Wednesday, April 30, 2008

EARTHWORMS

EARTHWORMS......
Dear friends,
Probably we need war not one but many so that voice of army is heard by the civil servents. In my other posts at other threads like Army, apart from Kartik (Pragmatic euphony) too it was the discussion. Some guys of course react that it was wishful thinking and out of frustration due to failure of civil government in reacting to demands of army. There is no frustration on this side. The real fact is that peace time army has no respect and also will have no respect especially in this land.This is truth whether some one likes or not. Many know this but out of modesty act as if not true. They look otherway. Many guys see Army as a waste of national resources. Are we maintaining army as a show piece as a safety factor? Second is rather true. We have already fought many wars and lost some major too. But for Army, Delhi would have been with Pakistan. In 1965, Field Marshal Ayub Khan declared that He would have breakfast at Rawalpindi and lunch at Delhi or something to that effect. It shows how poorly he assessed and how very confident he was. They were so confident when Patton Tanks lumbered across the borders in hundreds. Army then has shown what it means. Leaders like Shastri and Jagivan Ram, Defense minister had guts and in fact Indians could have good lunch with roasted chicken and beer at Lahore. I am sorry. We are Gandhians. No Chicken and beer. We should not say loud. Topiwallahs might get offended.We could have had some vegetables and goat/s milk, peeled bananas and Parathas in Lahore. Otherwise Gandhis soul would weep beating its chest and tearing clothes. We also would get into sins and land in hell.But after 1971, we have gone into hibernation like shaggybears sleeping in caves or frogs sleeping under the earth.. Pakistan has gone nuclear. Rather we have turned a Nelsons eye to its activities. In similar situation, Israel smashed Iraq's nuclear facilities. We only shout at pitch of voice and do nothing except to give long vague statements drafted by some babus and all knowing and eternal intelligent IAS men from the parliament and external affairs ministry that lead no where except to land the nation into a quagmire as faitaccompli. Now Pak is nuclear with missiles too. They can hammer us black and blue and probably they would do in next war. Their Al Khalid tanks reportedly are doing better and are in regular production. Our Arjun Tanks are mere sitting ducks even as per Janes weekly. Other Tnaks such as T 90 are too having great problems. Guns are flowering too. Some concotion of T 90 hulls with turrets of Arjun are being thrust on army. DRDO would never agree to its faltering and letting down the army. Neraly 35 years have gone in discovering Newtons law again by them. and a junk Tin box came out not before scores of guys became Brigadiers, Major Generals, Scientists E , F and so on and many got VSM, AVSM and PVSM. Chanakya orKautilya who was the master political leader in Magadha Empire wrote long ago that enemy should be smashed when he was weak. Our motto is get smashed by enemy by remaining weak. We have failed to cut Pakistan into multiple pieces when it was not nuclear. We have not lerant lessons from History. None will come for our rescue in emergency. Who came to resue of Indians in previous wars? All Arbs were Cats on walls for whom we run around even today. Russians bless from a distance. But for American ( JFKennedy) threat Chinese would have occupied Tezpur, the heart of Assam. They could have gulped Arunachal Pradesh formerly NEFA. Can we do some thing strong against Pakistan now? We developed cold feet when Indian parliament was attacked. We sang Ram Dhun..Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram.... Pateeta Pavana seetha Ram.. Jai Seetha Ram..... Ram can never liberate Delhi from Pakistan or Arunachal from yellow men if occupied. We repeatedly prayed that wisdom should dawn on Pakistanis. Gandhis and Buddha's sermons are pulling Indians rear wards finally to the doom day one day. It has done already in the past in 1947. Indian Army’s word would be never be heard as long as Army remains a ceremonial outfit without being active and without a strong rod that is called a spine that make people stand erect and stiff. People question why have such huge army and at all as white elephant when we make no use of it. To it ,we further add white elephants like Arjun Tanks more and more. Many years ago some one remarked that army should be used for constructional activities like fatigue parties ( Labor ) and its ordnance factories and base workshops be used for making coffee pots. True, FM Kariappa remarkably in his speech said Aaj hum sab Muft ho gaye hain. He shoud have said Mukt ho gaye Hain when he delivered his famous speech after gaining independence. His prophecy has come true. Army has really become Muft.. He was weak in Hindi being a Koorgi. As usual all North Indians feel that all south Indians are weak in Hindi and call them Tambis. The north south gap is still very much there. Although unknowingly he said these words, his statements were absolutely true. Aaj ham ( Army) muft ( Free of no value and in casual Hindi Phukat) ho gayen hain. True. Army in the eyes of all knowing IAS babus and Dhotiwallahs and Topiwallahs and Safari suit wallahs and Jodhpur coat wallahs and VarietyTurban wallahs has become a useless setup and of no consequence. They can be kicked around like a foot ball. Usually football when is full of air bounces esaily and strikes agaisnt a wall and comes back strong at the guy. A ball with less air sadly drops with feeble reaction. Army is like a deflated or punctured foot ball now. It has to prove and justify its own existance.God bless the Indians and army’s future. It is loosing own identity. The guys who can not stand with spine shall fall down on the ground and have to crawl searching for tit bits here and there. They can be easily trampled by others.

