In search of the lost soldier

General V P Malik (retd)

A QUESTION often put to me is “What inspired you to join the Army?” My answer always has been; the ‘Indian Soldier’. Dera Ismail Khan on the west bank of the Indus river, where I was born, had a Cantonment. My first school was located nearby. During the day, the tall, marching soldiers, and in the evening, officers playing tennis in whites (British officers were not seen during the day) became my inspiration. A few years later when some family members joined the Army; they had the same impact.

An early history lesson in our school was that the ‘land blessed with five rivers’ had historically attracted invaders through Darra Khyber and Darra Bolan. The fauj was required to protect our prosperous land, its people, culture, and to deny entry to the enemy into the rest of India. Faujis — Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs — were known for their legendary valour, élan and fidelity in both World Wars.

In North West India, the military culture and tradition has percolated from the families to the state, and vice-versa. Even now, there are a large numbers of families who are fourth and fifth generation into India’s defence forces. The military people have imbibed teachings from the Bhagvadagita (the Mahabharata was fought in Kurukshetra), and later from the Sikh Gurus. They have learnt that spirituality, righteousness, honour, fidelity; and that a generous and charitable disposition would enable them to perform better, lead better and overcome all odds in the battlefield.

The Bhagavadagita has taught “There is nothing more welcome for a man of the warrior class than a righteous war, and if you refuse to fight a righteous war, then shirking your duty and losing your reputation, you will incur sin.” 

Guru Nanak Dev taught, “If one loses honour in life, impure is all that one eats”. When some of these fighting traits were being forgotten and the people left to the mercy of tyrants, Guru Gobind Singh revived the soldierly traditions. He infused a new spirit of sacrifice. He taught the meaning and value of patriotism, and inspired his soldiers with the prayer, which continues to reverberate in military gurdwaras and temples even today:

“O Lord Shiva, these boons of Thee I ask, 

Let me never shun a righteous task,

Let me be fearless when I go to battle,

Give me faith that victory will be mine,

Give me power to sing Thy praise,

And when comes the time to end my life,

Let me fall in mighty strife”

Guru Gobind Singh declared that “When all other means have failed, it is permissible to draw the sword”: a quote that can be contemporarily compared with ‘war being the last instrument of the state’.

Units from this region have fought every big and small war in the service of the nation. There are innumerable acts of gallantry, daring and exemplary leadership. There are several Param Vir Chakra awardees, including the most modest Bana Singh. Many like Naik Nand Singh and Brigadier Sant Singh were awarded Maha Vir Chakra twice over. We have had heroes from the Air Force too; Air Commodore ‘Baba’ Mehar Singh and Marshal of the Air Force, Arjan Singh, and not to forget, ParamVir Chakra awardee, Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon.

The last war — the Kargil War — was fought in May-July 1999 when I was Chief of the Army Staff. Among the units that did the nation proud, in what was, perhaps, the most challenging operation ever fought in the history of warfare, were 17 Jat, 8 Sikh, 13 JAK Rifles, 18 Grenadiers and 2 Raj Rifles. Most of the troops came from this region. Vikram Batra, Sanjay Kumar, Yogendra Yadav — all Param Vir Chakra awardees — carried forward the legacy of exceptional bravery.

Whatever be the state of political and security affairs in India today, 'the Soldier' has remained an inspiration. Lal Bahadur Shastri invoked “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” when he visited Khemkaran battle location during the 1965 War. The whole world admired 'the Soldier' after his exceptional achievement during the Kargil War. Every corporate house in the country took to associating ‘the Soldier’ in their product/brand advertisements. Most actors wanted to play a role without charging any money in the movies based on that war.

Is ‘the Soldier’ losing the aura now and is he no longer an inspiration for the young people? If so, who is to blame? The netas, the civil services, the social and electronic media, or we ourselves? It would be interesting to see these aspects being debated in the columns to come.