I was reading an article on the military ‘readjustment’ and ‘redeployment’ due to the sudden spate of militant activity in J&K. Like a Mountain Division was moved from Nagaland to Srinagar ages ago to counter militancy. The thought that comes to mind was, Oh no! not again.
Plans must be existing to move troops from dormant sectors for the regular forces. What caught my attention was the move of a few Assam Rifles Battalions from Manipur to wherever they shall be deployed to fight militancy in J&K due to the recent spate of attacks on the security forces. From Manipur of all the places!!!!!! Now!!!! Most of all, WHY?
Are we short of troops? One area which was burning a few days ago, has it suddenly gone dormant? Has the ‘threat’ died that troops can be denuded at the snap of a finger and without consultation with the affected commanders? Has the problem been resolved ‘politically’. The answer is NO. The Polity has no clue how to resolve it either. So, start fire fighting without getting to the ‘root cause’.
Let me share a few of my personal experiences as I can proudly say that I served with the Assam Rifles that too with the 3 Naga Hills Battalion. One of the finest bodies of troops on the other side of Brahmaputra. God Bless my Paltan always. It was time to serve the motherland in the North East.
Many official letters and signals were exchanged between me, the new battalion, and the MS branch at the AHQ. I would post letters at 99 APO and they would get diverted to 56 APO. I was not sure where I was supposed to go. The NRS (Nearest Railway Station) given in the MS branch signal was Dimapur, Nagaland. The battalion wanted me to report at Transit Camp Jammu. I was totally confused. Or, was it an April Fool trick.
I tried contacting the unit rear in Manipur, a place called ‘Rum-Pee-Ke-Mar’ (Maram), but to no avail. Finally, the CO made it clear that one was to report to Jammu and reach Srinagar Transit Camp at the earliest.
Imagine the number of questions churning in my mind. Assam Rifles in J&K??? We had heard of the Rashtriya Rifles in J&K. Anyway, with a holdall, a black steel box, an attaché, and an airbag, I moved on.
The Commanding Officer did not want to waste time in indoctrinating me to the nuances of the Valley. Had I gone to the ‘rear’, it would have taken me a month to return. If one had to go through an orientation course that the Assam Rifles conducted, it would have been another month to see the real action. It is a different matter that the CDAO put my claim on hold because what the official MS branch signal said and where I reported was ambiguous as per CDAO. That story later.
Be that as it may. I was a Mech Officer who had served in the desert, High Altitude, been an instructor and had no clue of what and how things happen in the valley. I was as a novice and into the fire fight straight away.
I met the famous clerk at Srinagar Transit camp, who gave me the who’s who of the battalion. Who is on TD…who went on posting/chutti… who reported before me, and I felt at home. At least I knew the names of a few officers and the CO.
An open Assam Rifles Jeep picked me up. An LMG was mounted on top. It was cold and rainy, but that was my new life. Next morning, I was away to finally get to my new battalion about forty or fifty kilometers from Srinagar TC. I was the only one without a weapon or bullet-proof jacket (not issued as yet). But then they gave me an AK with a double magazine which was loaded. My peace time apprehension, what about the ‘Khali Khokas’, if we fired. Heart was thumping like a train on a track.
This was a QRT jeep. Quite a shock for a Mech Officer who was used to Jongas and Gypsies ‘DUCO’ painted and purring like a cat. This jeep was farting like a donkey as the silencer was perforated with over use. Well, that was music for my ears as we drove to our destination.
I met the Adjutant in a barrack. One corner hosted the officers' quarters, the rest of the space was for the company jawans and a corner appeared to be some kind of an office as typewriters were spewing the Rat-a-tat-tat like bullets in automatic mode.
Kuldip informed the CO immediately about my arrival. Adjt’s office was a folding table with a camp stool. Files were piled up all over. This made me feel a little uncomfortable. I, too, had been an adjutant of a Mech battalion. The difference was, there was a radio operator with real radio sets standing next to you, communicating with troops who were out on an operation.
The operator was a Malyali and gave me those looks that one more country cousin has joined. I gave him a wink and called him a Pora…. Chemistry was set.
Sir, I am the company commander of Bravo and Headquarter company. Aap shayad ‘Foxtrot’ jaoge, Kuldip told me. Well, we had heard company names till Delta, Recce, and Support never went beyond Charlie. Now, I was about to trot like a desert fox.
An hour of chit chat, a good cup of langar chai while the Adjutant prepared to take his QRT, which meant a minimum of three vehicles and a Platoon strength of troops with three LMGs and an RL. They were supposed to go to a place where fire had been exchanged with one of the patrols. I thought that an Adjutant was a static kind of person, but here the scene was different.
Sir, aap ka CO interview na hota to aap QRT le kar ‘Anderwan’ jate. That is the place where the encounter was going on. An NCO escorted me to the COs office. It was more of a sand bag filled fortified bunker. I was about to take my chair when I heard a huge blast. Window panes rattled, and there was an alert. Whistles were being blown like during an air raid alert. I got up. CO signaled to me to sit down. Welcome to the valley, he said.
