THE ANATOMY OF POINT BLANK COURAGE
September 8, 2011 by Team SAI
Filed under internal security
Maj Gen Raj Mehta, AVSM, VSM (Retired)
Courage is a moral quality; it is not a chance gift of nature like an aptitude for games. It is a cold choice between two alternatives, the fixed resolve not to quit; an act of renunciation which must be made not once but many times by the power of the will.
~ Lord Charles Wilson, 1st Baron of Moran, MC, in “The Anatomy of Courage (1945)”.
The individual activity of one man with backbone will do more than a thousand men with a mere wishbone.
~ William J.H. Boetcker
This article records the extraordinary saga of one of our bravest-of-brave young officers; Lt Navdeep Singh, 15 MARATHA LI, who died in the early hours of 20 August 2011 so that the Tricolour would continue to fly proudly…over the Alpine heights of the heart-breakingly beautiful Gurais Valley; over the fierce spirit of the Army in Kashmir and elsewhere; its brave hearts who continue to unhesitatingly give up their lives for the Motherland day after day over the last 64 years. It is a plea, an advisory to the Nation not to let such sacrifices remain unrequited; to honour its brave dead in word and in deed…
An Operational Overview
Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, AVSM**, SM, VSM, the commanding General in Kashmir remembers that it was 2.30 AM when he was woken up by the strident, insistent ring of his cordless phone. Instantly alert – the lives of officers engaged in active operations depend on this – he intuitively sensed that something had gone amiss. It had. Lt Navdeep Singh; the peppy young officer he recalled having complimented at the Corps Battle School scant days back for his professionalism, had attained martyrdom near village Bagtor in Gurais Valley, North Kashmir, in a fierce encounter with Lashkar terrorists. In so doing, he had joined that universally lauded rarest-of-rare club of Brave Hearts honoured since the Battle of Thermopylae in Greece in 480 BC. Their stark epitaph reads: “Here we lie; having fulfilled our orders”. Navdeep, as the rookie Ghatak (commando) platoon commander of 15 MARATHA LI charged with ambushing a group of Pakistani intruders with his “Ganpats” (as Maratha soldiers are affectionately called), had indeed fulfilled his orders in the finest traditions of the Indian Army. He had paid the price.
The lay reader may wonder how Generals take the grim news of brave death in the war zone. How do they absorb the shock of losing precious lives; lives often cheerfully given away for something as amorphous as protection of the Motherland; protection of the very Idea of India? It is probable that General Hasnain, the Army Commander at Udhampur and the Army Chief at Delhi would have reacted similarly. Visibly they would have taken the news with a calm, imperturbable demeanour. Internally, they would all have bled, grieving for a dynamic young man who had so much to offer but who dared to knock on death’s door so that his mission was not compromised. They would all have saluted his sacrifice, fiercely proud of the noble logic of his death so movingly expressed by Macaulay: “How can a Man die Better than facing Fearful Odds, For the Ashes of His Fathers and the Temples of His Gods”. Indeed; Lt Navdeep Singh could not have died better, having fulfilled his orders in a manner that his Paltan, his Army and his family will immortalize. Will his country do that too? Or will his love and sacrifice for his country remain unrequited in the manner of the haunting, tragic, timeless legend of Habba Khatoon that still endures in Gurais…? More on this later…
That cold dawn of 20 August 2011, as the Corps Commander’s helicopter hovered to land at Rana Post in Gurais, the helicopter carrying Lt Navdeep’s dead body was taking off for Srinagar’s Base Hospital. The General’s visit to the encounter site to absorb the sense of Navdeep’s selfless act of heroism revealed all. His CO, Lt Col Girish Upadhya, SM** had instinctively taken the right decision when informed about the crossing of the Kishanganga River by Lashkar terrorists. He had ordered Navdeep to relocate his Ghataks to the general area on the river bank to interdict them. Thereafter, it was Navdeep and his brilliant tactical acumen all the way. The results lay there for all to see: the six dead Lashkar terrorists that Navdeep and his team had killed; the massed collection of weapons; radios and warlike material; the rubber dinghy and incontrovertible proof that the bodies of six more terrorists had got washed away by the swift waters downstream to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). It isn’t everyday that an intruding dirty dozen gets shot in one encounter…Navdeep had undoubtedly engineered something special but at grievous cost to himself.
The Physical and Sociological Construct of Gurais Valley
The sacrifice by Navdeep, in order to be seen in its proper context, needs a background to which the reader can relate to; in terms of the location, environment, demography, social construct and historicity of the place where it occurred. Let us go then; you and I, let us make our visit to Navdeep’s world; a world which he so briefly lit up with his personality and derring-do and where his life blood oozed out on the sands of the sapphire toned river…
Gurais (Gurez) Valley is a secluded, fertile Alpine valley, carved through the inner Himalayas by the tempestuous Kishanganga River, called Neelam River in POK. It is located south of and parallel to the high-altitude Line of Control LC) that divides the India and POK and is 86 kilometers from Bandipur town, its District Headquarters. Srinagar is a six hour journey from Gurais. The last Indian village, located just short of the LC is called Bagtor, after which the river takes a sudden 90 degree turn towards the north.
