A Living Example of Bravado

ALL FOR VALOUR

Sepoy Arobinda Das who is now in his eighties and hails from the Barpeta district of Assam naturally infuses a bout of courage and self belief in anyone who cares to speak to him. For this war veteran has an extraordinary take of bravery to recount. "I was part of 4 Assam Regiment and had enrolled into the Army in December 1962," he informs The Sentinel. The pride in his voice was palpable despite the faltering phone connection caused by torrential rains. "And it was in the war of 1971 that I got maimed. However I believe that in life we should all proudly carry our scars and bruises for they often remind us of some remarkable experiences and maybe even achievements," the Sepoy says in a cheerful voice. So what had really happened?

"I along with my comrades was fighting in a treacherous terrain of Punjab. The sound of gunshots and bombings enveloped our vicinity incessantly for days. One day we were tracing an enemy camp (of Pakistani soldiers) on foot. We had to crawl and navigate a slew of physical hurdles intermittently and that had fatigued us anyway. Suddenly I found myself along with another sepoy and hawaldar alone on a lone stretch that meandered between some trees. Suddenly without warning an enemy shot a gunshot at my right. It had meant to pierce my heart actually but it got lodged in my right arm."

What ensued thereafter was truly heroic and something that only a true warrior could have achieved . "Although the pain was excruciating it could not delibate me for I knew I was on enemy turf and on a mission. I knew I had to escape from there as if I was captured I would be taken hostage, subjected to more torture and worse grilled on sensitive details of India. Although I was extremely confident that I would never spill the beans I somehow thought that it would be a more worthy end for me if I die in my own post among my own men or even alone."

At this stage of narration, the eighty year old Sepoy's voice faltered and he rather feebly added that both his comrade Sepoy and the hawaldar were killed. "I took their guns and ammunition (as it would be dangerous to leave arms and ammunition unattended in terrain where the enemy was present ) and proceeded to a spot where I knew the Pakistani soldiers had their base. I was successful in bombing this and could seize a couple of guns from there too."

As he finishes one cannot help but wonder how he managed to tread back to his post? After all laden with ammunition and profusely bleeding it does seem like an impossible feat for any human being. The war veteran laughed and said he did not know how he managed it but he somehow did and collapsed only after reaching his Post. According to him this mental grit is a direct blessing that accrues to a person from his/her years of training in the forces."We are taught resilience in the face of all adversity and reiterated (through our training) that winning is indeed a matter of life and death. Therefore we put all our might and presence of mind to navigate to safety while in seemingly impossible situations. And that is precisely what I did," he concludes.

It is indeed true that army men are superlative in a crisis and emergencies are their specialties'. Sepoy Arobindo Das is a telling and living example of this.

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