All for One
All went wrong; everything that was going according to the set strategies was now going awry. The Pakistanis had started bombarding again in full force. Our men had been in command through out the battle, but a minor soldier of the enemy was proving to be a major hurdle. Kill him and the victory was ours. Hidden away in the woods, victory could be seen, but who will conquer her was the big question.
Hope was completely on Joginder now. He was new to this territory, but has come to fore magnificently. He saw around him and saw that one of Jawans who was leading the attack a few minutes ago was down; badly wounded he was looking for some rest, which he would not get soon.
With his sub ordinate down, it was up to Joginder now to take on the enemy. This was his first major assignment but he looked like he was a veteran. Due to his adaptability his Commander had given him the final task of finishing off the Pakistani. There had been some casualties in the last ten minutes. And the time was for desperate measures.
A light breeze was flowing over the grounds making it a perfect weather for a mid summer outing. You could smell the tension in the air. The evening sky was darkening by the minute and the animals around them were waiting in the bushes ready to pounce on the losers. Joginder could hear the sound of the river flowing some 200 yards away. Listening to the river he remembered the stream in his village, how he used to swim in the river, free from all the worries. Life was so simple back then.
Joginder was from a small village in Haryana and was from the lower rung of the society. Growing up was a struggle due to his father’s meager wages. He wanted to do something big in life, wanted to achieve what his father always wished for. He was never too good in studies, nor was he interested in it, so he never bothered himself with the academics. But he dreamt big, and believed that you don’t have to have an educational degree to achieve something in life. All you need is hard work and of course luck.
When he told his father, Shri Om Prakash Sharma, what he wanted to do with his life, his father was very furious. He was never too happy with Joginder’s educational efforts and always had a short temper, which is very common with people who need money but don’t have it. His Paan shop was not able to make him enough money even to feed his family of 4 sons and a wife, let alone the desire to have some luxuries.
Om Prakash was a very simple man, he did whatever he could for his family, and he never complained about his life, poor but happy, uneducated yet a principled man. But at the same time he wanted something better for his children. He wanted them to become bada aadmis. And according to him, you can become bada only if you have an educational backing. Look at him, he did not study, and he was not a big man, he was an aam aadmi.
Well, Om Prakash was about to be proved wrong, by his own son. But when Joginder told his father that he wanted to serve the country, Om Prakash lost his fuse and said that he will not allow him to waste his life. He said, that he thought that his son was a dud in studies but today he was acting as if he had no brains at all. This field was not for small and poor people, poor people only die here, while the rich take all the medals, fame and money. They use the bodies of their juniors as steps towards fame.
But Joginder knew his calling. So with whatever resources he had, he trained himself and had a supporter in his younger cousin Narender. Joginder excelled in almost everything in his academy. He was appreciated by his trainers and was the star cadet of his school. But nothing he did was enough for Om Prakash.
Finally, the big day arrived and he was called to serve his country. This time Om Prakash too realized that his son could do something worthwhile and he too wished him all the best when he left for the front.
Suddenly, Joginder saw that his commander was running towards him. He too started walking towards his senior. He saw that even though his last few plans to finish the enemy had failed, his commander was looking as cool as a polar bear. He told Joginder that he had done a fabulous job so far, and he did not care whatever happened now. He said that, by getting this far proved that they were great at whatever they were doing.
It all boiled down to this moment, one stroke of genius and they would become heroes. Their names will be engraved in history books and they will become icons and idols for youngsters. All the fame he thought about growing up, all the money that he could never even dream about, would be theirs.
But even if they lost, it would not be that bad. No one gave them a chance to begin with. It was a young platoon of inexperienced soldiers; no one ever dreamt that they would get this close to victory. Most thought that they will be wiped out before the 5th day of the war ended, but they were still going strong on the 15th day of the war, and had as much a chance to win, if not more, as the enemy.
So the commander told Joginder to free his mind from all the tension and all the nerves. Just do the basics rightly, no need to treat this moment as special, it would only be special if they succeeded, otherwise it is just another day, just another not so special day.
