On December 16, 1971,The Battle of Basantar saw some of the most fierce fighting of the India-Pakistan war. Ranged against each other were the 17 Poona Horse and 13 Lancers, tank regiments from different countries, tank regiments with a shared heritage. Father, martyr and their...Arun was dead at 21. To his father he will never age.Fourteen tanks of the Poona Horse were asked to stop the onslaught of 45 Pakistani tanks and gain buffer space for the crucial Jammu-Pathankot road. It eventually boiled down to three Poona Horse tanks taking on 14 Pakistani ones. Ten of the invaders were put out of operation but two of the Indian tanks developed problems too.It was now down to one Indian tank, that of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetrapal, and four Pakistanis. Khetrapal was all of 21. His tank was hit, he was wounded but he fought on. This Abhimanyu won the day for India but lost his life for his country. Khetrapal's valour made him the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra.His story, like that of 20 others who have been awarded India's highest honour for military gallantry, is the theme of Major-General Ian Cardozo's bookParam Vir: Our Heroes in Battle(Roli Books, Rs 295). The twist in the tale is a hitherto unreported sequel. Khetrapal came from a military family. His father, Brigadier Madan Lal Khetrapal, served in the Corps of Engineers and saw action in Burma, 1944-45.In 2001, the senior Khetrapal, then 81, sought to travel to Sargodha in Pakistan for "one last look at the place where he was born". His host in Lahore was one Brigadier K.M. Nasir, a friend's friend. In the final hours of the Indian visitor's three days in Pakistan, Nasir made an unusual confession. He told his guest that he was there at the Battle of Bade Pind, which the Indians call the Battle of Basantar: "We were soldiers unknown to each other, fighting for the safety and honour of our respective countries. I regret to have to tell you that your son died at my hands."...honourable enemy:M.L. Khetrapal (left) regards Nasir aIt was a strange story, leaving both the teller and listener with a strange mix of feelings. Khetrapal returned to India but was unable to tell his wife that his gracious host was also their son's killer. When INDIA TODAY spoke to Brigadier Khetrapal in Delhi, the officer was ever the gentleman. There was no rancour for Nasir, "I'm an old soldier, I know the feeling. It's a will to dominate on the field."In Lahore, Nasir - just back from his assignment as manager of the Pakistani cricket team's tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe - echoed his Delhi friend. "In battle you don't see faces or people. You only see the tank ... Arun Khetrapal was singularly responsible for our failure that day. He was a very brave boy." The Poona Horse and Lancers have an old relationship.As Nasir, 58, recalls, "In 1947, a Sikh squadron of the Lancers went across to the Poona Horse. And a Muslim squadron came over to the Lancers." On December 16, 1971, in a sense, Indian and Pakistani soldiers fought their old regiments. In Cardozo's book, and outside as well, the two brigadiers, Khetrapal and Nasir, emerge as honourable men, in the best traditions of soldiery.There is none of the maudlin nonsense of professional romantics. If they were to relive 1971, the Khetrapals and Nasirs would fight just as hard, do their duty just as diligently - and respect each other just as much. Maybe someday the rest of us will learn from them.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Feb 10, 2003 00:00 IST--- ENDS ---
