©Manas Gupta
Rashtriya Rifles Camp, Pahalgam, J&K.
Hawaldar Shankar Singh got off the army truck with his rucksack and looked around the camp. It wasn't the kind of camp he was used to and he could sense tension in the atmosphere.
The
Rashtriya Rifles was an organisation formed to combat terrorism in Jammu &
Kashmir and was made up of a blend of all kinds of units. Shankar Singh
belonged to one such unit. He reported to his Subedar Major for duty and after
his introductions to some of the unit members, was sent to his allotted tent.
"Come inside son", a shrill voice boomed as he was stepping in the tent. He looked up to see an overweight Sikh soldier in an olive green vest and camouflage pants reading a newspaper. "Hawaldar Major Gurmel Singh Sandhu from 2nd Sikh Light Infantry," he said without getting up "and this is Lance Nayak Suresh Mahajan from the 10 Para Commandos", he added, pointing to the figure sleeping on the adjoining cot. Shankar immediately saluted the Sikh and introduced himself. Disturbed by the noise, Mahajan also got up and flashed a smile revealing the absence of two front teeth.
"Imammuddin has struck again yaar," he said to no one in particular. "This time he killed two buffaloes and kidnapped the senile Mukhiya of the neighbouring village's panchayat. Of course they will have to release him soon, because nobody is ready to pay a ransom."
"Yeah man," chipped in Gurmel. "This Imammuddin is turning out to be a real pain. We need to take him out as soon as possible."
"Who is this Imammuddin?" asked Shankar.
"He's a sadistic monster," said Mahajan. "He heads the commando unit of the Barkat-ul-Mujahiddin and leaves a trail of bodies wherever he goes. Rumour has it that he is an Afghan and killed over a 120 Russian soldiers during the Soviet invasion in 1979. "
"How come you know so much Suresh Bhai? I guess being in the Para Commandos must have given you a lot of experience," said an awed Shankar.
"Oh yeah, Suresh is tough," said Gurmel. "In fact, he once managed to knock out the entire 10 Para Commandos." Seeing the disbelief on Shankar's face he continued, "Of course that is entirely due to the fact that he is their cook," Gurmel guffawed.
Mahajan obviously didn't like this introduction and counter-attacked. "Our esteemed Hawaldar Major," he said "is of course very experienced in counter-terrorism you know. After all, serving as an orderly in the house of a Colonel for the last five years must have made him eligible for a Param Vir Chakra. "
"Watch your tongue you impotent son of a jackal," shouted the enraged Sikh. Before Mahajan could come up with a suitable retort an officer entered their tent. "What the hell is happening here," he bellowed?
The three at once came to attention. The officer, Major Rathore, unleashed a tirade, calling the trio the scum of the Indian Army and comparing them to the rear end of the endangered wild ass.
Major Rathore had joined the Army with illusions of fame and glory. However, fate and the Indian Army had other plans in store for him. After 15 years of service, he had remained a Major with nothing illustrious to his name. When he had been transferred to the Rashtriya Rifles, he had sensed an opportunity for a promotion and a couple of medals, but the last eight months of his tenure in the strife-torn state had largely been incident free. Imammuddin, he felt, was his ticket to fame. Born to a well-to-do family, he considered all enlisted men as filth.
On that day, his informer got him news that Imammuddin was holed up in a cave nearby, and he immediately jumped into action. With a force of 20 men, which included the trio of Shankar, Gurmel and Mahajan, he left for the cave.
"Come inside son", a shrill voice boomed as he was stepping in the tent. He looked up to see an overweight Sikh soldier in an olive green vest and camouflage pants reading a newspaper. "Hawaldar Major Gurmel Singh Sandhu from 2nd Sikh Light Infantry," he said without getting up "and this is Lance Nayak Suresh Mahajan from the 10 Para Commandos", he added, pointing to the figure sleeping on the adjoining cot. Shankar immediately saluted the Sikh and introduced himself. Disturbed by the noise, Mahajan also got up and flashed a smile revealing the absence of two front teeth.
"Imammuddin has struck again yaar," he said to no one in particular. "This time he killed two buffaloes and kidnapped the senile Mukhiya of the neighbouring village's panchayat. Of course they will have to release him soon, because nobody is ready to pay a ransom."
"Yeah man," chipped in Gurmel. "This Imammuddin is turning out to be a real pain. We need to take him out as soon as possible."
"Who is this Imammuddin?" asked Shankar.
"He's a sadistic monster," said Mahajan. "He heads the commando unit of the Barkat-ul-Mujahiddin and leaves a trail of bodies wherever he goes. Rumour has it that he is an Afghan and killed over a 120 Russian soldiers during the Soviet invasion in 1979. "
"How come you know so much Suresh Bhai? I guess being in the Para Commandos must have given you a lot of experience," said an awed Shankar.