With this Mahendra turned and started walking towards his position. His story was not much different from Joginder. His father Pan Singh, who was a lower division clerk in a company, had to struggle to meet every need of his family. Pan Singh stayed away from home to work in his company and Mahendra had to do his studies away from home. There he excelled in all physical activities and it was no surprise to his parents when he said that he wanted to work for his motherland.
Mahendra’s rise was astonishing; he had jetted his way to the top and had become the Commander of his platoon which had many people senior to him, in age as well as in experience. But his fore sighted ness and his ability to hold his juniors together made him a clear choice for the post of a leader.
The plan was simple in construction but really complex in application. In all there were thirteen men left with the army. And only two Pakistani soldiers remained. Even if we could just kill one of them we would seal the win.
INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) 5.56mmx45 mm LMG, the machine guns used by the Indian Army, had the disability to fire at the will of the soldier. When started it only stops after a round is completed. Accordingly, we had ammunition for only attempt six times. But it could all be over with one perfect attack.
The commander chalked out six positions from where we could control the enemy. While taking these positions they will try to finish off the Pakistani. If after the six attacks we were not able to kill him but have at least two soldiers, alive we could capture the pakis and seal the win.
It was up to Joginder to see to it that the mission was carried out without any hiccups. The enemy had to kill all the thirteen soldiers to win the battle; there was no other way for survival.
All set to roll, Joginder directed one of the Jawans to take place for the first attack. He gave him the order to step out and told his partner to give him cover. They were hiding at the very edge of the cliff, and Joginder in his edginess gave a false signal, and one of the soldiers read who saw Joginder ran out of his hideout, suddenly Joginder panicked and waved again to tell him to get back inside. Due to this confusion, he lost balance and fell in the valley.
There was a bit of a panic at such a bad omen. They had not even attacked once and one of their soldiers was dead. The death toll continued, and it took a few seconds to regain calmness. Joginder knew that this was completely his fault. But he knew that he had to keep on moving.
He again gave the go ahead and this time the task was completed with perfection. Two soldiers got out of their hideouts while another soldier gave them cover, and they reached the decided spot without harm. The paki shot at them but missed them by a mile. Now Joginder too gained a lot of confidence and started thinking that this could be done.
Now Joginder ordered a larger number of people to attack the Pakistanis. By doing so he took the risk of exposing his men to the enemy, but he thought that by looking at a larger group, the Pakistanis will get scared and try something foolish and will be easier to destroy. So when he ordered his men to attack, he found that the paki soldier took his bait and left his hiding position and attacked the Indian soldiers head on.
Looking at this several Jawans left their places and started shooting at the lone paki soldier while his sub ordinate was hiding in the bushes. Rat-a-tat-ta-ta-tat. There was a cloud of dust that surrounded the area for some fifteen seconds. When the dust settled the scene was not what the Indians wanted to see.
Six of their men had been killed in the blind firing between the two sides. While the enemy soldier still held his ground and was gaining confidence by the second.
Joginder felt fear for the first time; he knew that now the odds were somewhat against him. The Pakistani soldier had now continued to destroy the Indian plans. But Joginder knew that he had to fight till the last breath in his body. The enemy was in a way better position then the Indian army but they had to move on and they had to try to bring him down.
Mahendra made some last minute changes in the plans and changed the position of one of his men. The strategy was to try and bring the paki out of his hiding by creating an opportunity for him to destroy the Indian army in one shot. But this time they will be ready and get him before he comes to know what hit him.
This was crunch situation and Joginder knew that he had to do what was required from him. So he went with the plan and ordered 4 of his men to go in from front and ordered the injured soldier to keep a look out for the paki soldier and hit him the moment he gets his first glimpse.
Taking his Devi’s name Joginder gave the nod and the four soldiers jumped out of their hideout and started shooting at a spot some 50 yards away from the paki hideout. The Pakistani soldier thought that the Indian soldiers had miscalculated his hiding place and were targeting the wrong area. So he too ran out from the dugout and before he could even fire from his gun, Shreesanth grabbed him from behind and by this India won the World Cup by five runs and 3 balls to spare.
