THE LAST RIFLEMAN

Upon the barren,freezing slopes,
Under the old holy tree,
Lay still the last rifleman,
Now passed on into history.

As his warm blood trickled out,
Onto the frozen white snow,
It wrote in red the legend,
Of a now immortal hero.

Of how he stood and fought,
Above and beyond the call,
To bring glory to the people,
And regiment of the Garhwal.

Choosing to stand and fight,
In the face of death and defeat,
He gallantly helped his brothers retreat,
With his seventy two hour fighting feat.

Running from bunker to bunker.
Hurling grenades and confusion,
The enemy knew not whether they fought,
Against a section or battalion.

Lonely though in his battle,
But not alone in the fight,
A pair of brave Monpa lasses,
Fought throughout by his side.

Three days later when the guns fell still,
Three bodies lay devoid of breath,
Three hundred Chinese all around them,
Bloodied,mangled and frozen to death.

A grateful nation,
Remembers them well,
For now they stand together,
As how they fought and fell.

Named after the valiant rifleman,
Stands his memorial in Jaswant Garh,
Flanked by The Nuranang waterfall for Nura,
And for his true love Sela, the pass and lake snow clad.

Even today upon those very slopes,
Between the fir and pine trees,
The souls of the fearless three,
Are said to roam happy and free.

His boots are still polished as his clothes are ironed,
And amongst the locals his ballads are still sung,
For the last Rifleman who never left his post,
Shall live on forever as the Lion of Nuranang.

To the everlasting memory of
Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat,
Maha Vir Chakra,
4th Battalion,
Garhwal Regiment,
Indian Army.

Dr. Ravin Chengappa, April 2026, Tawang.