It is a village of great religiosity, possessing a shrine of one of the seven “Sayyads” (followers) of the revered Islamic missionary, Shah-e-Hamadan, who came to Kashmir in 1372 from Iran. Gurais is peopled by ethnic Dards/Shins; Sunni Muslims who speak the ancient Shina language. Their population of around 30,000 is spread over 15 villages. Gurais is snowed out for seven months a year. While describing it, Walter Lawrence in his landmark book, The Valley of Kashmir, wrote: “Gurais is a lovely valley five miles in length…The Kishanganga River flows through it, and on either side tower mountains of indescribable grandeur. The valley is extremely picturesque, as the river comes dashing along through a rich meadow, partly covered with lindens, walnut and willow trees, while the mountains on either side present nothing but a succession of the most abrupt precipices and Alpine lodges, covered with fir trees.” The river supports the much sought after Snow, Brown and Rainbow trout. Gurais was always a popular destination for high grade foreign tourists; being visited by F D Roosevelt, before he became the 32nd US President. The temperamental 11, 672 feet high Razdan Pass over the Shamshabari Range, connects Gurais with the rest of Kashmir. It also divides the two regions on geographical, socio-cultural and linguistic lines. Eight kilometers ahead of Bagtor and on the POK side are the ruins of the ancient Indian seat of learning; Sharda Temple and Sharda Peeth, a famous University to which Hindus and Buddhists from all over Asia came for learning. The Kashmiri “Sharda Script” evolved here, which linguists consider is the precursor of the Kashmiri language.
Gurais falls along the ancient Silk Route that connected Kashmir Valley to Gilgit and the rest of Central Asia. It is the water-shed where the ancient Central Asian and Indo-Aryan languages and cultures met and interacted. It is in this area, ahead of Bagtor village and short of Sharda Peeth that the herioc Lt Navdeep Singh breathed his last.
Setting the Stage for the Ambush
Next to a soldier’s life, the next most valued enabler in operations is “hard” Intelligence. It is also the most difficult to obtain and involves complex planning and assiduous, follow up as also an element of luck and chance. Everything, it seemed, had fallen into place when Intelligence was received from J and K Police sources on night 19 August 11, about an attempted crossing of the Kishanganga River. 15 MARATHA LI was immediately alerted. At 12.30 AM on 20 August, the unit ambushes deployed north of Bagtor reported movement of black dungaree clad terrorists along the river bed in the Durmat forest area. The terrorists were observed inflating a rubber dinghy; thereafter being ferried across the river. The officiating CO, Lt Col Girish Upadhya, SM**, twice decorated for gallantry, sensed a great opportunity and ordered Lt Navdeep Singh, his Commando Platoon commander, to urgently readjust his ambushes to trap the intruders. The ground implementation was, of course, left to the young officer. Navdeep, his blood racing, quickly readjusted the ambush party of Naib Subedar Mengare Ganpati, which was an additional resource allotted to him as well as and his own strength of 1 JCO and 18 soldiers; and briefed them. He deliberately located himself at the head of his chosen “killing ground”. There was nothing left thereafter but to wait with bated breath and growing anticipation. It was 1.10 AM… Through the enveloping, velvety darkness, the blurred silhouettes of the intruders could be made out by Lt Navdeep and his men…
The Ambush is Sprung
“No one will open fire before I do…” No one who heard this menacing, lethal, no-nonsense whispered radio command by young Lt Navdeep Singh to his and Subedar Ganpati’s tense ambush parties could have doubted the need for its implicit obedience. As the heavily armed Pakistani Lashkar terrorists cautiously but unsuspectingly approached the ambush site through the misty darkness, one needed raw guts and exceptional control over mind and body to slow down the savage adrenalin driven pounding of the heart and freeze a nervous finger on the trigger; hold fire till that critical last moment when missing the target was no longer an issue. “In several past encounters the Army has failed to kill terrorists or only injured them because the engagement commenced at a range too far away to guarantee success” emphasises General Hasnain. Veterans vociferously agree. They will tell you that the acme of military skill lies in choosing where to lay the ambush, and, more importantly, springing it when the prey is in the “killing ground”; so close that you can see “the whites of his eyes”. When you do that, you know that the survivors will retaliate viciously, all weapons blazing. The implication is clear: holding back fire to ensure sure-shot military success is fraught with extreme danger and often extracts a savage price.
In the event, Navdeep’s men displayed great fire discipline; letting him open fire first. Navdeep eliminated three terrorists with his opening bursts. Thereafter, all hell broke loose as a fierce fire fight broke out. His buddy, Sepoy Vijay Gajare was hit on his face while engaging three terrorists who had rushed for cover in the scattered rocks. Seeing his buddy wounded, Navdeep retaliated, shooting one terrorist dead, but was shot on his head by the others. Nothing daunted, he yanked Gajare to safety even as he bled profusely, firing till he lost consciousness.
His incensed peers shot the other two terrorists, the remaining intruders shot by the well placed ambush party of Naib Subedar Magare Ganpati as they tried to get across the river. In the exchange of fire, Ganpati also suffered a gunshot wound on his head. Thus, six more terrorists were seen falling into the fast flowing river…their bodies, weapons and accoutrements swept into POK.
