Lieutenant-Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa PVC (April 10, 1928 – September 5, 2005) was an Indian Army major in 1st Battalion, 8th Gorkha Rifles Regiment. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military decoration.
Dhan Singh Thapa was born to P. S. Thapa at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh from Nepali parents. He was commissioned into the 8th Gurkha Rifles on 28 August 1949.
He was involved in a major action at Ladakh during the Sino-Indian War. The Sirijap valley, north of Pangong Lake in Ladakh, was considered vital for the defence of Chushul airfield. The 1/8 Gurkha Rifles had outposts there to thwart any Chinese encroachment in the area. One of these outposts named Sirijap-1 was held by a platoon of ‘C’ Company under the command of Major Thapa when the Chinese attacked on 20 October 1962.
The Shipping Corporation of India honoured the valor of this man by naming one of their ships as Major Dhan Singh Thapa PVC.