Reposing faith in togetherness

WITNESSING bigotry seeping deep into our social fabric makes me sad and uneasy, and I fondly recall my unit, 27 Punjab, into which I got commissioned. In those days, the Infantry regiments and their units were largely region and caste-based at the company level, too. In Punjab Regiment, many units had Sikh and Dogra companies to lend the soldiers a unique sense of affiliation, which further egged them on to perform well in various professional competitions at the intra-battalion level.

The 27 Punjab was the first unit in the Punjab Regiment where the mixed class composition was applied as an experimental measure, which ultimately turned out to be a thundering success. The mixed class composition had to be ruthlessly ensured for the entire battalion, down to its companies, platoons till the lowest rung, the section level. A section has a strength of 10 jawans; it was to have three Sikh troops, three Dogra troops, and three or four soldiers belonging to Other Indian Classes. The same had to be applied to the specialist sections and platoons.

The credit for the strict implementation of this principle went to my first three Commanding Officers with whom I had the fortune to serve. These three illustrious personalities lent a strong foundation to 27 Punjab. No wonder, my first CO rose to be the Adjutant General of the Indian Army, Lt Gen Mohinder Singh. The second CO, Lt Col JS Sethi, kept the ethos of the unit intact under very difficult circumstances, even at the cost of staking his career, and the third CO, Brig MPS Bajwa, was credited with the capture of the most strategic feature of Tiger Hill, which turned the course of Kargil war in our favour. Not many know that it was Brig Bajwa’s handwritten citation, inserted by him in the pocket of the body of a Pakistani army Captain, Karnal Sher Khan, that got him their country’s highest gallantry award, ‘Nishan-e-Haider’. It takes oodles of moral courage and chivalry to acknowledge the bravery of the enemy. This amply proves the caliber of commanders of the Indian Army at all levels.

Getting back to our first mixed class composition battalion, I recall, every Sunday, in our unit, a brief religious ceremony used to be organised known as the ‘gurdwara-mandir parade’, with everyone in attendance. As a Second Lieutenant, I was wonderstruck when, for the first time, I entered the premises of the ‘Sarv Dharam Sthal’ (all faiths under one roof) and turned my gaze towards the sanctum sanctorum. Under a majestic, well-decorated canopy were placed idols of Gods of all religions, along with Guru Granth Sahib. It exemplified the true spirit of India.

Being the junior-most officer, I was expected to know, by heart, the basic hymns of all the religions to which our troops belonged. On Janamashtami, I was detailed by my Commanding Officer to give five minutes’ brief on Lord Krishna. The other day was Guru Nanak Dev’s birthday and I enlightened the whole battalion as to what the first Sikh Guru stood for. Though there were just a few Christians, my CO ensured that I speak something about Jesus Christ on Christmas.

Before the start of any professional event, be it the battle physical efficiency tests, the 40-km long route marches, or even the tough inter-battalion competitions, I remember our soldiers shouting ‘jaikaras’ (war cries) of ‘Bole So Nihal’ and ‘Durga Mata Ki Jai’ in equal measure. ‘Bole So Nihal’ was always led by a Hindu soldier, and ‘Durga Mata Ki Jai’ was always led by a Sikh. In fact, this kind of synergy gets amply infused in the soldiers’ minds when they take the oath at their regimental centres while religious instructors of all faiths march past them. No wonder, the Indian armed forces best represent the country’s unity in diversity, and remain a beacon of hope in these difficult times.