Our Battalion 2 Kumaon (Berar) came to Gandhinagar (Gujarat) in February 1984 from Suratgarh in Rajasthan for its peace tenure. Although Suratgarh was physically closer to the Kumaon Hills as a field location, the move to Gandhinagar was beneficial from a morale and welfare perspective, as it provided a new cantonment with much-needed family accommodation, schools, and a Military Hospital in Ahmedabad, where men could receive treatment for their families and dependents.
However, during those times, the prospect of residing in a peace station was equally daunting. Firstly, the newly arrived units were required to acclimatize to their new operational role and therefore spend the first few months in operational locations. We had moved from Suratgarh to Gandhinagar, and our operational role shifted from the adjoining contiguous Bikaner desert sector to the Barmer desert sector without changes in terrain, training, or the operational role. However, for the Command and the Army Headquarters, newly inducted armored and infantry units in the operational theater needed familiarization and training in the newer areas and combat doctrines. Therefore, before we could settle down in Gandhinagar, we had to dedicate a solid eight weeks to operational familiarization around the massive Chotan Hill feature in the Barmer desert, rehearsing contingencies that exceeded my imagination!
During the fag end of our operational familiarization, there were riots in Thane, and half of the battalion was moved from the operational location to Thane. The unfortunate aftermath of Operation Blue Star engulfed us, as the troops were returning and the battalion moved to its operational areas to prevent trans-border terrorist movement as a precautionary measure in the scorching desert heat. We spent a good six weeks manning the entire brigade sector from the Rann of Kutch to halfway between the Bikaner and the Jaisalmer border.
Despite being one of the oldest battalions in the Indian Army, our ancestors never kept records, leaving us unsure of the battalion’s raising day, locations & places it served, and the origin of its Berari lineage. The erstwhile Hyderabad Regiment of The Nizam of Hyderabad is the present-day ‘Kumaon Regiment’. Due to Beraris’ lack of knowledge about their origins, the Battalion began commemorating 27 October as its Raising Day. Interestingly, the Indian Army also celebrates 27 October as ‘The Kumaon Day’ and ‘The Infantry Day’.
After our tumultuous desert sojourn, I informed Brigadier SC Katoch, our Brigade Commander, and Major General Afsir Karim, our GOC, that we intended to commemorate our 250th Raising Day on October 27, 1984, with significant pomp and display. The GOC, a diehard Berari was commissioned in 2 Kumaon (Berar) and later made himself a paratrooper. He was our chief guest for the event and showed great enthusiasm, pledging his full support, attendance, and best wishes for the successful conduct of the regimental celebrations.
Throughout 26 and 27 October 1984, we interspersed the celebrations with events such as a special prayer congregation in the Regimental Mandir, Sainik Sammelan, Pagal Gymkhana, JCOs’ Mess Lunch, Bara Khana on the first day, and the Officers’ Mess Dinner on the 27th. Due to my children’s education, my wife and kids were staying in Prasad Nagar, New Delhi, while I stayed alone in the Battalion Officers’ Mess in Gandhinagar Cantt. Therefore, I was very keen that my wife and children join me for the regimental celebrations, but my wife came alone, leaving the kids behind because of their studies and schooling. After the celebrations were over, I was to go on a much-needed month’s leave.
All ranks deserved praise for the seamless execution of the raising day functions, and for the exceptional care we provided to our guests and families, exemplifying the typical Berari warmth and hospitality. Following the functions, we dedicated the next three days to the ‘administration days’, focusing on winding up and clearing the bills as on the evening of the 31st of October, I had booked our tickets to board the train for Delhi for much deserved month’s leave.
As usual, on 31 October, I left for PT at 0600 hrs and arrived at the office at 0800 hrs. Since I was to proceed on leave in the evening, I wanted to hand over my charge of duties to my second in command (2IC), Major KM Kuttappa, affectionately called Kittoo. Around 1000 hours, my wife called me from my room to share the shocking news she had heard on the Doordarshan about PM Mrs Indira Gandhi’s shooting, but she didn’t have any further details. I was deeply shocked, as what appeared to be a typical day for me, my wife, and the Battalion had taken a drastically different turn. I immediately rang the Brigade Commander, who had not yet received the news, and was equally shocked. In anticipation, I called the Adjutant and the Subedar Major of the Paltan instructing them to be on short notice to move wherever ordered by the higher headquarters and the Battalion commenced its mobilization.
