Brig Rajinder Singh: Kashmir’s ‘Captain Of The Gate’ – OpEd

A Sinister Plan Unfolds

Immediately after the British left Indian shores in 1947, both Independent India and the newly created state of Pakistan undertook a flurry of consolidation related activities. While the Indian leadership concentrated on shaping a unified India by negotiating terms of accession with the more than 500 erstwhile princely states, the Pakistanis unfortunately seemed to be more concerned about expanding the nascent nation’s boundaries through devious means.

On August 18, Pakistan army’s Commander-in-Chief [C-in-C] Gen Frank Walter Messervy issued written orders outlining details of a covert military campaign [codenamed Operation Gulmarg] in garb of a tribal ‘invasion’ to annex J&K. That the army of a newly created nation would issue a war directive within 96 hours or so after its birth may sound bizarre, this is exactly what happened and Pakistan’s perfidy would have gone unreported had Maj [Later Maj Gen] OS Kalkat not stumbled upon this crucial document.

Warning Ignored

Serving as Brigade Major of the Bannu Frontier Force Brigade being commanded by Brig CP Murry, Maj Kalkat was authorised to open official communications addressed to the Brigade Commander in his absence. As Brig Murry was away on August 20, 1947, Maj Kalkat opened a demi-official top secret letter written by Pakistan army C-in-C that was addressed to the Brigade Commander. This document that had been signed just two days ago contained war plans for Operation Gulmarg and mentioned October 22, 1947, as the day of its commencement.

Though Maj Kalkat managed to escape to India and on reaching army headquarters at New Delhi narrated details about the imminent invasion of J&K to senior military officers, unfortunately, his warning wasn’t taken seriously. Probably it was opined that a newly created nation with a host of national issues required to be urgently addressed was unlikely to take such a drastic step.

In Srinagar, the ruler of J&K Maharaja Hari Singh was also oblivious of Pakistan’s sinister designs. He refused to exercise his option for accession and appeared confident that Pakistan wouldn’t resort to annexing his kingdom through force and subterfuge. The reason for his optimism was probably the ‘standstill agreement’ which Pakistan had entered into with the princely state of J&K.

The ‘standstill agreement’ ensured that after Independence, all existing administrative arrangements between the British Crown and princely states would continue unaltered between the signatory dominion [India/Pakistan] and concerned princely states until new arrangements were made. Hence, any move by Pakistan to change the status quo through use of force was tantamount to brazen violation of this agreement and hence extremely unlikely.

An Agreement Dishonoured

Recognition of the British Crown’s suzerainty by the royalty of undivided India ruled out the scope of local skirmishes or any clash of arms between principalities. Furthermore, the British rulers ensured that state forces maintained by princely states posed no threat to the British Crown and as such, these armies were largely ceremonial in nature with negligible combat experience, and J&K was no exception.

Being numerically far inferior and equipped with obsolete weapons, J&K state forces were no match for the World War 2 battle hardened regulars of the Pakistan army providing command elements as well as bolstering the strength of tribal lashkars [militias] as foot soldiers. As this force approached Muzaffarabad on the night of October 21/22, Muslim soldiers of J&K Princely State Forces stationed there mutinied, murdering their commanding officer and Dogra comrades-in-arms as they slept.

With the mutineers joining the invaders, the entire 180 km route to Srinagar was left completely unguarded. The situation, to say the least, was utterly hopeless as all seemed lost!

J&K’s ‘Horatius’ Emerges

On October 22, the beleaguered Maharaja summoned his army chief Brigadier Rajinder Singh and ordered him to defend J&K “till the last man and last bullet.” The Maharaja’s son Dr Karan Singh who was present in the room recalls that on receiving this order, Brig Rajinder Singh “just saluted and walked away.” Mustering about 150- 260 men including some officers armed with obsolete weapons and limited ammunition, he set out for Uri in private transport and reached there at about 2 AM on the night of October 22/23.

Taking a small body of soldiers with him, Brig Rajinder Singh moved forward and encountered the invaders in Garhi. Though it offered stiff resistance, his small detachment was greatly outnumbered as well as outgunned. Despite the overwhelming odds, Brig Rajinder Singh remained steadfast and continued rallying his troops through personal example, carrying out retrograde operations to slow down the advance of the invaders. This included blowing up the Uri bridge and fighting delaying actions from a series of defensive positions at Mahura, Rampur and finally at Baramulla.

The fact that Brig Rajinder Singh was able to delay the more than 20,000-strong invading force with less than 300 men speaks volumes about his professional acumen and dedication. Despite having had several brushes with death, Brig Rajinder Singh continued leading from the front and when his driver was killed in an ambush, he took control of the wheel himself. On being grievously injured subsequently, Brig Rajinder Singh refused evacuation as it would further deplete the already miniscule strength of the defenders.

Instead he ordered his men to proceed and execute the defensive battle plan as time was at a premium, leaving him where he was. Inspired by Brig Rajinder Singh’s selflessness and sacrifice, his men engaged the invaders in a tough fight during which most of them laid down their lives. Nothing is known what happened to Brig Rajinder Singh as his mortal remains were never found.

However, those who fell while defending J&K from invaders didn’t die in vain- they were able to delay a much larger and better armed enemy for four days, creating a window that enabled J&K’s accession to India and facilitated the Indian army to land its troops at Srinagar airport for evicting the intruders. Brig Rajindir Singh was posthumously awarded Maha Vir Chakra, India’s second highest gallantry award.

By living up to the exacting “last man last bullet” credo, Brig Rajinder Singh has epitomised the core professional value revered by every thoroughbred military person and reminds one of Thomas Babington Macaulay’s famous lines-

“Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
“To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods?”