Jalandhar lad dons olive green, becomes fourth-generation soldier in family

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, November 6

It was a moment of joy and pride for city-based Col (retd) Amarpal Singh Nijjar as his son finally got commissioned into the Army. With this, Tirathpreet, has become the fourth generation of the Nijjar clan to be in the Army.

His son Tirathpreet Singh Nijjar got commissioned into the 21 Garhwal Rifles (infantry) on October 29 from the Officers Training Academy, Chennai — the same institute, where Amarpal had trained as a cadet 35 years ago.

Tirathpreet said, “Members of our family have had a glorious history of fighting in wars. The first to serve in the Army was my great grandfather Havildar Chuhur Singh, who was commissioned into the 1st Sikh Regiment, and fought World War II.”

He added, “My grandfather Capt Atma Singh followed in his footsteps and joined the defence forces before the Independence. He was commissioned into Signals Corps of the Army, and got retired as the Captain in 1978. He fought the 1947 India-Pakistan war, the 1962 India-China war, and the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan wars.”

Tirathpreet recalled, “The next in line was my father, Col Amarpal Singh Nijjar. He was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in March 1986 and hung his boots in December 2020 as the Colonel at 91 Sub-Area in Jalandhar. He fought the 1999 India-Pakistan war.” He said that even his sister Gurpreet Nijjar is a Squadron Leader in the Air Force, and her husband is also in the Air Force.

Dwelling on his inspiration behind his decision to join the Army, he said, “The real reason behind my career choice is my love for the Army uniform. And I like how a soldier leads a disciplined life.” He also credits his grandmother Parkash Kaur for inspiring him to join the Army. He completed his BTech in Computer Science and Engineering in 2020.