Some interesting stories about Indian Army:
I promise you this is interesting. This one is about the 1965 Indo-Pak war. At the time the arguments were heating up that war is gonna begin, my maternal-grandfather, and Indian Army soldier (Mr. L.C. Sharma, say X), with four others was sent into Pakistan across the border to inspect the preparations of Pakistani Army. They hid in a sugarcane field as it is a tall grass and also most of the fields there were sugarcane only. The field hadknee deep water filled in (sugarcane is a water consuming crop). They were expected to send information that night and the next morning the Indian army would proceed with all its gunpowder ! Accidentally, one of them who was holding the communication wireless slipped and fell into water. The wireless did not have any water-proof features. So, theylost their communication. They were unable to send any messages. They tried soaking water from the box but it just didn't respond. X had earlier worked with signal systems but none of his talent was of much use here. They had to wait till the morning Sun to come up and dry their radio but light also brought danger !
To escape from getting sighted, they lay in the water in the sugarcane field with just their heads out of water. They had no food packets or water bottles (it was not expected to be a picnic into the rival country). So, they depended on sucking sugarcane juice from the unripe crop.
On the other side, receiving no information from its agents, the Indian Army thought they were captured and decided to proceed. So, the border heated up ! The radio did dry up and started working till the evening, but by thenthe Pakistani Army had proceeded too and had left them behind. So they were inside Pakistan now, guarded by hundreds of Pakistani soldiers ahead of them towards the border. They could move neither side. Going further inside Pakistan would simply mean losing all hopes of a return to their beloved country. Towards the border was this large Pakistani battalion in front of five of them. They decided to keep laid in the field. One more night. Crawling in the same water where one does pee and poo. At night they contacted the Indian Army in hope of any help but it was in vain as the armies were just close to facing each other and there was no way Indians could back away from the border (which could mean Pakistanis to back away and thus remove the barricade they had been for these five soldiers).
Here was the realization that from this point of time, their life is uncertain. Any inspection light could reveal them if they did the slightest movement. Any little sound of human murmur would invite the wrath of the giant cruel enemy. For the next five days, they lay there in the field sucking sugarcane juice and dipping in the water to hide at the sound of any footsteps nearby. The sound of distant fires always attracted attention but it also gave the satisfaction that the enemy was not nearby. They had decided a formation in case any small group attacks them. There were many instances at nights when they felt "this is it, the end of life" at the sounds of vehicles passing by. Wearing wet clothes for 6 continuous days had started itch in nearly every part of the body and their skin went red. Sometimes, death seemed better than the itch.
On the seventh night, a hopeful message came from the Indian Army that they had shifted the attention of the Pakistani battalion to another part of the border for a little timebut the five of them should not expect any flowery paths in their return. There was the fear of some of the enemies still being there. But if there was any chance to go back to their country, it was this. Few hours would determine their fate. They started on their way, crawling and hiding. Thankful to god, as they were in the end, they met no enemy except for some empty bombarded vehicles which they had to observe for a few minutes before passing by them.
On the seventh morning, they were in their homeland, their faces pale and the skin red. On the eight day, they were sent with another battalion to join their friends at the front :)
- As narrated by my maternal-grandfather to me around 7 years ago.
To escape from getting sighted, they lay in the water in the sugarcane field with just their heads out of water. They had no food packets or water bottles (it was not expected to be a picnic into the rival country). So, they depended on sucking sugarcane juice from the unripe crop.
On the other side, receiving no information from its agents, the Indian Army thought they were captured and decided to proceed. So, the border heated up ! The radio did dry up and started working till the evening, but by thenthe Pakistani Army had proceeded too and had left them behind. So they were inside Pakistan now, guarded by hundreds of Pakistani soldiers ahead of them towards the border. They could move neither side. Going further inside Pakistan would simply mean losing all hopes of a return to their beloved country. Towards the border was this large Pakistani battalion in front of five of them. They decided to keep laid in the field. One more night. Crawling in the same water where one does pee and poo. At night they contacted the Indian Army in hope of any help but it was in vain as the armies were just close to facing each other and there was no way Indians could back away from the border (which could mean Pakistanis to back away and thus remove the barricade they had been for these five soldiers).
Here was the realization that from this point of time, their life is uncertain. Any inspection light could reveal them if they did the slightest movement. Any little sound of human murmur would invite the wrath of the giant cruel enemy. For the next five days, they lay there in the field sucking sugarcane juice and dipping in the water to hide at the sound of any footsteps nearby. The sound of distant fires always attracted attention but it also gave the satisfaction that the enemy was not nearby. They had decided a formation in case any small group attacks them. There were many instances at nights when they felt "this is it, the end of life" at the sounds of vehicles passing by. Wearing wet clothes for 6 continuous days had started itch in nearly every part of the body and their skin went red. Sometimes, death seemed better than the itch.
On the seventh night, a hopeful message came from the Indian Army that they had shifted the attention of the Pakistani battalion to another part of the border for a little timebut the five of them should not expect any flowery paths in their return. There was the fear of some of the enemies still being there. But if there was any chance to go back to their country, it was this. Few hours would determine their fate. They started on their way, crawling and hiding. Thankful to god, as they were in the end, they met no enemy except for some empty bombarded vehicles which they had to observe for a few minutes before passing by them.
On the seventh morning, they were in their homeland, their faces pale and the skin red. On the eight day, they were sent with another battalion to join their friends at the front :)
- As narrated by my maternal-grandfather to me around 7 years ago.
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