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{{Infobox military person
|name= Kanwar Zorawar Singh Nathawat
|birth_date= {{birth date|df=yes|1920|2|14}}
|death_date= {{Death date and age|df=yes|1994|12|24|1920|02|14}}
|birth_place= [[Jaipur]], [[India]]
|death_place=
|placeofburial=
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|image= Maj Gen K Zorawar Singh.jpg
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flag|India }}
|serviceyears=
|rank= [[Major-General]]
|branch= [[File:Flag of Indian Army.png|23px]] [[Indian Army]]
|commands= [[The Central India Horse (21st King George V's Own Horse)|Central India Horse]]
|unit=[[The Central India Horse (21st King George V's Own Horse)|Central India Horse]]
|battles= [[World War II]], [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947]]
|awards= [[Military Cross|MC]]
|laterwork= }}

[[Major-General]] '''Kanwar Zorawar Singh''' [[Military Cross|MC]] (14 February 1920 – 24 December 1994) was a senior cavalry officer in the [[Indian Army]].

==Early life==
Singh was born in the Princely state of [[Jaipur]] on 14 February 1920, the son of [[Major-General]] [[Sir]] Bhairon Singh, an officer in the Jaipur State Forces. He attended the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College ([[RIMC]]) from August 1931 to 1938. Following his education at RIMC, he gained entrance to the [[Indian Military Academy]]. Upon graduation in 1941, he would receive the Sword of Honour for the best overall performance by a gentleman cadet.

==Military career==
After receiving his commission as a cavalry officer, Singh briefly joined the 16th Light Cavalry before being transferred to the [[The Central India Horse (21st King George V's Own Horse)|Central India Horse]]. During the Italian Campaign, the Central India Horse was a reconnaissance unit for the [[4th Indian Division]]. Singh was made second-in-command of B Squadron in this regiment. On 3 August 1944 Singh led a reconnaissance patrol consisting of his squadron and another towards Casale Vecchia, which is north-west of [[Arezzo]]. The objective was to determine the location of the German frontline and eliminate any Germans encountered. During the patrol, a German reconnaissance force was encountered. The result of this engagement left two enemy dead and three others taken prisoner. Singh was awarded the [[Military Cross]] for leadership during the operation. In October 1944 the Central India Horse was sent to Greece to stabilise the country following the withdrawal of German forces.

After the Second World War, the Central India Horse returned to India in February 1946. Singh was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and became commandant to the Central India Horse. In 1948 Pakistani forces attempted seize control over the state of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]. Singh was tasked with recapturing the town of [[Rajauri]]. The 28-mile road from Naushera to Rajauri was heavily damaged with felled trees and boulders acting as roadblocks. These obstructions had been mined. The road had a significant elevation gain and sections of the road along cliffs had been intentionally narrowed by the enemy. An assessment of the operation deemed it to be both time and labour-intensive to enable the road to be usable for an advance to Rajauri. Despite the difficulty involved, Singh went ahead with the operation on 7 April 1948. He would advance along the Tawi River, which was parallel to his route when sections of the road became impassable. On the evening of 10 April his task force had reached Rajauri. The arrival of Indian tanks in Rajauri had surprised the Pakistani Army and without equivalent firepower, they were forced to withdraw. His successful leadership of the operation earned him the status of being one of independent India's first great tank commanders.

In 1948 Singh's tenure of command at the CIH ended, when he was selected to attend the [[Command and General Staff College]] at Fort Leavenworth, United States. He was appointed to the staff of the [[Defense Services Staff College]] at Wellington, where he served for three years until being appointed to command the Tactical Wing of the Armoured Corps Centre and School at Ahmednagar. Upon promotion to brigadier, Singh was India's military attaché to France.

==Later life==
After retiring from the army at the age of 49, Singh was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Central India Horse.