All went wrong; everything that was going according to the set strategies was now going awry. The Pakistanis had started bombarding again in full force. Our men had been in command through out the battle, but a minor soldier of the enemy was proving to be a major hurdle. Kill him and the victory was ours. Hidden away in the woods, victory could be seen, but who will conquer her was the big question.
Hope was completely on Joginder now. He was new to this territory, but has come to fore magnificently. He saw around him and saw that one of Jawans who was leading the attack a few minutes ago was down; badly wounded he was looking for some rest, which he would not get soon.
With his sub ordinate down, it was up to Joginder now to take on the enemy. This was his first major assignment but he looked like he was a veteran. Due to his adaptability his Commander had given him the final task of finishing off the Pakistani. There had been some casualties in the last ten minutes. And the time was for desperate measures.
A light breeze was flowing over the grounds making it a perfect weather for a mid summer outing. You could smell the tension in the air. The evening sky was darkening by the minute and the animals around them were waiting in the bushes ready to pounce on the losers. Joginder could hear the sound of the river flowing some 200 yards away. Listening to the river he remembered the stream in his village, how he used to swim in the river, free from all the worries. Life was so simple back then.
Joginder was from a small village in Haryana and was from the lower rung of the society. Growing up was a struggle due to his father’s meager wages. He wanted to do something big in life, wanted to achieve what his father always wished for. He was never too good in studies, nor was he interested in it, so he never bothered himself with the academics. But he dreamt big, and believed that you don’t have to have an educational degree to achieve something in life. All you need is hard work and of course luck.
When he told his father, Shri Om Prakash Sharma, what he wanted to do with his life, his father was very furious. He was never too happy with Joginder’s educational efforts and always had a short temper, which is very common with people who need money but don’t have it. His Paan shop was not able to make him enough money even to feed his family of 4 sons and a wife, let alone the desire to have some luxuries.
Om Prakash was a very simple man, he did whatever he could for his family, and he never complained about his life, poor but happy, uneducated yet a principled man. But at the same time he wanted something better for his children. He wanted them to become bada aadmis. And according to him, you can become bada only if you have an educational backing. Look at him, he did not study, and he was not a big man, he was an aam aadmi.
Well, Om Prakash was about to be proved wrong, by his own son. But when Joginder told his father that he wanted to serve the country, Om Prakash lost his fuse and said that he will not allow him to waste his life. He said, that he thought that his son was a dud in studies but today he was acting as if he had no brains at all. This field was not for small and poor people, poor people only die here, while the rich take all the medals, fame and money. They use the bodies of their juniors as steps towards fame.
But Joginder knew his calling. So with whatever resources he had, he trained himself and had a supporter in his younger cousin Narender. Joginder excelled in almost everything in his academy. He was appreciated by his trainers and was the star cadet of his school. But nothing he did was enough for Om Prakash.
Finally, the big day arrived and he was called to serve his country. This time Om Prakash too realized that his son could do something worthwhile and he too wished him all the best when he left for the front.
Suddenly, Joginder saw that his commander was running towards him. He too started walking towards his senior. He saw that even though his last few plans to finish the enemy had failed, his commander was looking as cool as a polar bear. He told Joginder that he had done a fabulous job so far, and he did not care whatever happened now. He said that, by getting this far proved that they were great at whatever they were doing.
It all boiled down to this moment, one stroke of genius and they would become heroes. Their names will be engraved in history books and they will become icons and idols for youngsters. All the fame he thought about growing up, all the money that he could never even dream about, would be theirs.
But even if they lost, it would not be that bad. No one gave them a chance to begin with. It was a young platoon of inexperienced soldiers; no one ever dreamt that they would get this close to victory. Most thought that they will be wiped out before the 5th day of the war ended, but they were still going strong on the 15th day of the war, and had as much a chance to win, if not more, as the enemy.
So the commander told Joginder to free his mind from all the tension and all the nerves. Just do the basics rightly, no need to treat this moment as special, it would only be special if they succeeded, otherwise it is just another day, just another not so special day.