It was a Rocket Launcher fire from the out skirts of the apple orchard beyond our boundary aimed at one of the barracks. It fell short and blasted. The QRT , hich was all set to go, took off on foot in the direction from where the fire came from. I was shaken if not stirred to receive such a welcome. I was also impressed by the coolness and calm shown by all people of the battalion. This was the new normal henceforth. Life was going to be fun.
During the interview, I was told that we are one of the AR battalions deployed under aanRR Sector. Operationally, we were under them but for logistics and discipline we were under Assam Rifles. All this confused me. Rations came from the army , ut we could buy our own petrol/diesel if required. I was learning.
Now imagine, this battalion had served in Kohima for more than 150 years. They had fought the second world war against the Japanese and taken part in the famous ‘Battle of the Tennis Court’, where the present WW II cemetery exists. This Battalion had been to moved to Manipur-Nagaland border. It suffered a lot of causalities initially. Those stories later.
Imagine, you up stick a well settled battalion called the ‘Friends of the Hill People’ to a new place and state. Your Int network goes kaput. Establishing it all over again takes time. By the time they settled at the new place, they were moved to the valley of which they had no clue.
Moves like this create a vacuum in your Int network. Your base gets destroyed. Your sources get compromised or do not provide information at all once you thin oout The domination and links you had established go for a six. But fauj ka Hukum is Hukum.
The surprising part was that our Area of responsibility in Manipur was given to aanRR battalion. RR in the North East was also a surprise to me. Over all it was a hotch-potch kind of situation.
Imagine this AR battalion now had to start afresh in the valley. The area was new, the language and terrain were unknown, and the tactics and execution of operations were different from the NE. Fresh Int network had to be established in an area teeming with militants.
One of our pay convoys had just been blown up with an IED in the heart of Mr Farrokh Abdulla’s constituency called Ganderbal. We had lost eight people when their 2 ½ ton was thrown on the roof of a house in the narrow lanes of the village by an IED planted in a scooter. It was a village road from where every convoy going to Leh passes through.
I was not used to the Assam Rifle culture. I was new to the troops, so a double whammy. First, to establish yourself with the troops and simultaneously get familiar with the AOR, which used to change at the drop of a hat.
We used to vigorously patrol day and night for area domination and to seek engagement. Speculative fire was so common. In the silence of the night one would hear bursts being fired. It was luck if we were fired back on. We would give a high five if some militant group reciprocated. ‘Fas gaya sala’ and a Cordon and Search operation would start. We were in the thick of it.
The worst was the ‘IKHWANI’ given to each company. These ‘surrendered militants’ were no good to man or beast. The idiom, ‘kaam ke na kaaj ke, dhai ser anaj ke’ suited them perfectly. Their security was more an issue for the company where they were placed. Their information was stale and outdated. This sheltered safe place was to live in peace and eat off the Army both in terms of funds and rations. Let me leave it at that.
Assam Rifles troops were not used to the third grade Army rations those days. They refused to eat the insect infested atta and pebble ridden dal. In the North East, the contractor brought the best of supplies to each post. One rejection meant market purchase. The system was very smooth there.
Half the pigeons in our area went missing. Each scout carried a catapult. Besides telling us ‘Fire kahan se aya’, they would cater for ‘kabootar kahan gaya’.
Now, there was a vacuum in our Manipur sector. Insurgency still continued there. The goodwill and friendship established by the battalion slowly die down due to lack of contact with the village folk. Exactly like the vacuum, which was created by move of a complete RR sector from Jammu region and sent to confront the Chinese. When they return, if they return, the whole area would have changed. The locals would be alienated and return to supporting and guiding terrorists from across the border for lack of our own troops support who had won their hearts and minds.
The tenure of my battalion finished in the valley. By now, most of the officers had been turned over. Those who had joined in the North East had got posted out. We were only a handful who were taking the battalion back to Maram, Manipur. We would now have to quickly re-establish ourselves. For the troops, the area was like the back of the hand, but for the officers they were clueless.
The only saving grace was the ethos of this 150+ year old battalion. The troops were just too good. They knew their job and were thorough professionals. Their administration was first class. Officers and families were looked after so well that all those who have served with them would vouch for it. They were more than your own kith kin.
Shifting of troops like this is unproductive and uncalled for, unless there is a strategy behind it. Voids created by such moves has always led to chaos. Militants and insurgents exploit these situations. Fatal casualties are borne by our troops for no fault of theirs.
Hope the government and the bureaucrats apply their brains. Also, the senior military leaders should put their foot down and not be just be ‘yes men’ to any such dictates. This will take guts and some defiance.
May 3 AR, the ‘Cachar Levy’ Battalion, grow from strength to strength is my prayer. May the Naga Hills family bond like hither to fore. May they stay blessed always and excel in all field.
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