’72 Hours – Martyr who never died’ – a film based on the life of Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, who was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for gallantry during the 1962 Sino-Indian war, was released on Friday after the Delhi High Court gave its approval.
Rawat’s family members had moved the court against the release of the film, claiming that it had invaded their and Rawat’s privacy. Besides, they had also sought royalty from Sandhya Entertainment, the producer of the film, and demanded that the actor playing Rawat’s role be changed. The production house told the court that the family’s consent was taken in 2015 and the film was made on the basis of the information given by them. The Court observed that the man’s family members could not claim breach of their privacy as they had consented to the making of the film in 2015.
Rawat was a rifleman in the 4 Garhwal Rifles unit of the Army and had single-handedly prevented the Chinese army for three days from over-running his post during the 1962 Sino-Indian war, before he was killed on November 17, 1962. For his gallantry, he was still being honoured with promotions, the most recent one being of a Major General, it had said. It had also said the post which Rawat had defended against the Chinese Army was now named as Jaswant Garh and there was a room nearby where his personal belongings were still kept safe.