It was 1.20 AM on 20 August 2011. Though it had seemed like an eternity, only 10 minutes had passed before it was all over… On that chill early morning, behind the broken rock cover that was available, fearless Lt Navdeep Singh, rookie Ghatak Platoon Commander, 15 MARATHA LI lay still; the driven officer who had let his Ghatak Platoon to success in the recently held Inter-Battalion Ghatak Platoon Competition lay dead; shot through the head, a mere 10 point blank meters away from the four terrorists he had killed. SS-44448A Lt Navdeep Singh was no more…Long live Navdeep and his deathless spirit. Around him, were the lethal automatic weapons, warlike material, codes, ciphers, GPS and hi-fi communication devices of the terrorists whose death’s he had so bravely and selflessly scripted.
A Life Well Lived…
“It was just three weeks ago that I met Lt Navdeep Singh at the Corps Battle School,” says Gen Hasnain with a tinge of remorse. “He was introduced to me as a bustling, dynamic young officer; a person who had stood head and shoulders above all in the physical and mental domain of training and tactical exercises for newly inducted officers into the Valley…I did not fail to remind my 1000 strong audience that theirs was a generation of soldiers to whom the Indian Army and the Nation owed so much… for the sheer discomfort and psychological pressure they were undergoing in the formative years of their career; for their immeasurable sacrifices – something for which the honour, respect and attribution due to them was still in the Institutional pipeline…
Post induction training, 15 MARATHA LI entered Gurais on 19 August 2011. Exactly four months later, they had performed a stunning feat-of-arms that will power the Army; energize its soldiers for many years to come, but at the cost of the life of the “baby” of their proud unit; Lt Navdeep Singh, who had not yet cut his professional teeth by doing the Young Officer’s course, before fidelity to his Paltan and to India claimed his life.
“It was my honored duty to lead the ceremony paying last respects to the fallen warrior on the soil where he had fallen – in Kashmir… While doing so I was sure that his is not a sacrifice in vain. Along the Line of Control, in jungles and woods, along meadows and springs and in rocky outcrops and pinnacles at obscene heights, officers and men of this great Army continue to be inspired by the deeds of warriors like Navdeep, swearing allegiance to the Tricolour and to their Unit Cap Badges.” This is the poignant tribute that Gen Ata Hasnain has chosen to give to this third generation soldier; a soldier whose Grand Father wore the colours of 8 SIKH; whose Father was a proud Bengal Sapper, and whose younger brother, Sandeep Singh, an Engineering student, is now determined to follow the family’s proud martial traditNavjot Kaur, the beloved younger sister of Navdeep whom he spoilt silly, as indulgent brothers often do, is a chatty topper and was as fiercely proud of Navdeep as he was of her…She expresses that intensity in a graphic, moving, surprisingly confident yet heart-breaking manner. Post BA (Hons) which she topped, she is doing her final year Masters in English and is focused on becoming an iconic Professor in English.
Navdeep used to tease her, telling her that her fascination with the uniform must result in marriage. She is determined to marry a fauji because this has been her childhood dream and because Navdeep wanted it that way. She gently lets me know that Navdeep, a romantic at heart, was engaged to a delightful girl who is working as an officer in the financial sector. They were hopelessly in love and were to get married in October this year, “chutti milne par” (on getting leave) as he would laughingly joke with Navjot. Sadly, that will not come to pass. This love will remain unrequited, just like the sad, unrequited tale of love that legend and history have made Gurais so renowned for…
Gurais’s most formidable peak at 12,600 feet is Habba Khatoon. This bare, pyramid shaped limestone peak is named after the Kashmiri poetess, Habba Khatoon. She was a beautiful and intelligent woman in soorat and in seerat (beautiful from within and without) whose life is shrouded in antiquity. Born in 1560, one legend portrays her as the ethereally beautiful daughter of the Raja of Gurais while another strand of the legend identifies her as a stunningly good looking peasant girl from Chandrahar village, Pampore (famous for its saffron), who was called ”Zoon/Zooni” (Kashmiri for the blemish-free full Moon) for her looks.
The legendary Zooni, better known as the tragic Queen, Habba Khatoon
This strand depicts her as the daughter of a poor farmer, who married her to an illiterate boy named Aziz Lone in payment of his debts. Zooni was ill-treated by her mother-in-law and husband, spending most of her time in poetry and singing. The King of Kashmir Yousuf Shah Chak, while out hunting, chanced upon her and was entranced by her singing, beauty, intelligence and poetry. He married her, giving her the name of Habba Khatoon to lend her respectability. He was, however, a debauch, who was imprisoned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1579, spending his remaining days in captivity in village Biswak, Bihar, where he is entombed. Habba Khatoon, then 19, used to wander near the peak that overlooks village Tilel and its bountiful springs, singing songs of a love that never came her way. Both peak and springs bear her name. Habba Khatoon died in grief 20 years later at the prime of her youth. Her heart rending songs of unrequited love are extremely popular in Kashmir and can be accessed on the internet/Utube.
A Brave Heart’s story ends…What did Navdeep bring to the Table?
