Dhan Singh Thapa: Difference between revisions

{{Use Indian English|date=March 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}

Major Thapa was treated poorly as a prisoner of war. Against military convention he was forced to undergo a series of punishments: firstly for killing Chinese troops; and secondly for refusing to make statements against the Indian Army and the Indian government. He was released after the war ended in November 1962.{{Sfn|Cardozo|2003|p=80}}<ref name="India-China War of 1962: How it started and what happened later">{{cite web|title=India-China War of 1962: How it started and what happened later|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/india-china-war-of-1962-839077-2016-11-21|website=India Today|publisher=Living Media India Limited|accessdate=18 April 2018|date=21 November 2022}}</ref>

Thapa was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 21 February 1964,<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=241  |date=27 June 1964|url=https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/1964/O-1797-1964-0026-81936.pdf |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> and to [[lieutenant-colonel]] on 28 February 1970.<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=1083  |date=29 July 1972|url=https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/1972/O-1321-1972-0031-58877.pdf |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> He retired from the Army on 30 April 1980.<ref name="retd">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=1186  |date=29 August 1981|url=https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/1981/O-0961-1981-0035-42651.pdf |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> Post-retirement, Thapa settled down in [[Lucknow]], and served for a brief period as a director with [[Sahara Airlines]].{{Sfn|Cardozo|2003|p=80}} On 6{{nbsp}}September 2005, Thapa died. He was survived by his wife, Shukla Thapa,<ref name="Remembering the bravest of the brave">{{cite web|author1=Anuradha Mascarenhas|title=Remembering the bravest of the brave|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/remembering-the-bravest-of-the-brave/|website=[[The Indian Express]]|accessdate=18 November 2017|date=26 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029013546/http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/remembering-the-bravest-of-the-brave/ |archive-date=29 October 2022}}</ref> and three children.<ref name="Param Vir Chakra awardee Thapa dead">{{cite news|title=Param Vir Chakra awardee Thapa dead|url=http://www.thehindu.com/2005/09/07/stories/2005090704771300.htm|work=[[The Hindu]]|accessdate=18 November 2017|date=7 September 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029205443/http://www.thehindu.com/2005/09/07/stories/2005090704771300.htm|archive-date=29 October 2022}}</ref><ref name="Lt Col Dhan Singh Thapa passes away">{{cite web|title=Lt Col Dhan Singh Thapa passes away|url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/lt-col-dhan-singh-thapa-passes-away_239908.html|website=[[Zee News]]|publisher=Zee Media Corporation Ltd.|date=6 September 2022}}</ref>

In 1980s, the [[Shipping Corporation of India]] (SCI), a Government of India enterprise under the aegis of the [[Ministry of Shipping (India)|Ministry of Shipping]], named fifteen of its crude oil tankers in honour of the PVC recipients. The tanker MT ''Major Dhan Singh Thapa, PVC'' was delivered to SCI in 1984, and served for 25 years before being phased out.<ref name="Vessel Details – Major Dhan Singh Thapa, PVC">{{cite web|title=Vessel Details – Major Dhan Singh Thapa, PVC|url=https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:9100/mmsi:-8224169/imo:8224169/vessel:MAJOR_DHAN_SINGH_THAPA_PVC|website=[[MarineTraffic]]|accessdate=19 November 2022}}</ref>{{Sfn|Marine Division|2009|p=149}}