1962
It is said that hindsight is 20/20. In 1962, we lacked that. We lived under the false ceiling of Panchsheel provided by Nehru and Zhou Enlai. We even had the perceived sense of invincibility of Indian Army. Didn’t our 4th Indian Infantry Division defeat the great Field Marshal Rommel’s Afrika Korps? Didn’t our brave Sikhs, Gurkhas and Marathas defeat Germans to capture Monte Casino and win a handful of Victoria Crosses?
Well, our illusion was shattered when the Red Army squarely defeated Indian Army, the very same 4th Infantry Division, now known as 4 Mountain Division. It was a shock that initially numbed the nation. Everyone knows now what happened afterwards. What most people did not know was the spark that kindled a fire in the young men of India. When our leaders gave a call to the nation, ’ Donate!’ people contributed a day’s wages in the Defense Fund. Women gave away their jewelry. However, the young men of India decided to donate themselves, in the service of the nation. The best way to fight for the nation, they felt, was, well, fighting the enemy. For that they had to join the army. It was the need of the day. They were tired of Nehru’s rhetoric of peace and friendship. What did it bring to our nation, they asked, except dishonor and shame?
Those days, the virtual world did not exist. If it was, the youth would have fought cyber wars at best, or Angry Birds at the worst..
Ahmedabad was very much a laid-back city. Yes, it was engrossed in business and industry, but as the 'Bombayites' complained, life was not as fast as Mumbai! People called it a Gujju City. In reality it was as cosmopolitan as Mumbai. It was no surprise that the Army Recruiting Center in the cantonment was busy processing applications from young people from different parts of the country. White collar young men in their smart clothes and shiny shoes were asking questions about joining the army.
Gypsy was one of them. All he knew about the army was, the soldiers wore Olive Green uniforms, carried rifles, rode in those imposing looking green trucks and went to battlefields. He did not know that the army was divided in ‘Arm‘ and ‘Service’. ‘Arm‘ meant Infantry, Armored Corps, Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps. ‘Service’ meant Army Service Corps - which was logistics, Ordnance Corp manufactured and supplied guns, ammunition, uniforms - practically everything needed by a soldier to fight. Then there was Corps of Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.fortunately for him, his brother in law worked in Military Engineering Service. Along with his friends, he met him and said that they wanted to join the army. ‘How do we go about getting recruited in the army?’
He was a bit amused. ‘What do you want to do in the army? You all have nice sedentary jobs in the city, you have a family to support....’
‘We want to join as soldiers and go to the front,’ my friend said.
He became serious. He was a veteran of World War II. He had fought in what was then known as Mesopotamia - the present day Iraq.
‘You all are well educated and from what I see, motivated too. If you really want to join the army and make a difference, I suggest you apply for the position of Officers. The army needs young motivated officers like you guys. They have commenced recruitment of Emergency Commissioned Officers, the first ever after the WW II.’ He told us how to go about doing that.
When we all reached the office of the Recruitment Officer, there were at least twenty more young men waiting for the forms. There were smart South Indians, Punjabis, a couple of Bengalis as well as some of us Gujaratis. They seemed to be better informed than we were! They were talking of Infantry, Artillery, Engineers, which did not make any sense to my group of friends. What made sense was the reason, why we all wanted to enlist.
It was the ideology for which the youth of India wanted to fight. Like the USSR, China was a totalitarian country. We all had known about massacre of the Kulaks, intellectuals being sent away to work in the mines in Siberia and assassinations of dissenters like Trotsky. We also knew of large scale imprisonment of thousands of Chinese protestors opposing draconian communist regime. National pride coupled with belief in political freedom fortified the commitment of young Indians.
That was India of yesteryear. As for the young people, things have not changed much; only the priorities have.
This blog is the story of a representative of Young India of 1962. Like the readers of this blog, he wanted to do something for the nation. It was the beginning of a journey of life, and in reliving the path he took about 45 years ago, you are invited to be a part of the journey down the memory lane. Maybe you will want to share his adventures as his companions.