In his brief life, Navdeep brought to the table, in the prescient words of Lord Moran, cold courage as a moral and physical choice; an act of renunciation that he knew could result in his death. His men knew this as well as he did, and were fired up; “ignited” as it were, by his grit and daring. Gen Hasnain, in humble tribute, says, “As their leader, I need not inspire them; it is they who inspire me, never failing to awe with their passion, their sheer audacity in operations, their willingness to take risks…as an inevitable part of their profession…” There could be no better tribute.
Courage, pluck, daring, heroism…whatever name this inner calling may be known by, isn’t just a gift. This young man grew this spirit; cultivated it; harvested it. He did so with a backbone of tempered steel. With an MBA and a Hotel Management degree behind him, he was “Ivy League”; could have gone into safe, well paying jobs if that was his sole intent in life. Obviously that wasn’t the case. Like Capt Vikram Batra before him, he scorned death; exchanging it for mission completion; his mind cast in the same, golden “Yeh Dil Mange More” (My heart seeks greater challenges) alchemy that led Vikram to immortality and a PVC during the Kargil War of 1999.
His CO, Adjutant, his platoon JCO and buddy recall him as an exceptionally gifted, warm, tough but caring officer who was cut out for a great, ethical, value laden career. His JCO and buddy recall him with proud, unabashed tears; the officers with great dignity and restraint, but passionately, none-the-less.
I am dead certain Navdeep did not want to die. No motivated, gifted, loving, young person does; especially when he has the world at his feet. He had it all; a potentially brilliant career; loving parents and siblings; peer respect, capability and capacity…He was in love; with a beautiful girl; with life; with Gurais and its extraordinary magic… He wanted to live but with the military honour of his unit; his proud Maratha Light Infantry Regiment, serving the nation since 1768 intact. He had the courage to take a call and took it – he dared to be the best and was.
Does his sacrifice mean anything to We, the 1.2 Billion People of India; the India for whom this officer gave it all up and in such an inspirational manner? Do we really celebrate, cherish and perpetuate the memories of these deathless brave hearts that have died for the Idea of a safe and secure India with such metronomic regularity and selflessness whenever India was threatened? God does not make men better than he makes soldiers. He puts his noblest quality in them; of sacrificing all for the larger good. Take care, India! Take care, the Government of the day! Take care people! Do not let the love that these brave hearts have displayed for you remain unrequited as was the case with the tragic Habba Khatoon… Look after your soldiers with honesty and nobility in life, in death and in retirement because they represent the ideal of man and woman hood that you all strive for but rarely reach. They are special.
Beautiful and heart warming story. Very well written. Deserves to be published in national newspapers and journals. The sorrow is that the supreme sacrifice of a young man in love with and in the prime of life is not recognised in this country by the powers that be. The only people who will grieve for him and will understand the loss to his parents and siblings are those of his fraternity. The general public has only a vague idea. While some will express sorrow, it will by and large be forgotten within a week. What can one do to wake the public conscience?
Kris Tee, cant make out your gender from your code name but that is not material; your wonderful thoughts are. These will be reflected to the family and Navdeep’s Unit. The public conscience also comprises of warm, caring, wonderful people like you. I do wish there were more than you 12 brave hearts who have responded…we are 1.2 billion, after all. Thank you.
My Salute to our Dare-Devil Soldiers like Lt Navdeep Singh who lay down their lives to protect us and our Motherland.. May ” Satbudhi ” be given to our Govt. to honour our brave soldiers like him, who loose their lives to protect us, and there families are looked after well by GOI, after their Martyrdom.. Vande Mataram
Dear Mr Kundra,
We are facebook friends, so have an idea of where you come from. Thank you for your encouraging remarks which will comfort the brave hearts family and Unit. Amritsar needs far more Vaneet’s. A small Gurudwara outside the Golden Temple celebrates the 22 Saragarhi dead; a feat for which, on this day, in 1897, the whole British House of Lords rose to a man and applauded…compared it with the deathless Spartans who died at the battle of Thermopylae, 480 BC. That was Institutional regard for noble death; not the dishonour that is enacted today for our Navdeep’s, batra’s, Thapar’s, Pandey’s…All the 36 SIKH (now 16 SIKH) dead were awarded the equivalent of the Victoria Cross…today’s PVC. In the 155 year old history of the VC, it has never been awarded to so many for one action that finished in five hours…
Beautifully written. I am surprised the General is looking for anything from the nation. At best Lt. Navdeep, may get a few kudos for his supreme act of bravery & sacrifice from citizens at large.
A nation which does not honour & respect it soldiers will always remain a flailing nation on the brink always of getting there but never arriving.Our brave have yet shown through the blood & sacrifice, that we will protect the sovereignty of our beloved nations at all costs.
We do not even have a war memorial for our soldiers for all the sacrifices that have been made by them, despite lack of proper & adequate armament & equipment and poor political leadership. Sri Lanka has just dedicated one to our IPKF for its contribution & sacrifice in their civil ethnic strife.
Sanjeev, correct me please, if I am wrong, but you have to be from that great family of Captain (Indian Navy) AN Mulla, MVC, who chose to go down with INS Khukri during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, ensuring safe evacuation for his sailors even as he was going down. To sit on the Captains Chair on the Bridge of a torpedoed sinking Ship that you commanded, calls for that kind of a courage that demanded a PVC… He has left behind a grieving family, though I wish he had left behind a grieving nation, which is certainly NOT the case.
