THE GARUD STRIKES (29 page)

Guardsman Suresh Singh

When Suresh saw Himmeth walk into the
prison, he thought their Commandant had
also been taken prisoner and was dismayed.

‘Then I saw the same doctor who had
come to see us the previous day come
scurrying up to Colonel Himmeth and
say, “I have looked after your men really
well, sir.” But Commandant sahib just
ignored him. He came straight up and
hugged all of us one by one. He then told
us to gather all the 4 Guards boys in the prison. That is when
we realized that the Pakistanis had surrendered. Soon, we were
all crying with happiness.’

Suresh had been one of the Alpha Company boys who had
been captured during the fateful Pakistani counter-attack on
Desraj's platoon at the smaller bridge at Kodda on 2nd December.
He had witnessed every second of that bloody battle.

‘Our platoon, alongwith an Artillery OP officer Captain
M.P. Singh, was ordered by Major Chandrakant to deploy on the
smaller bridge on the railway line between Akhaura and Brahmanbaria,
while he moved ahead with the rest of the company
to capture the railway station at Kodda. We had started digging
foxholes when we saw a railway engine and two or three bogies
coming towards our position from Kodda railway station. We knew there were Pakistanis in them and started digging faster so that we would be able to defend the position. However, it was worrying, since our platoon was taking up position on both sides of the railway track and the wagons coming towards us would split apart our defences.’ Using a stick, Suresh drew a rough diagram on the ground.

And then continued: ‘Just then, we also saw some tanks coming towards us. That brought a lot of relief since we thought they were our tanks. We knew our tanks had gotten stuck the previous night on the other side of the Titas river, but assumed they had managed to cross over somewhow. To our horror, the tanks began firing at us. That totally confused us, and even now we did not return fire thinking they had made a mistake. By now, the wagons had also stopped in the middle of our position, dividing us in two, and they also opened fire. Many of our men were killed, and many more wounded. Then to add to our problems, some Pakistani infantry also attacked us. By now, we also started fighting back. I saw my section commander Naik Ram Khilawan run up to a tank and toss a grenade inside. He even pulled out a
Pakistani
soldier and hit him, but by then the others attacked him and he went down. I could see he was badly wounded, but the Pakistanis didn’t show any mercy. They poured diesel on him and burnt him alive. It was such a cruel and cowardly thing to do.’

Suresh’s expression made it evident that despite the passage of years, the horror was still fresh in his mind.

‘Badly wounded by now, the three of us, Lance Naik Pirabhu Ram, Guardsman Giranth Singh and myself, were taken prisoners. Before my eyes, the Pakistanis shot Pirabhu and Giranth. I asked them why they were doing this when we had surrendered, but that made no difference to them and they shot a couple of other men, too. However, for some reason, perhaps thinking that I was badly wounded and would die soon anyway, they did not shoot at me again. Lying outside my foxhole, I saw them use their tanks to crush Lakpath Singh and Topo. That is when I fainted.’

From the expressions visible on the faces around, it was obvious I was not the only one having trouble reconciling with such bestial behaviour from soldiers. One of the men in the room said angrily, ‘What’s surprising? These Pakistanis were animals then and are animals now. They tortured and mutilated the bodies of our soldiers in Kargil and still go around beheading people. Nothing has changed.’ Suresh resumed his narrative.

‘When I recovered, there were many Pakistani soldiers, including some officers, looking at us. I was picked up along with some other wounded people and shoved into a truck and moved from there. It was a horrid journey. We were given neither adequate food nor any medical treatment. They rushed us away by trucks and boats and a week later, we arrived in Dacca. And that’s where we remained till Commandant sahib walked in to rescue us.’

Suresh was one of the seven guardsmen picked up from that camp by Himmeth. These were the lucky seven, still alive, since General Niazi had asked for the 4 Guards boys to be brought to Dacca for interrogation. However, that had proved to be the only saving grace for them.

‘I was put on a stretcher and taken along with the other prisoners to the battalion headquarters, from where we were sent by helicopter to Agartala. After two surgeries, I was transferred first to Guwahati and then to Delhi. That is where, after all these months, I met my family.’

The damage caused to Suresh, as well as many others, by the refusal of the Pakistanis to render any medical aid, was horrendous. In Suresh’s case, his wounds had turned gangreneous. It was only after months of hospitalization and several surgeries that some of them finally made it back to the unit. Many others were invalided out.