As expected after some time, the Brigade Major called to inform me that our Battalion was to mobilize to seal the International Border (IB) in the Barmer Sector, and the second-line transport from the Ahmedabad military station would arrive at our location by the afternoon. My wife kept waiting for me for lunch, but I could not get back to our room as I was deeply involved in organizing and supervising our Battalion’s impending move due to very short notice. Late afternoon, I made my way to my room to bid my wife farewell, left her some money, and instructions to refrain from leaving for Delhi until the situation stabilized. We left Major Sawinder Singh (Sawi), the Quarter Master (QM) at Gandhinagar as the Officer Commanding (OC) Rear, to take care of the families, including my wife, rear parties, and the regimental assets. I requested Sawi not to let my wife move to Delhi till normalcy returned as riots were rumored all over the country and the news both on radio and TV were totally blocked.
Our military convoy drove throughout the whole night and reached our field locations the next morning. Those were the days when there were no mobile phones, and both the All India Radio and the Doordarshan were the only news channels that were blocked. At around 2000 hrs en route, we learned from the wayside dhaba that PM Indira Gandhi was no more and riots had broken down all over India. On 31 October 1984, more than ten hours after her shooting, Salma Sultan, the popular Hindi news-reader on Doordarshan broke the first news of PM Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Unfortunately, over the next four days, many innocent Sikhs were killed in retaliatory violence that could have been avoided with impartial, quick, and transparent actions by the central and state governments. Law and order and civil administration had totally collapsed, leading to the stoppage of the trains and buses, and severe disruption of the civil telephone connectivity within the country.
When we arrived in Ramsar the following morning, I discovered that the rear line link with Gandhinagar was either non-functional or blocked, and for the next two days, I received no updates from Gandhinagar. On 2 November, I received a signal from Sawi, informing me that my wife, having watched the country’s riots on the TV news, insisted on leaving for Delhi due to her concerns for the safety of the children. On two consecutive nights, I drove nearly 80 km each way to Uttarlai airbase to check with my father-in-law about my wife’s safe arrival in Delhi. I was able to connect to the military and air force exchanges in Delhi, but I was unable to connect to any civil numbers in Delhi or the surrounding areas. After two days, the Battalion got a signal from the Station Headquarters, Jaipur stating that Mrs Rajni Bhatia, w/o Lt Col NN Bhatia, CO 2 Kumaon (Berar), who was l stuck in Jaipur for the past 48 hours, had been dispatched to Delhi by train with an escort. By then I had the opportunity to speak with my father-in-law, who informed me of the restoration of telephone services. He received a call from the MCO Delhi informing him of Mrs Bhatia’s safe arrival at Old Delhi station. Despite his fear and concerns, he managed to reach the railway station and safely brought her home in a taxi.
Later, my wife confided in me about the ordeal and the horror she experienced during her journey en route. Left alone in my single room in the Officer’s Mess complex, she watched Doordarshan TV news about the assassination of the PM Mrs Gandhi and the riots in the country. Worried, she insisted that Sawi let her leave for Delhi, even without a train reservation. Rumors of riots and lawlessness were rife at the Ahmedabad railway station and inside the train en route. When the train arrived at Jaipur railway station early the following day, chaos and violence erupted everywhere with vehicles, shops, and houses burning around. Since my wife wears a Kara, a steel bracelet worn by the Sikh community, on her left wrist, the rioters pulled her out of the train for thrashing. However, because of her short hair, they let her off unharmed. Terrified, she remained at the Jaipur railway station platform for the next 24 hours, unable to eat or use the restroom due to heavy rush and the cancellation or suspension of all trains. After a day and a half of utter misery and distrust, she heard the Movement Control Officer (MCO) Jaipur announcing on the public address system that all service personnel and families who were stranded at the railway station should report to the MCO.
They shifted all the jawans, JCOs, and their families to a local military unit, while she was shifted to the MES Inspection Bungalow (IB) in the cantonment, where they provided her with food and tea. After spending nearly six hours in the IB, she, with an escort boarded a Delhi-bound train that reached Delhi Junction the next day early in the morning. Despite the nearly deserted station and her fear, she found the MCO at Delhi Junction and called her father, who arrived an hour later, bringing an end to the longest ordeal of her life. Such unfortunate misadventures are not unusual, but they often occur in every soldier’s life and require appropriate handling and care.
After this unfortunate misadventure, I too felt a sense of relief and I completely got involved in other upcoming turmoil and operational tasks assigned to our Paltan, which led me to remain deployed with troops along the Indo-Pak border in Barmer Sector until the arrival of the New Year.