Page 163 - Leadership in the Indian Army

sought refuge in Naushera. There was a shortage of food, and many of them
did not have enough to eat. Usman had ordered his troops to observe a fast
on Tuesdays, so that the saved rations could be given to civilians. A man of

simple tastes, he was a teetotaller, and after serving with Dogras, had
become a vegetarian. He remained a bachelor, and a large part of his salary
went to support poor children and pay for their education. After his death
many of them felt orphaned and wrote to the Brigade HQ mourning the loss
of their benefactor.
Though a devout Muslim, Usman was a staunch nationalist and
apparently had no problem in remaining loyal to his religion as well as his

country. During the attack on Naushera, he was told that some of the enemy
were hiding behind a mosque and that the Indian gunners were reluctant to
open fire on a place of worship. Usman said that the mosque was no longer
holy if it was being used to shelter the enemy, and ordered that it be blown
up. Little wonder then, that the enemy hated him and had announced a
reward of Rs 50,000 for his head. Pakistan also spread false reports about

his death to demoralise the Indian troops, for whom Usman had already
become a hero. In late June 1948, when one such report was published by a
Pakistani newspaper, Usman’s brother wrote anxiously to the army
authorities. Brigadier Sarda Nand Singh, who was in charge of
administration at HQ Western Command, sent a signal to Usman, enquiring
about his welfare. Usman replied: ‘I am fit and flourishing—still in the
world of the living.’ Ironically, he was killed just a few hours after this

message reached HQ Western Command.
Mohammed Usman was the seniormost Indian officer to have lost his life
during the Jammu and Kashmir operations of 1947–48. Even today, he is
venerated by the people of Jammu and the surrounding region. Memorials
have been built at Naushera and Jhangar, where veterans gather on the
anniversary of his death to honour his memory. The memorial at Jhangar is

built on the same rock where the shell which took his life had landed.
Usman was a true soldier and a patriot, unflinching in the face of adversity.
Though a bit of a showman, he was not immodest and gave credit where it
was due. As a war hero, his place in the Roll of Honour of the Indian Army
is secure. As he had exhorted his men to do before going into battle at
Jhangar, he died ‘for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods’.