Dr K Prabhakar Rao

Friday, April 25, 2008

WILD GOOSE CHASE

WILD GOOSE CHASE

Researchrs in India are after wild goose chase
And they have lost their wits and worthy face
The hands of army display worn out claws
As those at the top commit major flaws
You and me are the suckers of the day
Those at the top are growing gray
Comon men in India are made big fools
While the researchers suffer constipated stools
Let not the indian tank be mere lame duck
As the commanders run out of their luck
Sixty years of independence frittered away
The pseudo designers are found to only bray
A junk tin is now out on the road
That would be slightly better than a clumsy toad
With the lumbering weight the box would crawl
Ready to join and take part in the brawl
In sandy terrian the old matron would get trapped
Sure at Pakistani armor hands would easily get whacked
One may boast of the rifled accurate gun
But the guys are sure to jump out and for lives would run
The 6o ton mammoth would surely sink in mud and wet fields
Although it may have great armor shields
None would recover them in a battle zone
The commanders have to weep and loudly moan
The tank is being pushed down the army throat
And Governmnet wants them to cross the western moat
Debacles are not far away from the scene
And many guys in army want to leave and not to be seen


Prof Dr Colonel ( Retired) K Prabhakar Rao

Thursday, April 24, 2008

FIELD RATS

FIELD RATS

Prof Dr Colonel ( retired) K Prabhakar Rao

Army guys ! You must read this article by Mr Bose on police misbehaving with Army officers in Calcutta. They on false charges locked a Major and a Captain in cell and beat them severly till the CO of Madras regiment went and rescued them at the ploice station after taking armed troops with him. Should army show its force every time to police to ensure their safety? Poor army officers go out in civil dress and might be carrying I card too. but unarmed. Their weapons ( Carbines) are always in KOT getting rusty or immersed in a ton of grease an oil and being accounted every one hour too. Where is the precedence? Link it with latest beating of a Colonel saheb by a SI in meerut in UP and showing his “Aukad” ( Status) as stated by Mr Kartik ( Pragmatic Euphony). Army officers have been much getting worried about the status ouside in civil society which is not there. Police does not respect them, their uniform, their rank their equivalence and precedence.There are many incidents that can be quoted where army officers were cornered and put in lock ups and beaten even after showing the identity. Their I cards too are thrown away and torn beyond recognition and police have their own dictatorship and the officers are helpless till some one rescues them from the lock up. False cases are framed . Why this happens? Are police guys over enthusisstic, zealous or power drunk? Possibly the third. There is no check on them. Invariably SHO in many places is the super soul and the uncrowned king. There is no control on him. In north he is popularly Thanedar. How do you then ensure that army officers are protected outside in own country along with their wives and children?The only way is to be armed 24 hoursin prevaling situation and move with escort if required. Top Brass is not worried. They are could not care less they have any amount of security, star plates, flags, cars with roof lights and escorts and big clout too. Other guys are commoners going on scooters as common man.THEY GET KILLED BY ENEMY AND INSULTED BY OWN COUNTRY MEN that is worst than getting killed in action which is more honorable. He has no identity. He has no authority in civil. Hence the police people are brutal many times most of the times knowingly. This has led to serious backlash by army at many places. This is growing too. Danger lurks around the corner…. The article enclosed shows the real situation in India in a State capital in West Bengal. Other places are no way better. We had similar incidents in UP, Punjab, Andhra pradesh. Better wake up all the guys in OG who sleep in dark and feel that all is fine with in their four walls while they are not safe outside even while in uniform in their own country. This is a real fact and naked truth. Do not have Ostrich attitude.

