 700 raiders were killed here. Col Harwant Singh (retd), 85, who fought
the Shalateng battle, said Sher¬wani’s contribution changed the com¬plexion
of the 1947 war, turning the tide in India’s favour.