Rao Abdul Hafiz

Jemadar Abdul Hafiz VC: The Hero of Imphal Who Led from the Front

With bullets striking around him and a steep, exposed hillside rising ahead, Jemadar Abdul Hafiz did not order his soldiers forward from safety. He led the charge himself. Twice wounded and refusing to withdraw, the young officer of the British Indian Army inspired his men to capture a strongly defended Japanese position during the Battle of Imphal. His courage on 6 April 1944 earned him a posthumous Victoria Cross and secured his place among the most remarkable Indian Army heroes of the Second World War.

Abdul Hafiz was born on 1 July 1918 in the Rohtak district of Punjab, in what is now Haryana, India. He served with the 3rd Battalion, 9th Jat Regiment, and held the rank of Jemadar, an Indian commissioned officer rank later renamed Naib Subedar. His prewar service on the North West Frontier is confirmed by his India General Service Medal 1936 to 1939 with the clasp “North West Frontier 1937 to 1939.” By 1944, he was serving in the defence of India as Japanese forces advanced toward Imphal during Operation U Go.

In the early hours of 6 April 1944, Japanese troops attacked a standing patrol about ten miles north of Imphal and occupied a prominent hill overlooking a company position. Reports suggested that approximately forty enemy soldiers were holding the feature. Abdul Hafiz was ordered to counterattack with two sections from his platoon. The only approach was across a completely bare slope that became extremely steep near the summit. Before advancing, he gathered his men and assured them that they were invincible and that the enemy would be destroyed or driven from the hill. His confidence transformed a dangerous assignment into a determined assault.

As the soldiers neared the crest, the Japanese opened fire with machine guns and grenades, inflicting several casualties. Abdul Hafiz immediately ordered an assault and personally led it while shouting the Muslim battle cry. Wounded in the leg after reaching the summit, he saw an enemy machine gun firing into his men. Instead of seeking cover, he rushed toward the weapon, seized its barrel and forced it upward while another soldier killed the gunner. He then took a Bren gun from a wounded man and advanced, firing as he moved and killing several enemy soldiers. The force of his attack helped drive the remaining defenders down the opposite side of the hill.

Even after the position had been taken, Abdul Hafiz continued pursuing the retreating enemy. Machine gun fire from another feature struck him in the chest, mortally wounding him. Still holding the Bren gun, he attempted to provide covering fire and called upon his men to reorganise and hold the captured position. He died shortly afterwards. His soldiers completed the action, inflicted casualties far greater than their own numbers and recovered three light machine guns, two grenade dischargers and two officers’ swords. His official Victoria Cross citation praised his inspiring leadership, complete disregard for his own safety and determination to capture and hold the position at any cost.

The Victoria Cross was awarded to Jemadar Abdul Hafiz posthumously and announced in the London Gazette in July 1944. It was his only gallantry award carrying a formal individual citation. His complete documented medal group also comprised the India General Service Medal 1936 to 1939 with the North West Frontier 1937 to 1939 clasp, the 1939 to 1945 Star, the Burma Star, the War Medal 1939 to 1945 and the India Service Medal 1939 to 1945. Together, these awards record both his prewar frontier service and his wartime service in the Burma and India campaign.

Jemadar Abdul Hafiz was twenty-five years old when he was killed. He left behind his wife, Jigri Begum, and was buried at Imphal Indian Army War Cemetery, where his grave is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. His sacrifice came during the Battle of Imphal, a decisive struggle that helped halt the Japanese invasion of India and marked a turning point in the Burma Campaign. Yet his legacy reaches beyond one battle. Abdul Hafiz demonstrated what battlefield leadership truly means: accepting the greatest danger himself, inspiring others through personal example and continuing to lead even when mortally wounded.