Rama Raghoba Rane
Encyclopedia
Second Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane(Konkani
: रामा राघोबा राणे), was born on 26 June 1918 at Chendia, Karwar
, Karnataka
, India
. He comes from Konkan Kshatriya Maratha
community of Karwar. His statue has been erected in Karwar. He was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers
on 15 December 1947. He retired as a Major from the Indian Army in 1968. During his 21 years' service with the Army, he earned five M-in-D (Mentioned-in-Despatches). He served with distinction during the 1947-48 Jammu and Kashmir
operations. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra
for his courage and gallantry during the war against Pakistan
.
The Indian troops then planned an advance from Naushahra to Rajauri to protect the natives from atrocities of the raiders. Half-way lay the Chingas, on the old Mughal
route to Kashmir. The 4 Dogra commenced the advance to Rajauri on 8 April 1948. It attacked the Barwali ridge, 11 km north of Naushahra and captured it after driving out the enemy from well-prepared positions. But beyond Barwali, the increasing number of road-blocks and minefields obstructed the progress of the battalion. Even armour could not cross over these obstacles.
During this critical phase, 2nd Lieutenant Rane and his section of 37 Assault Field Company, attached to 4 Dogra, performed yeoman service. As the section started clearing a mine-field on 8 April, two sappers were killed and five others including Rane were injured by enemy mortar
fire. However, Rane and his men completed the work by the evening and enabled the tanks to push forward. But the enemy had not been cleared from the area and road ahead was still unsafe for the advance.
2nd Lieutenant Rane worked during the night to prepare a safe lane for the tanks. On 9 April his men worked continuously for twelve hours to clear mines and remove road-blocks. Where the road was found un-negotiable he made a diversion for the column to pass through. 2nd Lieutenant Rane continued this work in the face of enemy artillery
and mortar fire.
On 10 April he woke up early to resume work on the road-block, which could not be cleared the previous night. He cleared this huge road-block of 5 big pine
tress, surrounded by mines and covered by intensive machine-gun fire, within two hours.
The Army advanced another 13 km on this day before they encountered another major road-block. The enemy pickets perched on the adjoining hills were guarding all approaches to this road-block. 2nd Lieutenant Rane drove to the road block in a tank and crouching under it, blasted the block with mines. He thus opened the road before the end of the night.
On 11 April he worked for 17 hours to open the road to Chingas and beyond. 2nd Lieutenant Rane made a substantial contribution in facilitating the Indian advance on Rajauri. It cost the enemy about 500 dead and many more wounded. It also helped in saving many innocent lives in Chingas and Rajauri. But for the grim determination and tireless diligence of 2nd Lieutenant Rane, who worked ceaselessly, our column could not have reached Chingas - an important feature which secured for us a vantage position to advance further
The efforts made by 2nd Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane during the advance to Rajauri earned him the highest war-time gallantry medal, Param Vir Chakra
.
awarded to him reads:
SECOND LIEUTENANT RAMA RAGHOBA RANE)
BOMBAY ENGINEER (SS-14246)
On 8 April 1948, Second Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane, Bombay Engineers, was ordered to be in charge of the mine and roadblock clearing party at Mile 26 on the Naushera-Rajouri road which passes through very hilly country.
At 1100 hours, on that date near Nadpur South, just as Second Lieutenant Rane and his party were waiting near the tanks to start the work of clearing the mines ahead, the enemy started heavy mortaring of the area, with the result that two men of the mine-clearing party were killed and five others including Second Lieutenant Rane were wounded. The officer at once reorganized his party and started work for the tanks to go on to their position. Throughout the day he was near the tanks under heavy enemy machine-gun and mortar fire.
After the capture of Barwali Ridge at about 1630 hours, although knowing that the enemy had not been completely cleared of the area, Second Lieutenant Rane took his party ahead and started making a diversion for the tanks to proceed. He worked on till 2200 hours that night in full view of the enemy and under heavy machine-gun fire.
