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The Rediff Special/Amberish K Diwanji

When Death Is A Bullet With Your Name On It

They are young and fresh eyed. Most don't even have a proper hair growth on the lower chin! They have been eagerly waiting for this day when they would begin their onward journey to join their respective battalions serving across the country. These young men, in the age group 17 to 20, are the new jawans of the Indian Army, hailing from the Rajputana Rifles, India's oldest rifle regiment.

Today is their proud moment -- the passing-out parade. They go from being mere boys and recruits to becoming jawans, who would now serve their country and regiment on the battlefields. And the happiest in this group of about 200 are the ones who are being sent to the 2 Rajputana Rifles, which earned a citation two days ago from the Chief of Army Staff General V P Malik.

Not because 2 Rajputana Rifles got the citation (so have the others in the past) but because the 2 Rajputana Rifles is right on the Kargil front where all the action is taking place. The Rajputana Rifles has lost 22 jawans, three junior commissioned officers and five officers.

The new jawans have just finished a 34-week training programme. "The training turns these raw boys into young men, a bit like soft clay being moulded into hard pots," said Brigadier P S Chaudhary, commandant of the Rajputana Rifles, who addressed the jawans.

The Rajputana Rifles soldiers are recruited from the areas of Rajasthan, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh. Again, the recruits are from the castes of Rajputs, Jats, Hindustani Muslims (a term used to describe UP, Rajasthani and north Indian Muslims, as opposed to Deccani Muslims from the south, etc) and certain other castes.

To be selected for the army is in itself a great glory. For every vacant post, there are hundreds of applications with only a select cream making the grade. Then follows the vigorous basic training, where while the stress is on physical fitness, mental agility is not neglected. Thus, this moment when they are finally sworn in as jawans, and sent to serve the nation is great.

Naik Jai Veer Singh Tanwar is one of the trainers of this specific batch. He said the stress of training is in weapon and explosive use and learning to use the terrain to advantage. They are also given language courses (both Hindi and English), and the history of the Indian Army and of their specific regiment.

Part of the latter involves learning to recognise all the rank badges and insignia of the different regiments and formations. "We train them slowly to ensure that they also absorb everything. No point in rushing in information and finding that the boys have not learn it," said Tanwar.

Recalling his own passing out, Tanwar said it is perhaps the happiest moment tinged with sadness. "This is the day that all these boys have been waiting for. From now on, they are soldiers, entitled to their uniforms. But there is sadness because all of them will be dispersed all over the country in different battalions and who knows where you may meet again. After being together for 34 weeks day in and day out, you become close to each other and thus the sadness of saying goodbye," he said.

On the Rajputana Rifles parade ground at the regiment headquarters in Delhi Cantonment, the fresh jawans stood to attention. Their faces betrayed little of the emotions that must have been going through them. They had just taken their oath to serve the nation faithfully, their last act before the address by the commandant.

Prithvee Singh is one of the proud jawans. All of 19 years, he hails from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. Prithvee Singh applied to serve in the army after seeing a newspaper advertisement. About seven thousand turned up for 300 posts!

Prithvee Singh said his parents and family are very happy that he has completed his training. He is going to Jammu and Kashmir. Are his parents worried? "No." Not even his mother? "No."

Do they know he might soon be on the warfront, and what did they say? "They know that I might be taking part in the war. My parents are very happy that I have got a chance to serve the nation," he replied. His parents are farmers in one the thousands villages that dot India's vast landscape.

Manoj Kumar, 19, said he wanted to join the Rajputana Rifles because of its fame. Fresh recruits are asked to list their choices of regiments which is given on the order of merit. Manoj Kumar is heading towards the war zone and he is very happy about that. Is he scared? "No, saab, not at all," he replied. What about his parents, especially his mother? "No, they are not at all worried. My mother only told me to be careful, to obey my officers and to fight bravely," he said proudly.

Has he thought of what he'd like to do ahead? "I have not thought about it so far. Right now, all I want to do is drive the enemy out of our land," he asserted.

Shokat Ali, 20, is joining 2 Rajputana Rifles. This young soldier from Dehra Dun is very happy at the prospect that he might actually see action within a week or so. His only worry is that the war might be over before he gets a chance. "We will drive them out of Kargil soon," he declared.

Are his parents worried? "I guess they might be, but to me they have only said that they are very happy for me and that I should fight bravely," he replied.

Part of the training is instilling discipline and maintaining the naam aur nishan (name and honour of the regiment). Every time the commandant shouted across the regiment's war cry Raja Ramchandar ki... the jawans would resoundingly respond jai!

Yet, how does the army deal with the fear of death, which is all too real in any battle? Brigadier Chaudhary said that the comradeship formed by the jawans during training and later over the years and during action helps overcome any latent fear. "By being together and working as a team, individual fear is repressed. And good training and discipline ensure that the jawans do not let this ever overwhelm them," he said.

Naik Tanwar said during the training, the trainers constantly tell the fresh recruits that death is in the hands of destiny. "You can die any time, any place. Just because you are on a battlefield does not make it much worse. And we tell them that a person only dies when his time has come, never before, never later. Every bullet has a name. If your name is there, nothing can stop it. If your name is not there, nothing can kill you," he said.

"We also tell them that it is infinitely better to take a bullet on the chest than on the back. To run means death. And after what the Pakistanis did to Lieutenant Kalia and his men, we have told them about the risk of becoming prisoners of war. Thus, it is better to fight till the end rather than get captured and then be tortured to death," he added.

Such lessons and tales of valour, told over generations, no doubt instil pride and confidence in the jawans, and help them defend our country.

The Rediff Specials

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