The first defenders of #MeToo

Lt Gen Baljit Singh (Retd) 

There was an unparalleled, high decibel and uproarious debate in the otherwise sedate atmosphere of the Lok Sabha in the 50s, demanding nothing short of an unqualified apology from the Chief of Army Staff. When all efforts of Prime Minister Nehru failed to assuage aroused sentiments, General KS Thimmaya, DSO, was summoned and the punch line of the Chief’s extempore statement, as I recall was: ‘If the Indian Army cannot defend the honour and dignity of its wives, how can it be expected to defend the sovereignty of India’s borders!’ There was deafening silence, followed by thunderous applause and the Speaker announced a short recess to regain composure.

The casus belli for the Lok Sabha intervention lay in the unsavoury attempted sexual abuse of an Army officer’s wife inside a cinema theatre in the heart of Amritsar city. In the normal peacetime location of Army units, there was a Gorkha battalion in the barracks. One evening the wife of the Commanding Officer accompanied by their friend, the second-in-command, had gone to see a movie. At some stage, the lady excused herself to go to the washroom, but when she did not return for quite some time, the officer became uncomfortable and walked to the washroom. 

As it was ‘Ladies’ exclusive facility, he hesitated to venture inside, but when he heard loud knocks on a door inside, he found three sturdy men attempting to force open the door to a toilet cabin. He made a wise and quick exit and  positioned his driver and two other jawans to mount guard outside the washroom door. The Gorkhas instinctively unsheathed their dreaded khukris and dared anyone to enter or exit the washroom. 

Meanwhile, the officer called the battalion from the cinema telephone and summoned about a hundred soldiers immediately to the cinema parking lot. Within 45 minutes, the soldiers arrived, sealed the exit doors of the hall, the movie was interrupted, the audience was told to remain seated and the Commanding Officer’s wife rescued. 

The three culprits were caught red-handed and the soldiers’ wrath knew no bounds. They were thrashed mercilessly and one received a fracture. The ring leader of the trio turned out to be the elder son of Punjab’s tallest Chief Minister, a man of great probity both in politics and in life. I am not sure whether he personally went to Amritsar to apologise to the victim but apologise he did. 

Yes, #MeToo needs India’s ghabroos to stand up and be counted to defend the honour and dignity of not only our women, but also of others visiting our country. Please sign up, now.