'Right there in Chhamb, with 13th Infantry Division. I belong to the Sikh Regiment and my battalion – 35 Sikh – was deployed at Chhamb in the middle of a brigade group. Now you must understand why Pakistan attacked us in Chhamb. Chhamb is not just a village on the west bank of the river Munawar Tawi. It is also the lifeline to the districts of Akhnoor and Jaurian. You capture Chhamb and you pose a threat to the entire state.
'So that night Pakistan launched a three-pronged attack against us. They came in with a heavy artillery barrage. Guns and mortar. The firing was so intense that in just a few hours nearly all our bunkers were badly damaged and three of our border patrols had been taken out.
'I was in command of a forward post with three men when the attack started. My post was attacked by the enemy in vastly superior strength. You must remember that we had only three battalions across the Munawar Tawi, which faced a division of Pakistani infantry, the 23rd Infantry Division, with a brigade of armour, about one hundred and fifty tanks, and about nine to ten regiments of artillery. Pakistan had more artillery in Chhamb than in the whole of the Eastern Front.
'The three men under me at that time were Sukhvinder Singh from Patiala, Rajeshwar from Hoshiarpur and Karnail Singh from Ludhiana. Karnail was the best of the lot, a tall, muscular man with a booming voice and an infectious smile. He had no fear of war. He had no fear of death. But there was one fear that nagged him each and every day.'
'And what was that?' asks Mr Kulkarni.
'The fear of being buried. You see, we had heard that these Pakistanis, if they found the dead bodies of any Indian soldiers, would never return them to us. Instead, they would deliberately bury them according to Muslim tradition, even if the Indian soldiers were Hindu. Karnail was a God-fearing and devout man, and he was terrified that if he died in battle, his body would be buried six feet under the ground instead of being cremated. "Promise me, Sir," he said to me a week before the war started, "that you will ensure that I am cremated properly if I die. Otherwise my soul will never find peace and will be forced to roam the depths of the netherworld for another thirty-six thousand years." I tried to reassure him, telling him he was not going to die, but he was adamant. So, simply to stop his nagging, I told him, "OK, Karnail, if you die, I promise I will have you cremated with full Hindu rites."
'So, on the night of December the third, we were in a forward bunker – Karnail, Sukhvinder, Rajeshwar and me – when the firing started . . .'
He is interrupted by Putul. 'Uncle, did your bunker have a TV, like ours?'
The soldier laughs. 'No, my son. Our bunker was not as luxurious. It didn't have a carpet or a TV.
It was small and cramped. Only four people could crawl into it. It was infested with mosquitoes and sometimes even snakes would come to visit us.'
Balwant's tone becomes more serious. 'Now I don't know whether any of you is familiar with the topography of Chhamb. It is a flat area, but is known for its grey stones and the sarkanda – elephant grass – so tall and thick it can camouflage a tank. Through this thick grass, the enemy came at us under cover of darkness. Before we knew it, mortars were exploding to our left and right. It was pitch dark and I could not see a thing. A grenade was launched at our bunker, but we were able to scramble out before it exploded. As we ventured out of the bunker, a spray of automatic fire from a light machine gun greeted our every step. Quietly, we began advancing on foot, walking in a straight line, trying to determine the source of the firing. We made good headway and had almost reached the Pakistani bunker from where the firing was being directed, when a mortar bomb exploded just behind me. Before I knew it, Sukhvinder and Rajeshwar were dead and Karnail was bleeding from a shrapnel wound to his stomach. I was the only one to escape with superficial injuries. I quickly informed my company commander of the casualties. I also told him that there was an LMG position which was belching deadly fire from the enemy bunker and that if it was not stopped it would cause heavy damage to the company. My CO told me that he could not spare another sub-unit, and asked me to somehow neutralize the LMG position.
' "I am going towards the enemy bunker," I told Karnail. "You provide covering fire for me."
'But Karnail blocked my way. "This is a suicide mission, Sir," he told me.
' "I know, Karnail," I replied, "But someone has got to do it."