Your point of national callousness is thus reinforced. Indeed,having lost thousands of brave dead, we still do not have a resting place for them in an ungrateful nation’s heart. Congress, BJP, Coalitions; they are all the same. They do not care. They should.
Yes, Sri Lanka has honoured us. So has Germany, UK, Turkey…The memorial at Galipoli, overlooking the Isle of Troy, in Greece, moves you. The Commonwealth Graves Commission honours our 4000 dead there and in such fashion that you cry.
We dishonour our dead.
All manner of “courageous” behaviour will continue, in the post colonial mini-wars, perhaps till the end of 21st century. In the ensuing “post Arab spring,” post South Asian mini wars, and in the consolidation of political geography thereafter, the role of people with courage will be looked at to decide what was really courageous and what was mere quixotic indulgence in valour.
Most present phenomena of courage may be of no historical importance, may be even fatuous.
Sultan Geelani
Geelani,
The likes of Navdeep and the honored dead know what is valour and courage. The likes of you, who feed off the bravery of others will never know what these words mean. For you, posting cowardly comments on the internet qualifies as courage. For Navdeep and his ilk, putting others before self was just another day in his life and it is that selflessness which defines courage. Something you will never achieve and which is why your ilk will never win.
You talk about courage of people. You are counted in the people. Can you recount even 1 instance of courage you have done other than coming here and passing of comments to something you have no idea about. Forget about courage, you have no honor.
I have the honour of knowing the author personally for a qr of century and serving under him in a field formation. Not all can feel the conviction, solidarity and heart of the General that has gone into this piece of writing. I can feel each of his goose pimple while he runs down the battle study. Sir, a great tribute to Lt Navdeep Singh and those who die carrying out orders.
Our Nation’s disrespect to soldiers is slowly poisoning the fiber of our Army. It’s fall from grace will only stop at a point which matches our Nation’s worthiness.
Sir, keep writing.
Raj, I am touched. We rolled together in the North East and respected each other; My respect being for a brilliant young officer who was far better than I; You for a Cavalry maverick who was a shameless trier and an optimist. My USP of being an eternal optimist remains intact. You and I; amm aadmi; can change India. I am making a small effort; so are you, with cold courage and dedication that is probably unsurpassed. Most of your accountable bones are broken; yet you cope and so well…Salaams to you. Navdeep is inside so many of us, it isn’t even funny.All these great responses from you, Sanjeev, Kundra, Kristee will be mailed to family and Unit.
Sir, the nation does not disrespect the soldiers. We look upto you and will continue to do so. The current power hungry types currently holding political power and their media goons are a different story. We common folk have no truck with them. Our respect for the services continues unabated. J
I am privileged to read this story highlighting the gallant deed and sacrifice of Navdeep so poignantly. Ever so often these valiant instances make only cursory headlines on the National news. Alas.
This Nation needs to realize the high price that we are constantly having to pay for the failure of a much larger issue…..our inaction and weak resolve not to use our superior capabilities to deter the enemy. For how long will we continue to endure ? How often will we have to remind the Nation that ‘we gave our today for their tomorrow’.
Salute to the men in uniform and the ethos that we strive for. Let there be no doubt that there is no profession that is more noble than the Army, no profession so pure and eternal.
Long live Navdeep and what this courageous youngster stood for. Navdeep, you have made us hold our heads high. May your name be etched in gold in the annals of the regiment and in the history of the IA.
Surinder, our main stream media and certainly our otherwise breathless TV channels that can spend 22 hours out of 24 on politics and politicians; on self righteous condemnation of the world excepting for themselves; on aircraft reviving bathroom slippers full of glitter and on mindless cine “heroes and heroines” mouthing mindless platitudes to canned laughter have NO time for the real heroes and heroines who will destroy their young lives in serving an ungrateful nation.
I have deliberately made this paragraph as long as their breathless prattle.
While all laud the USA for creating a great memorial for the 9/11 dead, have they noted that the US President receives most dead bodies personally? Meets families for TWO HOURS or more of dead PVC equivalent soldiers who died for USA?
Jinhe Naaz hai Hind par, Kahan Hain, Kahan Hain, Kahaan Hain?
The Author is a from a different breed ie the Officers and Generals who possess both courage and compassion I had the good fortune of Serving with him on numerous occassions he is passionate about the cause of Kashmir,despite being a TANK MAN three tours of duty in the high hills speaks for itself that too after having been sprayed with a shower of bullets and continuing to come back and lead by example speaks volumes of “GHAZI BABA” if I have the permission to use this name, Therefore what he writes as an ode to Young Navedeep is pure passion and reverence for the daring cub as the General feels from his heart for such martyrs I unfortunately for almost a decade have lost touch with him but this article has revived numerous memories and if by any chance if it is possible can I source his email and revive the relationship.
Maninder
raj_s_mehta12@yahoo.com
Maninder, you rascal…! When a tall, fair and deadly handsome young man gets married to a beautiful girl post his Valley tenure with Ganapathy and Ghazi Baba, do you really expect him to respond to mails, calls?!!