NOW READ THE FOLLOWING AND WAKE UP GUYS… KNOW YOUR SELF WHERE YOU ARE...THE PRESEDENCE HAS NO RESPECT IN CIVIL SOCIETY.


Kolkata Park Street chaos between Army and Police – there is enough evidence now that Kolkata Police and associated communists be held on charges of conspiracy, bribery and human rights abuse..Parul BoseJan. 4, 2007


Recently news media in India held Army personnel responsible for chaos and tussle in Park Street police station in Kolkata. The real story is emerging slowly. The real story behind the Kolkata Park Street chaos between Army and Police – there is enough evidence now that Kolkata Police and associated communists can be held on charges of conspiracy. Kolkata has world’s most corrupt cops (even worse than New Orleans, USA!). But we did not know they are picking up people these days after taking bribe from some one else. They are also peaking up couples to harass them and extort money from them. The corruption story as described here (as we received the same!) will make you wonder if West Bengal under the communists have any law and order!An Army Major demanded his meal for a valid coupon he held in hotel in Park Street. The Park hotel management did not like it. They then put him in a taxi and brought him to Park Street cops. Hafta happy cops who have good “relations” with this hotel dutifully locked up the officer - in spite of him informing them of his identity. “No one tells us what we are supposed to do here”, so saying the cops beat up the Major before locking him on false charges of harassing women. This is a clear violation of the law - but the corrupt yet uneducated cops obviously have no clue about the Army Act passed by the Indian Parliament. Soon an Indian Army captain reaches the police station to reason with the officers to free his superior officer. “Don’t tell us what we are supposed to do here” so saying they lock up the Captain as well and for good measure book him for guess what? “Crossing the road at the wrong place”! Wow, that is so cute. Isnt it? Unfortunately for the cops, the Captain had called his Commanding Officer on his cell before he was locked up. The Commanding Officer (CO) of the 3 Madras regiment (Madras regiment is the oldest Regiment in the Indian Army) comes with soldiers of his unit - Soldiers that have fought with and under the leadership of these officers for 5 years in Siachen and Kashmir and have lost some of their men there - witness the badly beaten Major and Captain. The CO, a Lt. Colonel, gets the cop to open the lockup, and as the Major steps out the Jawans see the real extent of the beatings handed to their officer. To make matters worse the cop speaks rough and insults the Major in the presence of his Jawans. The 3 Madras Jawans known to give their life to rescue their own from the enemy, flew into blind rage and all hell broke loose. Their CO, the Lt Colonel restores order and disperses them, and he waits for senior Police Officers to arrive. The cops immediately call the press, and the print and electronic media is full of stories about “Yet another case of gross indiscipline in the Army”. The Prime Minister, Defense Minister and External Affairs minister express their unhappiness at the “indiscipline of the GUILTY Army officers” and call the West Bengal CM to offer full support! The Army refuses to hand over their own people for legitimate reasons. The police chief goes angry but when made to read and understand the letter of the law by the Army authorities, comes around. Now the cops end up looking like fools, because they obviously never went to the scene of the eve teasing to investigate, or even bothered to take the statement of the “victim” (I am sure you dont think it necessary - just so you know the Supreme Court think it necessary and the IPC too) - they simply went by the words of the bouncers of Park Hotel. The cops are now looking desperately for “witnesses”, and not being able to produce any, who do they come up with? The 4 bouncers themselves of course!!! Now they - the bouncers - are claiming that the 4 of them were beaten bad by the Major! So many guess these 4 were the eves that the Major teased. The cops now claim that they of course never knew these were army officers - else they would have followed the law! A couple that was at the police station today gave a statement that it were the police personnel that were misbehaving, roughing up people and locking them up on trumped up charges. They are also petitioning the human right commission for the police excesses they witnessed. Where is PMi Manmohan Singh? Where is Manomohan’s communist ally Chief Minister Buddhadev? Quiet…. They are sleeping!

