Monday, 0900 hrs, Indian Army Barracks, Srinagar
Yet another morning had dawned in Srinagar, not the “romantic, misty, picture perfect sunrise over the Dal Lake” morning, yet another bloody, terrorist attack ridden morning. Lieutenant Raghav stood all starched and somber as the bodies of Sepoy Gurprit Singh and Sepoy Rajneesh Gupta wrapped in the tricolour were about to be handed over to the families. A wail here, a sniffle there and Raghav couldn’t help but think about home- an ever worrying mother, who said a million prayers for his safety everyday, an outwardly detached father, who scanned every news item online for the situation in Kashmir. A pat here, a mumbled sorry there and formalities completed, he walked back into his quarters.
Monday, 1830 hrs, Lieutenant Raghav’s quarters
Havildar Ajay Sharma stormed into the room and threw down a map before Raghav. As if in after thought, he followed this with a curt salute and a perfunctory excuse me.
“A Local informant just contacted me. We have the exact coordinates of the perpetrators of today morning’s attack. They are at a base camp in Azaad Kashmir.”
“So?”
“With all due respect Sir! Dammit! We have to do something . We know where they are. We know how many they are. All we need is five men. We can take them out!’
“Ajay, I understand your anger. But you do realize that Azaad Kashmir lies across the LOC. Sending a force in there is termed mildly as infilitration. Our duty here is to defend against infilitration, not do it ourselves. The political repercussions of such an act will only lead to another Kargil.”
“Ah! Political repercussions! I forgot. What are we but impotent pawns in a political powerplay. On one side there is a government that harbours these militants, rears them and lets them in across the border and then pleads innocence and ignorance. On the other side you have a government, that in spite of all its defense spending and nuclear gimmicks is caught in a Gandhian time warp. “We shall watch people die, we know who does this, we shall protest but we shall not attack”. And in this crossfire between morons hopelessly indifferent to the lives that are being lost, armed and yet unarmed, here we stand, deluding ourselves with our regular dose of inspiration screaming ‘Ours is not reason why, but merely to do and die!’”
“Ajay. Why are you telling me all this. Do you think I don’t feel the way you do? What’s the point of all this? Where is all this leading?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t know, Sir. I have just had it with watching all this. Those young boys. Rajneesh, just a week away from his marriage vacation. It just isn’t fair.”
“I am tempted to cluck away sympathetically and tell you a philosophical “Life is not fair” and end this discussion. But I guess you won’t have any of it. You want some action, and you are not going to stop until you get what you want. Okay Ajay, for a long time I have had a plan and it is time we go ahead with it. Join me for a drink.”
“But Sir. I am scheduled to be on watch at 2000 hrs.”
“There is going to be no need for that. Who are the boys with you? Are they good?”
“Kanwaljit and Ghulam. Young ones, but full of spunk.”
“Radio them and this is what you will say……”
Monday, 2045 hrs, Watch tower No.756, North Sector, Srinagar
No one knew when the first shots were fired or where they came from. Adding to the disorientation and confusion was the fact that the watch had not sounded the alarm. By the time the soldiers from the barracks had mobilized themselves and gotten into positions, the infilitrants had changed their minds and retreated. Judging from the flashes of gunfire, it was probably a reconnaissance party that had gotten a little too adventurous. What was perplexing was the fact that Ajay, Kanwaljit and Ghulam were nowhere to be seen.
Wednesday, 1000 hrs, Military Court, Srinagar
A cold, emotionless and authoritarian voice droned on “Proceeding on the testimony provided by eye witnesses, it is established without doubt that Sepoy Kanwaljit Singh and Sepoy Ghulam Ali were seen leaving their posts and proceeding towards their barracks around fifteen minutes prior to the firing of shots. This inexplicable action of theirs and their consequent absence from duty suffices for this court to declare them deserters from the Army of the Republic of India.
Havildar Ajay Kumar Sharma, this court finds you guilty on charges of gross negligence of duty, consuming alchohol while on duty, and conduct unbecoming of a soldier of the Army of the Republic of India. You are hereby discharged from the services of the Army of the Republic of India.
Lieutenant Raghav Srinivasan, In spite of being aware of Havildar Ajay Kumar Sharma’s watch duty, you have acted in a way that brings disgrace to the Armed Forces of the Republic of India. In view of your spotless record so far, this court awards you a suspension from service for a period of three months. You shall, however be allowed to retain your rank.”
Wednesday, 1130 hrs, Major Nair’s office
“This is preposterous, Raghav. I cannot believe you could do something so irresponsible. There has to be a reasonable explanation. You are incapable of such stupidity.”
“Sir. All I can say is I am sorry. I did not think my actions through”
“Ridiculous. How could you of all people? Something is not right here”
“Sir. Can I trust you with my precious collection of books. I had prefer leaving it with you than lug it all the way back. I have a rare edition of a transalation of Chanakya’s ArthaShastra…I….”
“Are you out of your mind? Your books are all you care about at such a serious time. Is this a joke of some sorts?”
“Sir, if you don’t mind I do not want to discuss this further. I have a train to catch in an hour. Please take good care of my books.”
Thursday, Dusk, Forested Area in Azaad Kashmir
Moving with a practiced stealth that had become second nature to them, four figures in military fatigues took their marked positions around the tent. At the opportune moment as one of them signaled, another lobbed a grenade into it. Following the ensuing explosion, two figures struggled to get up as three others lay dead. The end for them was swift as the four men opened fire.
Thursday, 2200 hrs, International News Channel
“….quite a turnaround as for the first time in over forty years, they have accused India of infilitration. We now bring you the statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry of India.
“Preliminary Investigations have revealed the identification of two of the men. It is a matter of national shame that one of them is a recently suspended officer in the Army and the other was dishonorably discharged. Army officials have also indicated that there has been a theft of arms and ammunition perpetrated by them. An enquiry commission has been formed to thoroughly investigate the issue. The Government of India would like to restate their stand on cross border terrorism. We whole heartedly condemn this act of certain tainted individuals and hope that this does not affect the peace process in anyway. We would like to extend our co-operation in any way to capture these individuals.”
Thursday, 2230 hrs, Watch tower No.756, North Sector, Srinagar
A speck of red caught the light from the Major Nair’s flashlight. As he walked closer and picked the Tavor Tar-21 cartridge and turned it around, he already knew what he would see- imprinted on the cartridge was the seal of the Indian Army ammunition factory. “The crazy bastard!”, Major Nair swore to himself and rushed back to his office as he remembered something. He rummaged through the storage box and picked out the book he was looking for. On the front page, in Lieutenant Raghav’s shabby handwriting were the following words:
“ Contact Frequency: 325; Codename: Chanakya; Jai Hind”
Advance apologies for factual inaccuracies, logical inconsistencies and a possibly disappointing story. But the crux of it all, if not already evident are questions that have been festering away in my head for a long time: Why are we not returning the favour of infilitration? Why are we watching our soldiers die as militants trickle in steadily? Why don’t we get them at the source? What is the point of playing a fair game when the opponents are unfair and the playing field is not level? Questions that remain......