We all were young once (Ghazi is now 64) and remember what it means to be young…Forgiven!
Indeed, Maninder, we went through a lot. Your Paltan was finally recommended for the Chiefs Unit Citation, wasn’t it? Entirely well deserved…after Ajay, his Sikh operator (lost both legs, told Ghazi as the chopper took off with him; (I want to come back and revenge Maj Ajay’s death); the encounter with the HM honcho; Harbir and his dastardly death and the encounter thereafter…One can write a book the size of Gone with the Wind, really…Maybe I will.
You guys taught me the little I know. That gave me the courage to come back after the Gun Shot Wound, after the innuendos (Why did he have to get shot? Brigadiers don’t get into encounters!) and worse…
I came back to people who had overcome their fears for country good’ for izzat, paltan, Saare Jahaan Se Accha, Hindoostan hamara. I was lucky and blessed.
Really small change that the country does not care. It will one day. Email me at raj_s_mehta12@yahoo.com, Col Maninder!
Kudos to southasianidea.com & the author for this article. It was a previledge to just read the story of Lt Navdeep Singh.
Indeed, SAI deserves all the credit for posting the article as well as its thoughtful commentaries on world geo politics.
I SALUTE LT NAVDEEP SINGH. HE IS MY HERO.ALL INDIANS ARE PROUD OF MY HERO
Thank you Sir. We are all honoured.
An extremely well written article by a Gen. officer. It is indeed heartening that he remembers intimate details of Lt Navdeep and having lauded him for his professionalism when the YO commanded a Ghatak Pl during training in Corps Battle School.The youngster lead from the front as per the tradition of the Indian Army. He performed the task assigned to his team beyond the call of duty, by saving a comrade when he himself bled. My God bless his soul and our heart goes out to the family that suffered an irrepareble loss.
It is very strange, such news of bravery and army’s acts of excellence do not find adequate and correct space in the Media. The elctronic media ( some channels ) are generally bereft of the details of such acts of bravery and what to talk of flashing a photograph of the Martyr when covering such news. Apart from the media, the attitude of general public is also a bit apathetic. For them, a political leader catching cold or one found sleeping in the parliament makes a better news.
I think, the time is not far when suitable and the right material for the armed forces will not be forthcoming and the Govt resort to a short stint of 1-2 years in the armed forces for the candidates aspiring for the civil services at all levels.
C M S
Ithink that each of these tales of heroism must be given maximum publicity I had tears rolling down as I read each and every word of the account as given by the General All praise to Navdeep
S Msnon Mother of an army officer
Dear Ma’am,
In the 1971 Indo-Pak War, my Mother had four sons taking part. I was in the West and my three other brothers in the East, all on widely spaced axes of entry into erstwhile East Pakistan.
Within the first three days, my younger brother was wounded in an attack by him on a Pak bunker. My Mother bore that news calmly. Days later she received a telegram that I had died. She apparently bore that too, telling my sister, “I have two more sons who are still OK”
The telegram was wrongly delivered; another Lt Mehta had died.
I give this personal example to simply let you know that Mothers are special. They are the other name of God.
I am sure you are a proud Mother of a soldier. He is so lucky.
Col Shourie, sir, unlike the main stream media which disposed off the Navneet news in a cursory manner (their normal disposition towards the military), I felt something that was a bit more needed to be done. I have never met the officer. We are not from the same Regiment. I am almost 40 years older than Navdeep was. That said, I did true research, assisted hugely by the Army in Kashmir…I am more than familiar with Gurais and with the Valley, having spent three tenure within eight years there…This helped.
The media is driven by profit; visibility, eyeball count. I was driven by justice and fair play for a young lad.
Your feedback will go to family and Unit and let them know that Navdeep really mattered to the Thinking, Warm Hearted Indian.
sir ur story in CMM jabalpur about this young officer was commendable.really touching. tht day i felt i m in gurais when u described about the place, though i ve not served in the area. hats off to the bravest of brave and hats off to u for ur intrst .
a youngster
CMM Jabalpur
Neelabh, God willing you will serve in Gurais. Once you do, you will realise at first hand, the enormity of Navdeep’s sacrifice.
My interest is that you as a young Ordnance officer should be the finest in your batch and leave a mark behind in all you do; professionally, morally and socially. that will be your real Ode to Navdeep…
Glad you liked the CMM interaction.
Raj
Dear Sir,
I was best friend of Lt. Navdeep Singh Bains, i belongs from Gurdaspur and we both did MBA ( Army Institute of Management, Kolkata ) from same College. We shared our Jai Veeru type friendship from last five years , we came to know about each other starting from introduction at the college gate,then bhangra competitions where we both complemented each other on individual performances in terms of punjabi “gallis” . He often used to ring me up from Gurez and told me about his winning competition.He was very excited to get into armed forces and even motivated me to clear in my last attempt. he was an exception Counter strike player and played with the name of “Junior”. i was shocked to learn about his demise and immediately rushed to his home where i have seen his body and wished he will get up and greet me as he used to when i used to visit his home .
i love u my friend……we miss your presence in my happiness and sorrows.
