Mohammad Usman

Brigadier Mohammad Usman MVC was the highest ranking officer of the Indian Army killed in action during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. As a Muslim, Usman became a symbol of India's inclusive secularism. At the time of the partition of India he with many other Muslim officers declined to move to the Pakistan Army and continued to serve with the Indian Army. He was killed in July 1948 while fighting Pakistani soldiers and militia in Jammu and Kashmir. He was later awarded the second highest Indian military decoration for gallantry in the face of enemy, the Maha Vir Chakra.