“My meeting with Major Bhupendra Singh was touching. He is a brave officer. He suffered injury in every part of the body and blood oozed from every part. He could not even open his eyes. When he was told of my arrival in the hospital he opened his lips to say : "I am sorry, Sir, that I am unable to get up to show the respect due to my Prime Minister." I was overwhelmed to see him lying in that condition. Major Bhupendra Singh told me that he was not deterred by a hail of artillery fire. Despite injuries, he continued to fight and succeeded in destroying seven Pakistani tanks. His unit destroyed 31 tanks. The deeds of his valour will be written in letters of gold in the history of the war and will continue to inspire generations. This spirit of sacrifice raises our national prestige and our morale.
I am not a man of war. How can I be one? I am so short. Unlike Lt. General Harbaksh Singh, I am not strong. I love peace and try to resolve disputes peacefully. But if there is aggression on our territory I will discharge my responsibilities fully. The nation will stand upto fight off aggression and defeat the aggressor. That is our firm resolve.”
