Battle of Rezang La (and hilarious update lol)

Lately, I've been reading about some battles fought by the Indian army which basically shaped our international borders.There's one battle which struck me like lightning - The Battle of Rezang La (1962) which I first read about in a book, and later saw many videos. This battle, showed the exemplary courage of our men at Borders, and at the same time the questionable leadership of the then PM and army Generals.

The WHY behind this reading

Now, this battle, although is a part of history; we get to learn a lot of life lessons from it (and ofc strategic lessons).

1962 war with China started because of poor communication between the Prime Minister's announcement in parliament with the Army Chiefs, and unnecessary panic of non-army forces at the NEFA borders. And so the war begun. But again, as the war begun, PM Nehru had appointed his favorite BM Kaul as one of the generals of army, General Thapar as CoAS while replacing capable generals like General Thimayya and General Verma who had fought and led in WW2 and 1947-48 war with Pakis. Here we learn two lessons in our day to day, as well as professional life - proper communication and choosing people who deserve the position instead of likeability.

Before writing about it further, I'd like to emphasize that there were several other battlefronts during the Sino-Indian war - with the most famous amongst them being Battle of Chushul, Battle of Namka-Chu, Battle of Naurang etc. Which will forever be remembered.

And a sidenote (with an update lmaooo)

By no means I mean to say that we should monger wars. I am living with a great and humble housemate from China. She's very cool, polite, and friendly. These wars are fought from diplomatic lenses and political leaderships; and I think it should not bitter the human bonds we have with our friends across borders. 

EDIT: So, it wasn't even 24 hours of writing this post. And it turns out that roommate posted a very derogatory story on instagram about Indians which I got to know via my friend. And it turns out that I was entirely wrong. She posted with some alcohol in hand that 'This is how I deal with Indians 101' verbatum.. which is something I can't tolerate. Man!!! Say something to me and I might take it without offense; say something to motherland and it isn't the same dude... Chinese army is conscription; Indian army is voluntary... <3.. We live and die for our motherland and her pride.. it's not a duped feeling. Even though I gave up my dream of joining the army - it doesn't mean that it has robbed me from patriotism bro :)

This being said; here commences my perspective of this battle and the lessons I learnt!

The Story

It all started in September of 1962; when Indian intelligence confirmed presence of numerous brigades of Chinese Army after it's expansionist takeover of Tibet. However, this was neglected by Jawaharlal Nehru with his utter ignorance of intelligence - and firm believe in Panchsheel Agreement. Adding to this, he elected sycophants in the top leadership of Army which made the capable generals resigning.

The first blunder happened with the nightmare of Namka Chu - where 2 Rajput was destroyed near the Dhola post by Chinese because of poor planning by General BM Kaul; even though our men (sepoys, JCOs, captains, majors, lt colonels fought with bravely - knowing they're gonna meet their deaths). Also, the forces were given orders to fall back from Tawang, where India was brilliantly resisting the enemy; but while falling back ended up losing hundreds of brave soldiers.

The 13 Kumaon 'C' company was deployed at Rezang La - under the leadership of Major Shaitan Singh Bhati (PVC, posthumously) who was leading 124 men. Who knew that these 124 men (lacking artillery, weaponry, ammunition) will face 2000 Chinese troops backed up by artillery and advanced weapons (some accounts even say that they faced 3000 Chinese). Of the 124 men; 114 choose supreme sacrifice at the battlefront, 5 survived (and 2 succumbed to death because of wounds). One of them (Ram Chandar Yadav) was sent by Major Shaitan Singh to headquarters to narrate the story of Rezang La; and another braveheart (Nihal Singh) was captured by the Chinese who later managed to escape.

The accounts say that Major Shaitan Singh was given the choice to fall back from Rezang La and he chose not to. This was because Rezang La holds a strategic importance because of it's all weather airstrip. If lost, the enemy would have easy access to Ladakh and possibly Kashmir. Lesson - BRAVERY. And had Shaitan Singh chose to fall back - we would not be reading about his men and might have ended up losing more territory.!! He chose not to be average - and had a greater reward.

Moreover, every soldier had only 400 rounds of ammo with 1000 grenades for whole company). Although this might sound a huge number - but you should consider that this ammunition was supposed to hold thousands of chinese soldiers, for days at stretch.

Shaitan Singh's mortal remains were discovered 3 months after the battle; after the snow was melted. He still had his gun in his hand. Some soldiers had grenades in their hand; some died in the fighting positions - which were a clear signal that they didn't fear death - despite knowing that they were being heavily outnumbered. For our beloved nation. Without expecting anything in return. (And think about it - is the life you're living right now, rewards the men at our borders?).

My Perspective

These were men of our age. I often imagine the thoughts going in their head. When the buddy near them fell because of bullet and thousands of Chinese coming infront of them. Would a soldier in that situation thinks of the comfort of his bed at his home, the hug from his mother/partner, and the smell of food? And he still gives up these pleasures and chooses to stare inevitable death in eyes! The sheer amount of bravery is invaluable. 

Thinking about these men, and reading about these battles gives me strength in times of weakness. Because my problems are nothing compared to securing the integrity of our motherland. These stories, the pictures of these men make me realize the senseless thoughts coming in my head; and persuade me to storm towards the bigger goals in my life with more power. 

Imagine if these men chose to simp over a girl lmao!!

Heroes

You can easily find articles about Major Shaitan Singh and his men all over the internet. So, I won't add to that. However, I read across many many many unsung heroes of numerous battles of Indian army. Not only from the Battle of Rezang La - but also from other wars: Asal Uttar (1965), Longewala (1971), Chamb (1965), Namka Chu (1962) and countless others. Lt Col Salim Caleb, Capt AK Dewan, Maj Bhaskar Roy, Abdul Hamid, JS Rawat, Yogender Singh, Ptr Chattrapal Singh, Maj SK Walia, Maj Suraj Baswani, Lt Arun Khetrapal, Major DS Thapa, and numerous others. 

We are indebted to these men, who aren't given recognition they deserve. We are indebted to these men because when others simp for girls, roam around in fancy roadtrips/clubs/cafes - they chose the hard way and a bigger purpose. Maybe that's why they live life to fullest and are remembered (maybe not widely, but deeply?).

I can't think how can I end this post. But yes, I recommend to read about the heroism of these men. Who lived a life with bigger purpose. It surely will inspire you to do the same. And not to settle for average, and be average.

Apart from that, life's good. Grateful!

Yours Truly