Saviours of Kashmir in October 1947

October 22, 1947, is an ominous date, when more than 20,000 armed tribesmen, reinforced by the Pakistani army and led by officers in plain clothes, invaded Kashmir through multiple routes of ingress.

Almost 5,000 tribesmen had assembled on the Pakistani side of the border on the misty night of October 21-22. Even before twilight had set in, almost 300 lorries stormed into the sleepy town of Muzaffarabad. In a couple of hours, all hell broke loose. People were massacred and subjected to atrocities. Thus began Pakistan’s ‘Operation Gulmarg’, without any obstruction and a shot being fired.

The Pakistani army, too, joined the tribesmen. Bodies lay in homes or on the streets for days. Many people were thrown into the Jhelum to be swept away by the gushing waters. There was widespread looting. Men were slaughtered, but the invaders would grab the jewellery of women. Many recited prayers and begged for their lives, but the raiders ignored such pleas while raping or abducting the hapless women.

The invasion of Jammu and Kashmir was the ultimate betrayal for the Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, because he had entered into a ‘standstill’ agreement, wherein Pakistan had undertaken to continue to treat J&K as an independent state. Ultimately, he sought Indian aid, signing the ‘Instrument of Accession’ on October 26. Then the situation developed very fast, and the Government of India took the decision to send military aid to Srinagar.

There are few instances in the history of warfare when operations are launched with no forethought, planning or preparation,

no acclimatisation of troops and devoid of intelligence inputs. This is exactly what

happened when the onus to save Srinagar fell on the 1st Sikh Battalion, which was already committed on internal security duties from Gurgaon to Rewari.

The 1st Sikh Battalion was commanded by Lt Col Dewan Ranjit Rai. The troops were hastily airlifted to Srinagar on October 27. Lt Col Rai managed to assemble the troops by 4 am at Palam and Willingdon (now Safdarjung). By first light, they were airborne. It was a daring airlift by the Number 12 Squadron of the Indian Air Force led by Wing Commander Karori Lal Bhatia. The intermittent, crackling broadcast over the wireless when the first Dakota touched down at the Srinagar airstrip at 9.30 am reassuringly confirmed to Lt Col Rai that the Indian Army had arrived.

October 27 is celebrated as Infantry Day to commemorate this occasion.

Lt Col Rai acquired civilian buses and rushed his troops to Baramulla to stall the well-organised raiders armed with automatic weapons. The raiders launched a number of assaults on the hastily dug-up defensive positions of the Sikhs, but the high-pitched war cries — ‘Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal’— subdued the drum beats and drowned the cacophony of the enemy’s shouts.

The troops managed to save Srinagar and effectively stalled the Pakistani advance. But, tragically, Lt Col Rai was hit by a barrage of fire. Barely 34 years old, he was awarded the coveted Maha Vir Chakra posthumously for conspicuous gallantry.

1 Sikh played a decisive role in saving Srinagar till additional forces were inducted for the defence of Kashmir. If Srinagar had been lost at that juncture, Kashmir would have been lost too.