With this Mahendra turned and started walking towards his position. His story was not much different from Joginder. His father Pan Singh, who was a lower division clerk in a company, had to struggle to meet every need of his family. Pan Singh stayed away from home to work in his company and Mahendra had to do his studies away from home. There he excelled in all physical activities and it was no surprise to his parents when he said that he wanted to work for his motherland.
Mahendra’s rise was astonishing; he had jetted his way to the top and had become the Commander of his platoon which had many people senior to him, in age as well as in experience. But his fore sighted ness and his ability to hold his juniors together made him a clear choice for the post of a leader.
The plan was simple in construction but really complex in application. In all there were thirteen men left with the army. And only two Pakistani soldiers remained. Even if we could just kill one of them we would seal the win.
INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) 5.56mmx45 mm LMG, the machine guns used by the Indian Army, had the disability to fire at the will of the soldier. When started it only stops after a round is completed. Accordingly, we had ammunition for only attempt six times. But it could all be over with one perfect attack.
The commander chalked out six positions from where we could control the enemy. While taking these positions they will try to finish off the Pakistani. If after the six attacks we were not able to kill him but have at least two soldiers, alive we could capture the pakis and seal the win.
It was up to Joginder to see to it that the mission was carried out without any hiccups. The enemy had to kill all the thirteen soldiers to win the battle; there was no other way for survival.
All set to roll, Joginder directed one of the Jawans to take place for the first attack. He gave him the order to step out and told his partner to give him cover. They were hiding at the very edge of the cliff, and Joginder in his edginess gave a false signal, and one of the soldiers read who saw Joginder ran out of his hideout, suddenly Joginder panicked and waved again to tell him to get back inside. Due to this confusion, he lost balance and fell in the valley.
There was a bit of a panic at such a bad omen. They had not even attacked once and one of their soldiers was dead. The death toll continued, and it took a few seconds to regain calmness. Joginder knew that this was completely his fault. But he knew that he had to keep on moving.
He again gave the go ahead and this time the task was completed with perfection. Two soldiers got out of their hideouts while another soldier gave them cover, and they reached the decided spot without harm. The paki shot at them but missed them by a mile. Now Joginder too gained a lot of confidence and started thinking that this could be done.
Now Joginder ordered a larger number of people to attack the Pakistanis. By doing so he took the risk of exposing his men to the enemy, but he thought that by looking at a larger group, the Pakistanis will get scared and try something foolish and will be easier to destroy. So when he ordered his men to attack, he found that the paki soldier took his bait and left his hiding position and attacked the Indian soldiers head on.
Looking at this several Jawans left their places and started shooting at the lone paki soldier while his sub ordinate was hiding in the bushes. Rat-a-tat-ta-ta-tat. There was a cloud of dust that surrounded the area for some fifteen seconds. When the dust settled the scene was not what the Indians wanted to see.
Six of their men had been killed in the blind firing between the two sides. While the enemy soldier still held his ground and was gaining confidence by the second.
Joginder felt fear for the first time; he knew that now the odds were somewhat against him. The Pakistani soldier had now continued to destroy the Indian plans. But Joginder knew that he had to fight till the last breath in his body. The enemy was in a way better position then the Indian army but they had to move on and they had to try to bring him down.
Mahendra made some last minute changes in the plans and changed the position of one of his men. The strategy was to try and bring the paki out of his hiding by creating an opportunity for him to destroy the Indian army in one shot. But this time they will be ready and get him before he comes to know what hit him.
This was crunch situation and Joginder knew that he had to do what was required from him. So he went with the plan and ordered 4 of his men to go in from front and ordered the injured soldier to keep a look out for the paki soldier and hit him the moment he gets his first glimpse.
Taking his Devi’s name Joginder gave the nod and the four soldiers jumped out of their hideout and started shooting at a spot some 50 yards away from the paki hideout. The Pakistani soldier thought that the Indian soldiers had miscalculated his hiding place and were targeting the wrong area. So he too ran out from the dugout and before he could even fire from his gun, Shreesanth grabbed him from behind and by this India won the World Cup by five runs and 3 balls to spare.
