A chance meeting with an enemy soldier

Kamal Baruah

(kamal.baruah@yahoo.com)

When Pakistani forces fire along the Indo-Pak border, my Chinese connection at the ancient Silk Road had raised eyebrows over the border. There are many tales of extraordinary solidarity among military. Being soldier, I had keen observation with my foreign counterparts.

"Savdhan"! Warrant Officer Wagh was taking POP rehearsal at AF Station Jalahalli. All but one refused to do. "I'm not supposed to follow your drill". Nobody dares to talk against ferocious Commander. KD Joseph was a would-be trainee pilot who stood up as the member of royal Seychelles Peoples' Defence Force. But other foreign trainees from Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal were rather serious.

My desire to meet an enemy soldier didn't happen early, although I worked with enemy call sign at Border Dett. The HF Receiver suddenly went on clear voice "PAF ONE CRASH-LANDED". I was frantic with worry and pressed the record button instantly. With President Pervez Musharraf on board, it was in fact a mock drill at Keti Bandar near Karachi. I wasn't disheartened at those memories of faint noises between ATC and F16 pilots down at night, drifting off to sleep and kept awakening while flying on.

As a soldier my quest for meeting the enemy face-to-face had not been fulfilled since fighting in Kargil, but it was fulfilled as a tourist recently. And I can't remember an occasion when there was so much excitement and anticipation that made merrymaking through the rugged terrain of winding road. Sharp cliffs didn't end our enthusiastic. Indian Army welcomed us offering chocolates at the final steep path and with a note of caution, "you are under observation, no stopping, no halting and no photography". The 'Nathu La' gate rose in front of us.

We climbed up stairs leading to the peak at 14,420 feet elevation. It was shivering cold of sudden dip in temperature and I experienced the coldest time as chilly winds swept in the air. The barren hillside were shrouded in mist and covered by thick clouds in the atmosphere. The visibility was very low. We felt breathlessness at that height. A cloud of tiny water droplets suspended at our face. Even the sun disappeared behind cloud. It's a major corridor of passage between India and Tibet. We reached the top of the world.

Nathu La holds strategic importance. The soldiers are patrolling along the perceived border. Basically there was no fencing. It was like barbed wire frontier. Surprisingly they're unarmed. The lively presence of Chinese in olive green made us so cheerful.I felt totally unnerved by the encounter asI happened to shake hands with one young Chinese from People's Liberation Army but he disliked the idea of meeting us. I was trying to communicate "Hello, how're you?". But he quietly left us nodding head without answering anything. Chinese military law covers them under another great difficulty. And probably English language isn't their cup of tea.

Their spirits are high even after undergoing several operations through their face and shattered arms. Soldiers are able to endure hardship resiliently. Army is protecting us as tough as old boots. The Nathu La memorial inculcated us to motivate the feeling of nationalism. The saying goes "when you go home tell them of us, we gave our today for your tomorrow". But I couldn't stay long for low level of oxygen. The sudden changed in weather forced me to leave the historic point. But I've fulfilled my dream of meeting an enemy soldier without firing a bullet at the regions bordering China.