COLUMN / Patriotism Redefined

“United we stand, divided we fall”

During the 1993 communal riots in Mumbai, I was involved in restoring communal harmony in Behrampada and its environs. I recall the very apt motto coined by thespian actor Dilip Kumar-“Hum Sab Jan Ek Hain”. So true. But does it take a 26/11 to bring the people of Mumbai together? Is it not remarkable how cosmopolitan Mumbai stood united after the dastardly terrorist attack in South Mumbai? People from all walks of life and all its diverse cosmopolitan communities lined up to donate blood, provide meals to the security forces and help in any way that they could. Why do we do so only after a crisis situation?
During the 1993 riots I suggested to the then Governor that men from the Army drawn from various castes and creeds with their name tags, deployed in Mumbai to control the riots, be paraded in sensitive riot stricken areas to demonstrate physically that in the Army there is communal unity. Inducted from Pune to restore communal harmony was 13 Grenadiers that had Muslim troops. The Subedar Major of this Unit was a sturdy Rajasthani Muslim who said with pride that irrespective of a mixed composition of caste or creed his battalion would do its duty in restoring communal harmony impartially. In yet another case I received a frantic call from Malad that a Muslim woman and her three small children were threatened by a rampaging mob that they would be burnt alive. This writer sent an SOS to the nearest column of the Army and within 10 minutes the problem was averted. It is a matter of regret that the media does not publish such an exemplary model of secularism as it exists in the Armed Forces. It does not matter from where our men come, to what creed or caste they belong, but what matters is that they are all one.
I was in Kashmir as second in command of a battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Militia with personnel drawn from the state - 95 per cent Kashmiri Muslims and five per cent Valley Dogras and Sikhs. The only other Indian Army Officer was the Commanding Officer who was a Sikh. Being uncertain of what could happen, for the first week I slept with a pistol under my pillow. Within a week the union gelled and no longer did I fear of any untoward incident. I recall leading a patrol to a 10,000 ft feature to check if it was occupied. Except for his Dogra sahayak and one Sikh soldier, the rest were all Kashmiri Muslims who conducted themselves as true soldiers and after 24 hours the patrol returned to base silently after accomplishing the mission. Thirty one years later, this very same Unit commanded by a highly decorated Gorkha Colonel, was part of the operational division in the Valley when I took over the command. In the 1971 War, the Battalion was tasked to capture two important enemy posts - Losar 1 and 2. Losar 1 was captured but while attacking Losar 2 the assaulting companies were running out of ammunition. Without hesitation, an enlisted Safaiwala grabbed hold of ammunition belts and without fear for his safety rushed forward and in the process of completing his task he was killed. His name was Sonaullah and he was a Valley Muslim. He was awarded Vir Chakra immediately after his death. In J & K in 1947 Brigadier Mohammed Usman, Parachute Regiment, was the first Brigadier to lose his life in the attack on Jhangar. The first senior IAF casualty in J & K in 1947 was Wing Commander Noronha who was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously. In the 1965 War in the Chamb Sector, Brigadier Behram Master of the Punjab Regt. was killed. In the 1971 War, among the 25,000 regular and para military forces, there were 356 castes and creeds represented - Hindus of all castes, Sikhs including Mazabi Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Adivasi tribals, and even two Parsis. Yet no one questioned the fact that the Commanding General was a Christian. In the Tangdhar Sector, a Subedar Rajab Ali of the Rajputana Rifles insisted that the Muslim Company of 8 Rajputana Rifles be given the privilege of launching the first attack in the Lipa Valley. He was killed in action leading his platoon and was awarded the Vir Chakra posthumously for his bravery.
Finally, which country in the world would handover the national security to minorities as India has done? So far we have had two Parsi and a Muslim Air Chief; five Christian and one Parsi Naval Chief; a Christian Army Chief, and a Muslim Deputy Chief of the Army Staff in charge of Policy and Plans?
Why so? Because our Armed Forces are secular in thought, word and deed. They are totally apolitical and respect all faiths.
Finally a visit to the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regimental Centre in Srinagar will reveal that in the middle of this well-laid out Centre is the common centre of worship with a mosque, mandir, gurudwara, and Buddhist vihara.
Need one say more to prove that the Armed Forces practise what they preach “Hum Sab Jan Ek Hain?”

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