Sumit, your feed back is something Hony Lt Joginder Singh, Navjot, sandeep and certainly Navdeep’s proud Mum will all treasure. So will the Unit as well as the Army in Kashmir.
He will never get up to physically hug you, son…Mentally, though, he never left you.
He wants you and I to live like fiercely proud Indians; people who can make his kind of sacrifice if needed.
I am willing and ready. I am sure you are too.
Thanks sir for your reply. his sacrifice has motivated me enough… now i will clear my SSB this time and make my friend proud.
Sumit, I am sure you will. Remember, you will enter this time around with a deathless spirit!
I will owe you a warm hug when you do…! We need 13500 more Navdeeps in our Army, Navy and Air Forces. This is the number that we are short of.
Extremely proud of Navdeep!! – ‘jab aab ki oudh nidhan bane.. att hi rann mein joojh maron’.
Many thanks to the General to let larger audience know of the mettle and inspirational act of Navdeep.
Ajay, many thanks for reading the tribute…your words honour the pages and readers of SAI besides of course, Navdeep’s deathless bravery. An Ashok Chakra is what he deserves and I do hope this is what will be announced when it is time for the bells to toll…
Ajay, sorry for neglecting to reply to your response earlier. Indeed, your pride is shared I hope by all 1.2 billion of us. Navdeep was special.
Very Good article about very good perso,i am his batchmate in MBA.He is such a sporty nature men.We all miss him always….With Proud.
Ved, I have written to Director AIM, Kolkata, to honour Navdeep’s memory in a number of ways, such as naming a key facility and your main road after him, instituting the Best Student award in his name, an yearly Memorial lecture; putting up his statue and inviting his parents annually. The AWES is also being tackled. I have suggested as much to the CMM whose erudite and passionate, hugely proud Commandant has decided to publish the Navdeep article without any deletions as also consider some of my AIM suggestions for implementation. The MLI RC is also publishing the article which now stands published in South Asia Defence and Strategy Magazine…
Thank you for your response.
An outstanding article. I read it once, I experienced goose pimples. I read it a second time, I experienced goose pimples and tears welled up in my eyes. I read it a third time. I still had goose pimples and tears still welled up in my eyes. Thank you General, for taking us all the way to Gurais right upto the spot where the gallant action took place.
The officer deserves a Param Vir Chakra.
The article deserves a Pulitzer Prize.
Col Thamayya Udupa, I am indebted to you for your soldierly display of feeling and regard for this young man who valued his country, Paltan and military ethics above his life. May be I failed to mention it, but I will be there in Gurais in October, and in uniform, along with the CO, sitting where Navdeep sat, awaiting his destiny. I will be there at the same time, same location, with his Ghatak men, just to relive what he must have felt in that last hour of his life. I will of course, capture my thoughts in form of a follow up article and hope SAI allows me to share that feeling with you.
Indeed, the officer has presumably been put up for a AC and I am sure millions of us will hope that, unlike Habba, Navdeep will get his due. I have requests to speak about the lad at his RC and at CMM (He was an Ordnance lad att to 15 MLI) and, post my visit to Gurais, will surely do the honours at these places…I motivate young school/college kids on maximising their potential by giving them heroic examples…Navdeep now heads that list. Thank you again.
RIP brother. I hope we all as a collective nation learn from your selfless act for the motherland. Very few have the guts to do what you did. It is because of brave souls like you that we sit back and enjoy our independence and democracy as we call it. Hope the powers that be and nation as a whole read this, understand this and do whatever more is needed for others like you. You have shown us all the way and may god give us the power to follow in your footsteps or atleast try to.
To Maj Gen Raj Mehta,
Sir, Thank you so much for defining and describing what Navdeep stood for. I fully agree with last paragraph you have written. What is all this sacrifice for? An ungrateful nation. A young life is snuffed and many others like him have gone by, but who remembers them. We enjoy our freedom which is granted by brave souls liek him but we never acknowledge it. What a shame and what a waste. Nobody and i mean nobody in the world treat their soldiers so shabbily as we do. I sincerely hope that we the people wake up from our slumber and give credit wheer it is due.
Sir,
Very well written. Absolutely don’t have any words to express our sincere gratitude to the great men.
Government may forget this heroes, but please be aware that there are several people who get inspired by their tales.
Excellent Article. Just came across it today. Showcases the Courage,Selflessness and Spirit of the Officers,JCO’s and Men who give their lives/or put them at risk for the safety and security of the citizens of India and the honour of their regiment.
Sir,
I wish your article is published in the regular media and let the nation know what it takes to defend our motherland. My salute to the late Lt Navdeep Singh for his gallantry and ultimate sacrifice he made so that the nation remains safe. I have no words to write as my eyes are clouded with tears.God bless all of you and your family in the armed forces and accept this humble homage from a fellow Indian.
But for this link that I accessed, I would have been totally unaware of this noble deed of Lt. Navdeep Singh. Salute you Navdeep and my head stands bowed as a mark of respect. Its said that ” respect is earned – not demanded” and Navdeep sure has earned my respect – every bit of it !
Navdeep served his Nation to the last drop of his blood, made his parents and family proud and am sure would be spoken of wherever and whenever BRAVERY is ever discussed !
My heartfelt condolences to navdeeps Family and may God give them courage to bear this irreparable loss !