On 9 April he again started work at 0600 hours and worked on till 1500hrs when the diversion was ready for the tanks to proceed. As the armoured column advanced, he got into the leading carrier and proceeded ahead. After proceeding about half a mile he came across a roadblock made of pine trees. He at once dismounted and blasted the trees away. The advance continued. Another 300 yards and the same story was repeated. By this time it was getting on to 1700 hours. The road was curving round the hill like a snake. The next roadblock was a demolished culvert. Second Lieutenant Rane again got on with the job. Before he could start work, the enemy opened up with their machine-guns, but with super courage and leadership he made a diversion and the column proceeded ahead. The roadblocks were becoming numerous but he blasted his way through. It was now 1815 hours, and light was fading fast. The carrier came across a formidable roadblock of five big pine trees surrounded by mines and covered by machine-gun fire. He started removing the mines and was determined to clear the roadblock but the armoured column commander appreciating the situation got the column into a harbour area.
On 10 April 1948 at 0445 hours, Second Lieutenant Rane again started work on the roadblock in spite of machine-gun fire with the support of one troops of tanks. With sheer will power he cleared this roadblock by 0630hours. The next thousand yards was a mass of roadblocks and blasted embankments. That was not all. The enemy had the whole area covered with machine-gun fire but with superhuman efforts, in spite of having been wounded, with cool courage and exemplary leadership and complete disregard for personal life, he cleared the road by 1030 hours.
The armoured column proceeded ahead and got off the road into the riverbed of the Tawi but Second Lieutenant Rane continued clearing the road for the administrative column. The tanks reached Chingas by 1400 hours. Second Lieutenant Rane appreciating that the opening of the road was most vital, continued working without rest or food till 2100 hours that night.
On 11 April 1948, he again started work at 0600 hours and opened the road to Chingas by 1100 hours. He worked on that night till 2200 hours clearing the road ahead.
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
: रामा राघोबा राणे), was born on 26 June 1918 at Chendia, Karwar
Karwar
Karwar is the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, India. It is a seaside town situated on the banks of the Kali river which is on the west coast of the Indian peninsula. The town lies about 15 kilometres south of the Karnataka–Goa border and 519 km north-west...
, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He comes from Konkan Kshatriya Maratha
Konkan Maratha
Konkan Maratha or Konkana are Konkani-speaking Hindus claiming Kshatriya status, with their ancestral homes in Karwar, Ankola, and Goa with surnames such as Shinde/Kadams,Naik/Nayak, Rane, Kadam, Powar/Pawar, Savant/Sawant, Khalwadekar, Gaonkar, Khanvilkar, Salunke, Desai/Dessai, Phal, Sail,...
community of Karwar. His statue has been erected in Karwar. He was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers
Indian Army Corps of Engineers
The Indian Army Corps of Engineers has a long and illustrious history dating back to the mid-18th century. The earliest existing subunit of the Corps dates back to 1777 while the Corps officially recognises its birth as 1780 when the senior most group of the Corps, the Madras Sappers were...
on 15 December 1947. He retired as a Major from the Indian Army in 1968. During his 21 years' service with the Army, he earned five M-in-D (Mentioned-in-Despatches). He served with distinction during the 1947-48 Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
operations. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra
Param Vir Chakra
The Param Vir Chakra is India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy. It can be, and often has been, awarded posthumously....
for his courage and gallantry during the war against Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Military Action
On 18 March 1948, the Army recaptured Jhangar, which had been lost to the enemy in December 1947.The Indian troops then planned an advance from Naushahra to Rajauri to protect the natives from atrocities of the raiders. Half-way lay the Chingas, on the old Mughal
Mughal era
The Mughal era is a historic period of the Mughal Empire in South Asia . It ran from the early 15th century to a point in the early 18th century when the Mughal Emperors' power had dwindled...
route to Kashmir. The 4 Dogra commenced the advance to Rajauri on 8 April 1948. It attacked the Barwali ridge, 11 km north of Naushahra and captured it after driving out the enemy from well-prepared positions. But beyond Barwali, the increasing number of road-blocks and minefields obstructed the progress of the battalion. Even armour could not cross over these obstacles.
During this critical phase, 2nd Lieutenant Rane and his section of 37 Assault Field Company, attached to 4 Dogra, performed yeoman service. As the section started clearing a mine-field on 8 April, two sappers were killed and five others including Rane were injured by enemy mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
fire. However, Rane and his men completed the work by the evening and enabled the tanks to push forward. But the enemy had not been cleared from the area and road ahead was still unsafe for the advance.