Monday, April 14, 2008

SIMI IS ON THE RISE AGAIN AND SPREADING FAST AND SERIOUS THREAT TO INDIA

SIMI IS ON THE RISE AGAIN.. SPREADING FAST AND IS A SERIOUS
THREAT TO INDIA

Prof Dr Colonel (retired) K Prabhakar Rao



The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh state, in April 1977. SIMI's founding president was Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi, reportedly professor of journalism and public relations at the Western Illinois University. SIMI originally emerged as a student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH). The stated mission of SIMI is the ‘liberation of India’ from western materialistic cultural influence and to convert it into an Islamic society. SIMI have been influenced by Deobandi Islam which is a Muslim revivalist movement that started in India in 1879. It is perhaps most famous in the west as the philosophy of the past Taliban government in Afghanistan. Its slogan is "Allah is our Lord, Qur’an is our constitution, Muhammad is our leader, Jihad is our way and Shahadah is our desire". Among its various objectives, SIMI aims to counter what it believes is the increasing moral degeneration, sexual anarchy in the Indian society as also the ‘insensitiveness’ of a ‘decadent’ west. SIMI maintains that the concepts of secularism, democracy and nationalism, keystones of the Indian Constitution, are antithetical to Islam. They aim to restore the supremacy of Islam through the resurrection of the Khilafat, emphasis on the Muslim Ummah and the waging of Jihad. Infact the Institution of Khalifa was abolished after the fall of Ottoman empire after World war I. Turkey became a modern democratic state on western principles of rule. Since then fundamentalist Muslims have become bitter and swear to annihilate West and al Kafirs. Obviously Indian society is also the target
Inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran, it stood for radical social change in India and the waging of Jihad in India, an approach not appreciated by the leadership of JIH which appears to be a more mature organization. The alliance was short-lived. In 1981, SIMI activists protested against PLO leader Yasser Arafat’s visit to India, and greeted him with black flags in New Delhi. Young SIMI activists identified Arafat as a "western puppet", while the senior JIH leaders saw Arafat as a champion of the cause of Palestine. JIH realized that SIMI was slowly adopting an extremist line. When SIMI sought self governance and independence of operation from JIH, JIH declined. SIMI separated from JIH and continued as hardline Islamic organization. Owing to its dangerous disposition and ideology the outfit has been banned on 27 Sept 2001 as unlawful organization subsequent to Sept 9/11 attacks in US main land. SIMI remained banned from September 27, 2001 to September 27, 2003 during which period several prosecutions were launched against its members under the provisions of Terrorist And Disruptive Activities Prevention Act(TADA), the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act(MCOCA), and the Unlawful Activities Provisions Act 1967.SIMI was banned for the third time on 08-02-2006. In fact, the second ban of SIMI dated 27-09-2003 came to an end on 27-09-2005. Therefore SIMI was in existence between 28th September, 2005 and 7th February, 2006.
SIMI has been accused of carrying out bombing campaigns across India resulting in loss of lives. The most important and damaging act was the Mumbai train blasts. On July 11, 2006, A serial blast was carried out in Mumbai, killing around 200 and hurting more than 1000 innocent commuters in the 7 different local train stations within a time gap of 11 min. SIMI has been suspected of carrying out this terror activity with the help of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan and Kashmir based terrorist organizations (according to US list) like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM). Mumbai Police in 2003 arrested three persons from Padgah village and foil a plan that envisaged a series of explosions in Mumbai and Kerala, which was allegedly hatched by the SIMI and Lashkar-e-Toiba.The Bahraich Kotwali police had arrested Shahid Badr along with seven others for allegedly making an inflammatory speech at Sir Syed Girls College in Bahraich in 2001. A case was registered against him on charges of sedition, creating communal disharmony, inducement for armed struggle and hurting religious sentiments, under various sections of IPC. But the concerned authorities failed to substantiate these claims. Some also believe that the authorities who matter developed cold feet for punishing on the charges of treason. The Chief priest, Shahi Imam of Jama Maszid of Delhi also made inflammatory speeches and some of the speeches during the destruction of Bamiyan Buddha by Taliban were anti national. He got away Scot free. There is no doubt that in India pseudo secularism is ruling the roost and government policy of appeasement of minority has infact indirectly helped the emergence of SIMI and many other anti national outfits whose leaders are getting away from the law. Finally the Uttar Pradesh government on 1 July 2006 withdrew a "treason" case against the banned SIMI president Dr Shahid Badr Falahi. There is no surprise. The concerned authorities failed to substantiate these claims. POTA court in New Delhi sentenced two SIMI activists to a five-year imprisonment under POTA for their membership of the proscribed organization and seven years imprisonment for sedition (1).
The radical outfit, banned in 2001 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, comprises young students committed to establishing a 'Dar-ul-Islam' or Land of Islam. They claim that India was ruled by Muslims and is therefore is the land of Islam. They forget that Muslims came to India from Arab world.. This is a very dangerous. India does not belong to only to Muslims. It is a different thing that to day India is a secular country and it belongs to every one, Sikhs, Hindus, Christians and Muslims too and can not exclusively belong to only Muslims. This is outrageous indeed. But SIMI feels that he present rule should go along with its constitution trend and has to be destroyed in the state of bud itself. This is the serious and dangerous and this fundamental organization probably is more dangerous than Al Qaeda as it is aiming to destroy the composite culture of India. Its nefarious designs should not be allowed to continue. The government of India says that SIMI is still active in the country and continues to receive clandestine support from foreign countries. Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal said in parliament that SIMI got "support from across the border" and had "cross-border links" - both of which are official euphemisms for Pakistan. It maintains close relations with Harkat ul Mujahideen of Pakistan and Harkat ul Jihadi Islami of Bangladesh the notorious outfits across the borders (2). The hand of HUJI in recent Hyderabad blasts is suspected and all investigations are pointing accordingly. SIMI has 400 cadres and 20000 members when it was banned. It is believed that SIMI has entrenched itself in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Delhi.
