THE GARUD STRIKES by Mukul Deva Read Free Book Online Page B

East Pakistan heartland had been heavily fortified. Each of these towns was very well equipped and stocked to fight a protracted defensive battle, meant to deter and deny the Indian Army from making any territorial gains. Akhaura was one of such strongpoint.
    Till such time as the Indian offensive made a breakthrough somewhere, they would not be able to hit the heartland of East Pakistan.
    The God of War’s arrow had landed on Akhaura. That is where the storm of the Indian offensive would be unleashed first.
    That is where the Garud struck first.
     
     
     
    The Tripura border is a low lying marshland. The Titas river criss-crosses that particular stretch of land, which the 4 Guards (1 Rajput) would be traversing that night.
    There were over eight hundred of them present in the battalion on that day. And each one of them was aware that there was a strong possibility that they may not return alive from this foray. Or maybe they would, but without an arm or a leg. However, whatever apprehensions may have nestled in their hearts, there was only firm resolve on their faces. This, after all, was the day that they had been groomed and trained for. This, after all, is the raison d’etre of every soldier; to live with honour and, if required, to die with dignity. But, in either case, ensure that the mission is completed.
    The gravity of the occasion may not have yet sunk in, but the enormity of the task facing them began to, within minutes of crossing the border.
     
     
     
    ‘The original plan had been for our battalion to capture Akhaura with a frontal attack,’ Granthi leaned forward and pointed it out on the map spread on the bed between us. ‘We had planned everything accordingly. We had even carried out the recce and all.’
    ‘4 Guards, along with a squadron of tanks, was given this task,’ Paunchy elaborated. ‘We were to carry out the attack with three companies and the tanks from the south, and the fourth company, mine, was to infiltrate behind Akhaura and set up a block to cut it off.’
    ‘All the while, this is what we had been planning for,’ Midha interjected. ‘I remember my company commander, Major Kharbanda , going on recce twice with an armoured corps officer, Lieutenant Mohan, to check the terrain and the infiltration routes. Kharbanda was one of Himmeth’s demons and always got selected for such tasks,’ continued Paunchy amid loud guffaws from everyone. ‘Every time he had to go across, he would hand over his ring and rudraksh etc. to me, along with several instructions, just in case he didn’t come back.’
    ‘Even though the terrain helped, the patrolling was a pain,’ Glucose pointed out. ‘Luckily, we had very confident Bengali guides, the Mukti Bahini chaps.’
    ‘They were okay,’ Granthi sounded dubious. ‘Major Kharbanda always said he could never be sure how much we could rely on them once the guns opened up. Once that happened, it was anyone’s guess if they would stay or run. But in those days, before the war, they were pretty useful. Each company had ten Mukti Bahini men allotted to it, though we had managed some more on our own. Our people would dress up as civilians and go through the enemy lines with them.’
    ‘Yes, Major Kharbanda used to really crib about that,’ said Midha again. ‘He used to say that he looked like a Bengali when he wore civilian clothes.’ Again, there was no malice or bias in his tone, just good old, rustic North Indian humour.
    ‘Bravo Company commanded by Kharbanda and my company (Alpha) would be leading the advance, which is why we were landed this task. Kharbanda was the obvious choice for the recce patrol as he originally came from Dera Ismail Khan, and could speak Pushto. Thus, in the event of being accosted by the enemy, he could bluff his way out by masquerading as a Pathan, or so we hoped,’ he explained further.
    It sounded hilarious now. I wondered what Kharbanda would have had to say about it back then.
    ‘I didn’t want to go