==Dates of rank==
{|class="wikitable" style="background:white"
! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date of rank
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British Army OF-1a.svg|35px]] || [[Second lieutenant#United Kingdom & other Commonwealth countries|Second Lieutenant]] || [[British Indian Army]] || 3 April 1940<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47">{{cite book|pages=263|title=Indian Army List (Special Edition) 1947|publisher=Government of India Press|year=1947}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British Army OF-1b.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|Lieutenant]] || British Indian Army || 1 May 1941<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British Army (1920-1953) OF-2.svg|35px]] || [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] || British Indian Army || 19 December 1941 (acting)<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47"/> 20 December 1941 (temporary)<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47"/> 20 September 1943 (war-substantive)<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47"/> 1 July 1946 (substantive)<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British Army (1920-1953) OF-3.svg|35px]] || Major || British Indian Army || 1942-1943 (temporary)<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British Army (1920-1953) OF-2.svg|35px]] || Captain || [[Indian Army]] || 15 August 1947<ref name="insignia" group="note">Upon independence in 1947, India became a [[Dominion of India|Dominion]] within the British [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. As a result, the rank insignia of the [[British Army]], incorporating the [[Tudor Crown]] and four-pointed [[Order of the Bath|Bath Star]] ("pip"), was retained, as [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]] remained Commander-in-Chief of the [[Indian Armed Forces]]. After 26 January 1950, when India became a [[Republic of India|republic]], the [[President of India]] became Commander-in-Chief, and the [[Lion Capital of Asoka|Ashoka Lion]] replaced the crown, with a five-pointed star being substituted for the "pip."</ref><ref name="insignia_designs"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Captain of the Indian Army.svg|35px]] || [[Captain]] || Indian Army || 26 January 1950 (recommissioning and change in insignia)<ref name="insignia_designs">{{cite web|title=New Designs of Crests and Badges in the Services|url=http://pib.nic.in/archive/docs/DVD_38/ACC%20NO%20807-BR/HOM-1950-01-06_484.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India - Archive|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808193914/http://pib.nic.in/archive/docs/DVD_38/ACC%20NO%20807-BR/HOM-1950-01-06_484.pdf|archive-date=8 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=227 |date=11 February 1950 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Major_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Major]] || Indian Army || 6 July 1952<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=231 |date=18 October 1952|publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Lieutenant_Colonel_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant-Colonel]] || Indian Army || 6 July 1956<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=33 |date=9 February 1957 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Colonel_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Colonel]] || Indian Army || 1 March 1958 (acting)<ref name="local">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=169 |date=26 July 1958 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> 15 April 1960 (substantive)<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=301 |date=11 November 1961 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Brigadier_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Brigadier]] || Indian Army || 1 March 1958 (local)<ref name="local"/> 6 July 1962 (substantive)<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=38 |date=2 February 1963 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Major_General_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Major general#India|Major General]] || Indian Army || 3 June 1965<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=598 |date=20 November 1965 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==See also==
*[[Indian Army]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
*Mishra, S., & Singh, B. (1997). ''Where Gallantry is Tradition: Saga of Rastriya Indian Military College''. Allied Publishers. {{ISBN|81-7023-649-5}}
*{{cite web
|last=Forty
|first=Lt. Col. George
|title=The Recapture of Rajouri, April 1948
|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1947War/Rajouri.html
|access-date=21 May 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080128191256/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1947War/Rajouri.html
|archive-date=28 January 2008
|url-status=dead
}}

==External links==
* [http://www.indianarmy.gov.in/ Indian Army]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090828105442/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/History.html Bharat Rakshak: The Consortium of Indian Military Websites]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Kanwar Zorawar}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Indian generals]]
[[Category:Non-U.S. alumni of the Command and General Staff College]]
[[Category:People from Jaipur]]
[[Category:Rashtriya Indian Military College alumni]]
[[Category:Commandants of Indian Military Academy]]
[[Category:Indian recipients of the Military Cross]]
[[Category:Indian military attachés]]

Kanwar Zorawar Singh - Revision history

Bot at 13:50, 21 October 2022