The arrest of 10 top activists of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), including its elusive chief Safdar Nagori, has again put the spotlight on the outlawed group. Of late, Madhya Pradesh has witnessed the rise of activities of SIMI. SIMI national general secretary Safdar Nagauri had his base in the Hindu temple town of Ujjain, where the state headquarters was located, before the central government banned it, Bhopal, Despite a ban on it, the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) suspected for alleged involvement in the Mumbai blasts has seen a rise in its activities in Madhya Pradesh as well as an increase in its area of influence, say police officials. Since the ban, 180 SIMI activists have been arrested from across the state including Indore, Ujjain, Bhopal, Khandwa, Seoni, Jabalpur, Sheopur, Burhanpur, Guna, Neemuch and Shajapur districts. Since the ban on the organization on Sep 27, 2001, it has spread to many new districts. It was earlier restricted to the districts of Indore, Ujjain, Khandwa and Bhopal with its state headquarters in Ujjain before the ban.SIMI activities have been witnessed in four more districts - Burhanpur, Guna, Neemuch and Shajapur - after the ban, according to police records. With this, SIMI has made its presence felt now in almost the whole of the Malwa region. Cases against it have also been registered in Sivni, Jabalpur and Sheopur districts. Thus it can be seen that SIMI has made strong presence in many districts of Madhya Pradesh (3). Admitting that more needs to be done to track down the banned outfit's members and sympathizers, a senior police official said: 'The police and the state intelligence are on their toes to track the presence of anti-nationals in the state.' The upwardly mobile cadres of SIMI, many of them trained engineers, doctors and IT professionals, have been arranging logistical support to the terrorists, lodging Pakistani and Bangladeshi terrorists of LeT, Jaish and HuJI in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, UP, Bihar and West Bengal where the outfit(SIMI) now has a significant presence.SIMI activists also acted as guides to jehadis coming to India from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Nagori, on the run since 2001 when SIMI was banned and its headquarters sealed at Zakir Nagar in Delhi, swears by Osama bin Laden and finds jihad as the only means to achieve the goals of a pan-Islamic nation. 'It is not the SIMI alone but several anti-national forces, including the underworld, have joined hands together. The police are keeping a close watch on all such elements,' said Sanjeev Kumar Singh, Bhopal range inspector general.Nagori's arrest in Madhya Pradesh indicates that he was making inroads in the BJP-ruled state. Its leaders had gathered in the state earlier also, at Ujjain. His deputies were, meanwhile, active in other states organizing regular meetings and sending new recruits for arms training in camps in J&K and at other makeshift sites elsewhere in the country (4).
It is also established that SIMI has a women’s wing called Shaheen Force. It is estimated that nearly 200 fully trained activists are deployed in Uttar Pradesh. These girls in the age group of 20-30 years have been trained in explosives and are also experts on computers. They are recruited mostly from colleges are deeply religious. The force has obviously roping in the talented women for the cause of Islam. The western influence on the Muslim kids is to be erased and bring back all such persons back into Islamic fold. Even children are being trained along with their mothers. The arrest and interrogation of SIMI activists in Madhya Pradesh has revealed the information about the women’s force. These girls are trained to be suicide bombers. As per information, training camp was conducted at a remote riverside in the mountainous areas of Indore at Choral.. The force is known to have established its presence in Districts such as Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Maharajgunj, Bulandshahar, Moradabad, and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. ( 5). Thus we see that SIMI has surfaced strongly again and is strong in Madhya Pradesh a BJP ruled State. SIMI is infact is the most dangerous outfit of all and maintains contact with Pakistani terror outfits. Jihad is its life and spirit. It breaths Jihad. Therefore it can stoop down to any length to achieve its aims. Therefore it is the most dangerous outfits of all and poses greatest threat to India’s integrity It is out to poison Indian Muslim masses and ignorant would fall a prey to their anti national speeches. In the name of religion and Islam they are out to corner every Muslim whether he is a male or female into their fold. It is therefore more necessary to be watchful about SIMI in India and confront it with all the might and negate all its dangerous designs to disrupt the nation and progress. The very concept of Jihad has been misinterpreted by SIMI and therefore their theory should be rejected by all right thinking persons.The outfit has been rightly banned by the government and it is also essential that its members are persecuted and hunted down and punished accordingly. Although the out fot has been banned it is surfacing again and it is essential that government evolves a co ordinated plan to arrestits members and book them and bring them to justice. The punishments should be strong and and should set an example to others. A single outfit like SIMI should not be allowed to destabilize India and destroy its secular fabric.

