Major Bhagat Singh was born on 13 March 1941 in the Batala area of Gurdaspur district, Punjab. He studied at Khalsa High School, Gurdaspur, and later graduated with a B.Sc. from Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar. He joined the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 10 June 1962.
He was commissioned into 6 Guards of The Brigade of the Guards. During the 1965 Indo-Pak War, Major Bhagat Singh led a platoon patrol into enemy territory in the Ringpain sector of Jammu & Kashmir on the night of 14/15 September 1965. He led the attack on an enemy position despite heavy fire and continued fighting after being mortally wounded.
Realising that his injuries and loss of blood made further movement impossible, he ordered his patrol to withdraw to safety. He was subsequently surrounded by the enemy and died while being taken prisoner. For his exceptional courage, leadership, determination and supreme sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra.