The 100th birthday of Lance Naik Charan Singh, a World War II veteran from the Royal Indian Army Service Corps, was celebrated on Saturday in his native village of Ramgarh-Dekwala in Punjab’s Ropar district.
Charan Singh enlisted in the Army in 1942 and retired in 1959. He has since lived in his village with his two daughters and four sons.
During the celebration, a team from the Western Command headquarters in Chandimandir, led by Brigadier J.S. Bisht, honored Charan Singh. Brigadier Bisht presented him with a memento from the Army Service Corps and a congratulatory letter from Lt Gen Preet Mohindera Singh, Director General of Supplies and Transport.
Charan Singh’s grandson, Harjeet Singh, shared that Charan Singh had served in Burma and Singapore during World War II and was also a keen photographer, capturing significant moments from his service.
After his military career, Charan Singh was stationed in Lahore during the Partition. He later worked as a storekeeper at the Civil Hospital in Ropar, retiring from that position in 1982.