Bibliography
1.SIMI, Wikipedia,
2. Seven years after ban SIMI is still active,
http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:kePc5RNSuncJ:www.dnaindia.com/report.asp%3Fnewsid%3D1157813+SIMI+is+fast+spreading+in+India&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=in

3. SIMI may act underchanged name, http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:7fh4sVTDx6IJ:www.nerve.in/news:25350022535+SIMI+is+fast+spreading+in+India&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=in

4. : SIMI;LeT;Jaish;HUJI;Islam;jihad;terrorism;traitors
http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:vyD3YotxKwwJ:newshopper.sulekha.com/newsitem//2008/03/simi-did-legwork-for-let-jaish-huji.htm+SIMI+is+fast+spreading+in+India&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=in
5. SIMI’s Shaheen girls are new UP worry. Deccan Chronicle, Hyderabad, AP, India, Date April 08, 2008, PP 10

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Kill me... Kill me.. If you can.. Plesae

KILL ME… KILL ME… IF YOU CAN


Prof Dr Colonel (retired) K Prabhakar Rao

Other day, I was talking to a friend over phone who served with me in a Battalion probably nearly thirty years ago. After few minutes, I learnt that one of my colleagues a major those days passed away few years ago. I think he reached the rank of only major when he suddenly died. I felt very sad to hear the news. He was a jolly guy going easy and jovial too. This guy was in the Head Quarters as the technical officer preparing various reports and returns and was taking care of the technical cell at the battalion Head Quarters. The commanding officer (CO) was a staff college type from Wellington. This is not Wellington of UK. This is at Nilgiris in South India. Some officers of all services, who are interested, go for a course at Staff College after getting through a stiff competition. Thus, these officers consider themselves as elite group within services and some of them suffer from a misplaced phobia. Such officers have an advantage of getting postings outside the corps in administrative vacancies.
These officers are expected to be good at drafting as perceived by them. Some are really good. I found them uttering the word Wellington at least once in every conversation to make sure that other guy knows that he is a staff college type. They expect all birds around them sing “When I was in Wellington…Oh Wellington… Oh Wellington”. Some of these guys are just marginal. But there is always big air inflated within them. This guy was a staff college type and claimed to be a gold medalist in essay writing. Now and then he used to remind others about his gold medal. My friend who expired some years ago was a Punjabi (Major X) and slightly weak in English. His drafting was not that really good. He yet made good efforts to put up good drafts struggling day and night. Every time his draft was rejected, torn off and the CO gave him a good shouting making gestures. This was a regular affair and daily drama. Major X was a robust personality nearly six feet tall and with good physique. CO was half of his size and appeared to be David in front of Goliath. Things went on like this. Once in a week Major X used to suffer hyper tension aggravated by the tensions at the office. We could see the declining health in Major X in those days itself. The miserable conditions at the office took a toll on his health, I surely feel even today although his bulk too contributed to it partly.