Himmeth returned to the battalion with his seven battered, but happy, men when he found a message from General Niazi waiting for him.

‘The Pakistani General was originally commissioned in 1 Rajput, which is what we were before we became 4 Guards,’ Glucose explained. ‘He had learnt from one of our men who had been captured by the Pakistanis during the battle of Akhaura, that our battalion was leading the charge on Dacca.’

The General was keen to meet Himmeth. However,
Himmeth
was not. He politely declined the invitation.

‘Himmeth told me that he would never go to meet an officer who had condoned so much cruelty and bestiality by the men under his command,’ Glucose explained. ‘Things like this, which were unbecoming of an officer, a soldier, were anathema to Himmeth.’

I leaned back in my chair.

What better end can there be to a story about a war?

Times will change. Civilizations will rise and fall. And men, being men, wars will be fought, lost and won.

But men like Himmeth lend some semblance of sanity, respect, and dignity to even such a terrible thing as war.

It was as though Glucose had heard my thoughts. ‘Himmeth was Himmeth,’ he summed up.

It was a while before I could move again. Eventually, reaching out, I shut down the recording machine.

My march down this bloody road had ended.

DEATH

OF

A

WAR

&

BIRTH

OF

A

NATION

The 17th of December saw East Pakistan caught in the throes of delirious celebration.

Mishra – mobbed by jubiliant Bangladeshis

More than anywhere else, the streets of Dacca were choked with celebrating masses. It was hard to tell that just hours ago, war had ravaged this country.

4 Guards at General Maneckshaw’s
darbar
in Dacca – after a well-fought war

Participating in these festivities, albeit far more quietly, were Brigadier Mishra, Commander 311 Mountain Brigade, Colonel Himmeth and Major Shamsher Mehta (the Armoured Squadron Commander). They finally did play the long promised round of golf at the Services Gymkhana Club in Dacca.

The club, inaugurated in 1966 by the Pakistani dictator General Yahya Khan, had once hosted what they thought was the pride of the Pakistani Army.

That day, what it hosted was certainly the pride of the Indian Army.

Sam Bahadur with Himmeth and other officers of 311 Mountain Brigade

A
few days later, word filtered down that Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman was returning to Dacca. He was finally being released from prison and coming back to Dacca via Delhi and Calcutta in a Caribou aircraft or a helicopter belonging to the Indian Air Force
.

4 Guards was given the task of providing protection to him at the Dacca airfield. However, his arrival kept getting delayed. Finally, news filtered down that he had been flown by the Pakistanis to London, and so would come from there in a British RAF Comet 4 aircraft.

The runway of Dacca airport had been heavily bombed and cratered by the Indian Air Force at the outbreak of the war, and had still not been repaired. The pilot flew over the damaged runway a couple of times before he finally managed to land. It must have been a hair-raising landing, as the pilot barely managed to bring the aircraft to a halt a few metres short of the first crater.

‘I had not heard a louder roar in my life,’ Paunchy, who, though still not fully healed, had been unable to keep himself away from Dacca and was now watching the action from the control tower. ‘When Mujib emerged from the aircraft, it was as though the world had gone mad. There were thousands of Bengalis at the airfield and they gave voice to their pleasure when they saw the man who had spearheaded their struggle for freedom.’

Paunchy was unable to contain himself and despite orders to the contrary, rushed forward to shake hands with Mujib-ur-Rehman.

Soon, it was time to bid farewell to the land they had shed blood on and wrested freedom for. On 12 March 1972, as a befitting acknowledgement of the battalion’s role in the war, 4 Guards was selected to represent the Indian Army at a farewell parade held at Dacca stadium.

4 Guards marching past – Farewell parade at Dacca Stadium on 12 March 1972

Thousands of jubiliant Bengalis packed the stadium, more vociferous and excitable than ever before.

Sheikh Mujib addresses the parade and thanks India

The parade was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Himmeth Singh, and reviewed personally by Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman. The Sheikh addressed our troops and thanked the Government of India and the Indian Army for their help and sacrifices in the liberation of his country.

Sheikh Mujib signing the 4 Guards Visitor Book

Major Kharbanda, Major General J.F.R. Jacob, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora and Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman