Lieutenant Colonel Kushal Chand, MVC, (26 September 1919 â 9 April 1957; also spelled Khushal Chand) was an officer of the Indian Army. He is known for his significant role in stalling the progress of Pakistani forces into Ladakh, during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947-48. For his role in this war, Thakur Kushal Chand is regarded among the 'Saviours of Ladakh', alongside Thakur Prithi Chand, Bhim Chand, and Chewang Rinchen.
Kushal Chand was born into the house of Kolong, the ruling family of the mountainous tract of Lahaul, which then lay in the Kangra district of the Punjab Province, British India. His place of birth was the Gemoor Khar ('Khar' meaning 'palace') in Lahaul. He was the elder son of Thakur Mangal Chand (1886 -1969), the younger brother of Rai Bahadur Thakur Amar Chand. After the death of Thakur Amar Chand, Thakur Mangal Chand served as the Wazir of Lahaul from 1921 till the time Thakur Pratap Chand, his nephew and a son of Thakur Amar Chand, attained maturity.
Kushal Chand's younger brother was Nihal Chand, a politician and the husband of Lata Thakur, one-time MLA from the Lahaul and Spiti assembly constituency.
Kushal Chand was survived by two sons and a daughter. One of the sons is the retired senior IAS officer, Ashok Thakur.
Kushal Chand was a younger cousin to Thakur Prithi Chand, the third son of Thakur Amar Chand. Bhim Chand was a maternal uncle to both Prithi Chand and Kushal Chand. All three belonged to the 2nd Battalion of the Dogra Regiment. Kushal Chand was commissioned into this unit on 15 September 1941. In the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947âÂÂ48, all three made their way together to Ladakh, as members of a small volunteer group of Lahauli Buddhists from 2 Dogra, so to defend Ladakh from Pakistani invaders. All three fought and led with distinction, and received high decorations individually. Kushal Chand was second-in-command of this group, which was led by Thakur Prithi Chand. For his actions in Ladakh, Kushal Chand was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, the second-highest gallantry award of India.
The Maha Vir Chakra citation for Major Kushal Chand, dated 26 January 1950, reads as the following:
In 1953, upon his promotion to the rank of Lt. Col., Kushal Chand was given the command 9th Dogra Infantry Battalion, which he held for three years. Thereafter he was deputed to serve on the UN mission in Indochina, as an Indian member of the International Armistice Commission for Indochina.
On 9 April 1957, a light aeroplane of the Laos Air Service carrying Kushal Chand and two others crashed in Laos, killing all on board.