"Oh yeah, Suresh is tough," said Gurmel. "In fact, he once managed to knock out the entire 10 Para Commandos." Seeing the disbelief on Shankar's face he continued, "Of course that is entirely due to the fact that he is their cook," Gurmel guffawed.
Mahajan obviously didn't like this introduction and counter-attacked. "Our esteemed Hawaldar Major," he said "is of course very experienced in counter-terrorism you know. After all, serving as an orderly in the house of a Colonel for the last five years must have made him eligible for a Param Vir Chakra. "
"Watch your tongue you impotent son of a jackal," shouted the enraged Sikh. Before Mahajan could come up with a suitable retort an officer entered their tent. "What the hell is happening here," he bellowed?
The three at once came to attention. The officer, Major Rathore, unleashed a tirade, calling the trio the scum of the Indian Army and comparing them to the rear end of the endangered wild ass.
Major Rathore had joined the Army with illusions of fame and glory. However, fate and the Indian Army had other plans in store for him. After 15 years of service, he had remained a Major with nothing illustrious to his name. When he had been transferred to the Rashtriya Rifles, he had sensed an opportunity for a promotion and a couple of medals, but the last eight months of his tenure in the strife-torn state had largely been incident free. Imammuddin, he felt, was his ticket to fame. Born to a well-to-do family, he considered all enlisted men as filth.
On that day, his informer got him news that Imammuddin was holed up in a cave nearby, and he immediately jumped into action. With a force of 20 men, which included the trio of Shankar, Gurmel and Mahajan, he left for the cave.
The location of the cave was about 38 km from the camp and after about 20 km of road, the terrain became mountainous and hostile and the soldiers had to continue on foot. The troops made their way silently towards their destination; eyes alert, guns ready, moving with practiced coordination.
Shankar, who wasn't used to the thin mountain air, had trouble keeping up and lagged behind. Gurmel, the fat Sikh who just needed an excuse to avoid exertion kept him company and Mahajan too hovered nearby. The trio was having trouble getting along and frequently broke into arguments using colourful language. Major Rathore, who was already tense, lost his temper when the fat Gurmel rolled down a hill after a push from Mahajan and ended up with his feet on top. While the rest of the soldiers were trying hard to control their laughter, the Major went down and gave the "three bungling buffoons" another dressing down. He now realised that the three actually posed a threat to the mission. He decided to send them on a separate errand, away from the action.
"You three will go to the other side of the hill and scout for enemy snipers and signs for suspicious activity," he ordered.
While the rest of the soldiers continued towards their objective, egged on by the angry Major, the trio headed in a separate direction, exchanging dirty looks. Major Rathore reached his objective in another hour-and-a-half. He surrounded the cave and placed himself at a safe distance, away from the line of fire. There was complete silence as the soldiers waited for Rathore to give the order to charge.
Meanwhile, the trio of Shankar, Gurmel and Mahajan reached a small stream, where they decide to refill their water bottles and rest a while. Not surprisingly, they were in the middle of another argument. While Shankar was insisting that camel's milk was the answer to treating infertility, Gurmel thought that mixing butter with garlic juice on betel lead was the better option and Mahajan of course thought that an infertile person should be banished to the Andamans.
During the course of this very outlandish squabble, Gurmel Singh went on to place his not-so-light frame on what he thought was a very nicely placed boulder. What he didn't know was that he was sitting next to the posterior of one of the most feared men in the
On recalling this incident later, Imamuddin is said to have cursed all species of the common frog. Just as the three soldiers were planning to move, a frog that might in this situation be described as a naughty tadpole with raging hormones, decided that he wanted a different place to sit on. The frog made an appreciable attempt to cross Imammuddin's body, but unfortunately collided with his armpit. As fate would have it, Imammuddin was extremely ticklish and this collision made him shake his arm violently. This movement sent him, Gurmel and the frog tumbling into the stream.
While
the frog understandably, didn't stay to vent his anger at the carelessness of
the militant, both Gurmel and Imammuddin were rooted to their spots, paralysed
with fear. Gurmel was more shocked from the fall while Imammuddin feared for
his life. Mahajan and Shankar, though unaware of Imammuddin's identity,
apprehended him as his antics fell under the category of suspicious.
In the intervening time, Major Rathore was justifiably irate when his charge in the cave revealed only one sheep, four mountain goats and a young sleepy shepherd aged about 8 who also went by the name of Imammuddin.
Epilogue
In the intervening time, Major Rathore was justifiably irate when his charge in the cave revealed only one sheep, four mountain goats and a young sleepy shepherd aged about 8 who also went by the name of Imammuddin.
Epilogue
From A News Agency
©Manas Gupta
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