AFVOA Newletter August 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2020 Page 111 of 237 state from a protectorate. The army was always there. We were part of 27 Div with Hq in Kalimpong. We had a massive infection of infectious hepatitis (Jaundice) in our battalion in August-September 1975. Nearly a third of the troops were affected. Being a water borne infection we enforced strict water discipline. The water was generally picked up from a mountain stream and in winters, snow was melted. Safe water points were established, making sure they were not in line with deep trench latrines high up including closed ones. Every evening I made it a point to go around HQ area checking water was collected properly and boiled before consumption. One evening in November 1975, I was going across to check one of the cook houses of SP company, I found Guardsman (Sepoy) Ajaib Singh was collecting water from a non- authorised water point, a stream running behind the Officers Mess. Ajaib was a waiter in the mess. He was a Garhwali and a tough chap. Where a normal jawan will struggle to carry one pakhal (Aluminium water containers), he would march along with one pakhal on each shoulder. But he was dumb and how dumb, I was to learn later. It was about 4pm and in the east in winters, it gets dark by that time. I hauled him up and fired him. Readers may excuse if I go back to another prelude to the ensuing episode. When we first moved into high altitude location, there was a lot of confusion. After a Bangalore tenure, the troops were finding it difficult with weather, terrain and huge workload. Adjutant Major Randhir Sethi let himself go at the Signals NCO because his telephone was not working. At his belligerent best, he ordered the NCO that signal platoon would take seven days’ ration and climb Kanchenjunga the next day. When reporting to the company commander Major DV Sharma the NCO repeated the orders of the adjutant. Major Sharma burst out laughing and asked him to sort out the adjutant problems. Earlier to this reference, we were with the RMO having a go at the mess waiter. I remembered Sethi's episode and wanted to emulate him in giving a funny order. I told Ajaib Singh that he would run up to the command post and say "Ram Ram" (greetings) to Major Mann in Sher. This may sound Greek to the readers. Command post is the place from which the Commanding Officer directs operations if there is a war. It was located right we were, a little hillock with a view of all the posts. Sher was our farthest post about 3 or 4 kms away on the watershed, the Mcmohan line. The commander of that post was Major Pup Mann. Ajaib Singh was to understand that he had been ordered to climb the hillock and come down, a task of about 15 minutes. But lo and behold that was not to be, when I learnt later. I went back to my bunker in another hillock and soon my orderly Moti came running to admonish me (Kya Kiya Aapne) and tells me that the mess staff had taken off to Sher on my orders. I panicked and ran to the mess. Dumb Ajaib thought I had