I was at far away unit amidst jungles and hills at the borders in treacherous and inhospitable conditions. Once in a while, I used to go to the Battalion Head Quarters in Jeep and see the CO, discuss any problems and seek guidance. Probably we Company commanders received more admonishing than any guidance in those days. I thought it was a set plan to keep us on toes all the time. We were happier in our wretched god forbidden places in field amidst leeches and mosquitoes and all types of creatures than to be near the Head Quarters where there was no peace of any sort for any one. Major X was helpless as he had no place to go except the Head Quarters. He was destined to suffer in silence. Whenever I went to the battalion Major X was very happy as I mixed with every one and the captains were very happy with me as I was jovial and had no air of superiority of rank in me. Once I came down to the Head Quarters on some urgent work and CO was busy writing some thing as usual and I sat in Adjutants room that is next to the CO’s room. There was a small window between CO’s room and the Adjutant’s room. The adjutant was a youngster of rank of 2/Lt fresh from the training school. After some time, I heard a commotion and through window I saw CO kneeling in front of Major X and with raised and spread hands was shouting Kill me.. Kill me.. If you can… please”.
I just could not make out any thing. I thought it appeared to be a scene from Shakespeare drama. Adjutant was equally perplexed. With in minutes, Major X came out of the room sweating and went to his chamber and dropped down in his chair. CO also went back to his chair with a red face trembling. I had no intention of meeting CO at that moment and thought it wise to be away from him. I went to Major X trying to calm him down and I enquired what was going on. I asked him whether they were practicing a drama for the coming Corps day function. Major X said, “No sir nothing like that. This guy is just after my blood. It is almost a year I am here in this chair. Not a single day I had peace. I am tired. My health is sinking… I shall die soon here”. “But what went wrong now?” I asked. “Sir in the morning I took the report made after struggling for a week and this guy hardly saw it and flung it in my face and I lost control. I said, “Sir! This now too much. Enough of it had all these days. I shall kill you… and go to jail”, he said. “Come on relax!. Don’t be silly” I consoled. I could understand the situation now that I saw in the room of the CO. When the CO heard Major X telling him that he would kill him, He got excited immediately, got up and went to him and kneeling in front of him and spreading hands said, “Kill me … Kill me .. If you can.. Please”. That was the real English Shakespeare drama enacted. After some time, the nerves cooled down. I met the CO next day and pleaded mercy for Major X. The CO probably understood the situation and called Major X and asked him to sit down. He said, Major X! You really want to kill me? Why? Am I that bad”. Major X looking down said “ No sir, It was momentary impulse. I lost cool. How can I think? You are my CO. I am sorry sir”. The whole air eased out. CO called for tea and some snacks. He asked Major X to go on leave for few days and to relax. For change, the CO was nice to me too and asked my welfare and about my men, children and asked me to look after myself and my men well. “Any problem”, he asked I was much relieved and next day drove back to my place in the early hours with a composed mind after several months.
After a year, I was posted out of the place and the CO was also posted out earlier. We lost contact with each other. The service also came to end after few years once I decided to leave. I learnt about the death of Major X few years ago and I felt sad. Definitely his tenure in that battalion took his life away from him at young age. I prayed that his soul should rest in peace. It is very tragic that career of some is suddenly cut short by some funny guys who unknowingly do great damage to others. Everything goes under the cover of uniform and discipline. That is the tragedy of uniformed services. Many lives go under the carpet.

Dr K Prabhakar Rao