Ajit, Praful, Gurvir, Harikrishan, Nitin, thank you so much for saluting this bravest of brave sons of India.
The article was published in the MARATHA Regimental Centre Magazine, as also by CMM, Jabalpur, as the officer was an Ordnance officer who was attached to the Burj Battalion for the mandatory Infantry affiliation. A copy was sent to AWES – Army Welfare Education Society – for publication in the Army Management College, Kolkata, where he had done his MBA. They have not bothered to respond. The family – Father, Hony Lt Joginder Singh, Mum, sister Navjot and brother, Sandeep were sent copies of SOUTH ASIA DEFENCE AND STRATEGIC REVIEW where Anatomy and its follow up article; AU REVOIR LT NAVDEEP SINGH, AC (POSTHUMOUS) have been published. I will be requesting the Editor of this blog to publish this follow up article also. Do read it if you have the time. I spoke to the Father on 25th Jan 12 and then got him to speak to Gen Ata Hasnain (who cited him for AC) and Gen Gautam Moorthy, who is Commandant CMM and who allowed me to speak on 20-21 Jan 12 to all available Ordnance officers including 21 lady officers; 6 of whom were his OTA peers, JCO’s and men as also some families.These are the most moving days I have spent in a long time because the audiences paid riveting attention to Navdeep; to Vikram Batra, Vijayant Thapar, Laxmi Bai, Rani of Jhansi as also to that mindset that these brave hearts shared in common; a mindset that places nation above Self, always and every time…Thank you again. India needs citizens like you all…people who care for the Idea of India.
I take this opportunity to thank you too – Gen. Mehta – for taking up the cause of our gallant, selfless soldiers. Although the “no response” from AWES/Army Management College does leave a bitter taste in the mouth, yet, the heartening part is that we have good human beings and courageous leaders like you, who, in their own thoughtful way, are doing a wonderful job of bringing to the notice of the general public the heroic deeds of our bravehearts. What wouldn’t I give to hear discussions on such brave soldiers/deeds on primetime Newshour instead of panelled mundane discussions on the ‘misdeeds” of unscruplous people we could well do without in our country.
Ajit, as the “sutradhar”, I need no mention…I am sure, given my opportunities of having served all over Kashmir; all in combat, you would have done better.
I will be speaking on this issue at OTA Chennai, Navdeeps alma mater, in March. Do let me know if you are close by so that I can arrange your attendance. A talk is likely at Indore too, on 20 Feb 12…Once confirmed, your attendance can be ensured.
It is optimistic to hope for our mainstream channels to pick up Navdeep’s story…bad news, makes breaking news, not tales of ordinary people doing their duty extraordinarily well…So it is “Ketchup” Colonel over this superb lad any day.
Thank you, though.
Your interest is most heartening.
Well done: Lt Navdeep for his courage at the war zone and Gen Mehta for immortalizing the supreme sacrifice. While a civilian officer with long debut at Army HQ, I have had occasion to see several service personnel from the three services. I have been fortunate see my daughter Hem Kusum and son in law Amarendra traing brave sons at NDA. I salute.
Courage is living to believe and believing to live in sync in all sphere of life.
Thank you, sir. I presume that Hem Kusum and hubby Amarendra are Academic Instructors teaching at the NDA. This posting in the Cradle of Military Leadership in India can win them mentees like Navdeep for life. Arun Khetarpal was NDA’s Navdeep and so was Capt Salaria…both of whom got a PVC posthumously.
India needs more of them and Kusum and Amarendra can help as can you yourself, Dr Pandey.
Read the very well written story of the brave heart teary eyed. How can the nation ever repay the debt of supreme sacrifice? Even as the country’s highest honor, Ashok Chakra’ was received by proud father of Navdeep Singh on Republic Day, what next haunts the mind. Too many soldiers have laid their lives for the country and politicians keep making mistakes in resolving the conflict and we the people get busy with nonsense of cushioned life after briefly applauding the likes of Navdeep. Will governments and the civil society, likes of Prashant Bhushan, Arundhati Rai, Dileep Padgaonkar and other so called liberals ever comprehend the tragic loss of our heroes?
Dear Ma’am,
Personally I doubt that the Navdeeps of our Armed Forces weigh on the minds of our interlocutors, facilitators; politicians, whatever.
The Anna cohorts are particularly cynical examples; milking the corruption cow even as they pretend to revolutionise the country’s work ethic.
The Armed Forces will quietly continue with their charter of country first always and every time because they take an oath never to let the country down when inducted and very often live up to it…to receive the respect not by Government, but aam aadmi; aurat like you.
May you pass on the need for more Navdeeps…Women are so credible when they communicate.
Sir,
A very nicely worded prose. It has beautifully brought out the essence which the Johnnies, Bullas, Chhoras, Ganpats or others by whatever name we call them are made of, which is love for the motherland. However it is shameful that some so-called leaders who only preach and promote hate in the garb of liberal politics. Ashok Chakra was posthumously awarded to Inspector Mohan Chandra Sharma of Delhi Police who laid down his life but what was the result, as some scoundrels still challenge his sacrifice.
Nation is what we make of it. Lets change ourselves.
Regards