2nd Lieutenant Rane worked during the night to prepare a safe lane for the tanks. On 9 April his men worked continuously for twelve hours to clear mines and remove road-blocks. Where the road was found un-negotiable he made a diversion for the column to pass through. 2nd Lieutenant Rane continued this work in the face of enemy artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and mortar fire.
On 10 April he woke up early to resume work on the road-block, which could not be cleared the previous night. He cleared this huge road-block of 5 big pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
tress, surrounded by mines and covered by intensive machine-gun fire, within two hours.
The Army advanced another 13 km on this day before they encountered another major road-block. The enemy pickets perched on the adjoining hills were guarding all approaches to this road-block. 2nd Lieutenant Rane drove to the road block in a tank and crouching under it, blasted the block with mines. He thus opened the road before the end of the night.
On 11 April he worked for 17 hours to open the road to Chingas and beyond. 2nd Lieutenant Rane made a substantial contribution in facilitating the Indian advance on Rajauri. It cost the enemy about 500 dead and many more wounded. It also helped in saving many innocent lives in Chingas and Rajauri. But for the grim determination and tireless diligence of 2nd Lieutenant Rane, who worked ceaselessly, our column could not have reached Chingas - an important feature which secured for us a vantage position to advance further
The efforts made by 2nd Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane during the advance to Rajauri earned him the highest war-time gallantry medal, Param Vir Chakra
Param Vir Chakra
The Param Vir Chakra is India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy. It can be, and often has been, awarded posthumously....
.
Citation
The citation for the Param Vir ChakraParam Vir Chakra
The Param Vir Chakra is India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy. It can be, and often has been, awarded posthumously....
awarded to him reads:
On 8 April 1948, Second Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane, Bombay Engineers, was ordered to be in charge of the mine and roadblock clearing party at Mile 26 on the Naushera-Rajouri road which passes through very hilly country.
At 1100 hours, on that date near Nadpur South, just as Second Lieutenant Rane and his party were waiting near the tanks to start the work of clearing the mines ahead, the enemy started heavy mortaring of the area, with the result that two men of the mine-clearing party were killed and five others including Second Lieutenant Rane were wounded. The officer at once reorganized his party and started work for the tanks to go on to their position. Throughout the day he was near the tanks under heavy enemy machine-gun and mortar fire.
After the capture of Barwali Ridge at about 1630 hours, although knowing that the enemy had not been completely cleared of the area, Second Lieutenant Rane took his party ahead and started making a diversion for the tanks to proceed. He worked on till 2200 hours that night in full view of the enemy and under heavy machine-gun fire.
On 9 April he again started work at 0600 hours and worked on till 1500hrs when the diversion was ready for the tanks to proceed. As the armoured column advanced, he got into the leading carrier and proceeded ahead. After proceeding about half a mile he came across a roadblock made of pine trees. He at once dismounted and blasted the trees away. The advance continued. Another 300 yards and the same story was repeated. By this time it was getting on to 1700 hours. The road was curving round the hill like a snake. The next roadblock was a demolished culvert. Second Lieutenant Rane again got on with the job. Before he could start work, the enemy opened up with their machine-guns, but with super courage and leadership he made a diversion and the column proceeded ahead. The roadblocks were becoming numerous but he blasted his way through. It was now 1815 hours, and light was fading fast. The carrier came across a formidable roadblock of five big pine trees surrounded by mines and covered by machine-gun fire. He started removing the mines and was determined to clear the roadblock but the armoured column commander appreciating the situation got the column into a harbour area.
On 10 April 1948 at 0445 hours, Second Lieutenant Rane again started work on the roadblock in spite of machine-gun fire with the support of one troops of tanks. With sheer will power he cleared this roadblock by 0630hours. The next thousand yards was a mass of roadblocks and blasted embankments. That was not all. The enemy had the whole area covered with machine-gun fire but with superhuman efforts, in spite of having been wounded, with cool courage and exemplary leadership and complete disregard for personal life, he cleared the road by 1030 hours.
The armoured column proceeded ahead and got off the road into the riverbed of the Tawi but Second Lieutenant Rane continued clearing the road for the administrative column. The tanks reached Chingas by 1400 hours. Second Lieutenant Rane appreciating that the opening of the road was most vital, continued working without rest or food till 2100 hours that night.
On 11 April 1948, he again started work at 0600 hours and opened the road to Chingas by 1100 hours. He worked on that night till 2200 hours clearing the road ahead.