AN ADJUTANT RECALLS

OCCULT INFLUENCE OF COMMANDANT POONA HORSE DURING 1971 WAR

 

“In shallow men the fish of little thoughts cause much commotion. In oceanic minds the whales of inspiration make hardly a ruffle.” – Paramhans Yoganand, ‘Autobiography of A Yogi’

 

The new discoveries by modern science in 'Quantum entanglement', prove the interconnectedness of two spatially apart particles where information is exchanged at speeds greater than the speed of light. The medically accepted theory of ‘Placebo effect’ is interestingly premised on the power of human thought or auto suggestion. The scientific finding of conscious mind affecting the reality is again reflected by the ‘Observer Effect’ experiment in the field of quantum theory, which establishes a relationship between an observer and observed reality. The three happenings point towards convergence of the Western scientific and Eastern philosophical thoughts on the phenomenal power that can be accessed by a practiced human mind.

Ancient Indian scriptures and yogic practices are premised on raising the vibration frequency of the human etheric body through deep meditation, bringing it in greater alignment to the vibrations of the ‘Brahmand’ (Cosmos). It expands the consciousness to enable sensing and greater understanding of occurrences, and even influencing their outcome through focused power of the human mind.

Over period of time, the Indian spiritual tradition under deep influence of teachings of Gautam Buddha, God incarnate in Buddhism, began looking at spirituality and non-violence as an interlinked duality. In the 20^th century CE, this influence was further ingrained into the Indian spiritual psyche with Mahatma Gandhi according primacy to non-violence in India’s struggle for freedom.

However, it was not always so. In the pre Buddhist era, spirituality and violence on the battlefield went hand in hand, as exemplified by ‘Yodha Rishis’ Parshuram, Krishna, Vikramaditya and a pantheon of other soldier saints. Even other religions have produced towering spiritual personalities who were equally successful in navigating violence on the battlefield. Joan of Arc, Prophet Mohammad, Knight Templars, Guru Gobind Singh, are some of the hallowed beings that come to mind who were equally successful bearing arms on the battlefield. It’s also an interesting coincidence that the Gods of the ancient Indian, Greek, Roman, Nordic, to name a few religions followed in older civilisations, are depicted armed with exotic weapons.

Post-independence, Late Lt Gen Hanut Singh was the first renowned personality to successfully overturn the overpowering influence of spirituality and non-violence duality, which had continued to grip modern Indian psyche, and therein lies his legacy. His battlefield experiences recall the days of the ‘Yodha Rishis’ of yore, who had mastered the art of influencing elemental energies to shape the outcome on the battlefield. The opening quote is an apt summation of the spiritual strength of Late Lt Gen Hanut Singh, a devout soldier saint. 

Capt BS Takhar was the Adjutant under Lt Col Hanut Singh, Commandant of the famed Poona Horse, in Basantar River sector during 1971 War.  Later in service both rose to the high rank of Lt Generals in the army.

Lt Gen BS Takhar, better known as Bally in the services fraternity, recalls, “It was 14^th of December 1971, the time was around 1730 hrs or so with the sun just setting over the horizon, when our tanks started entering the tank harbour for the night, in enemy territory. Suddenly enemy artillery started shelling in the general area. A shell landed on a nearby Signal Regiment detachment blowing two to three of their personnel to smithereens. Lt Col Hanut Singh, the Commandant was standing in the open, unmindful of the artillery shelling. I rushed towards him, calling out for him to take cover. When I saw no response to my warning, I tried catching his arm to push him under the tank for safety. Lt Col Hanut had an outwardly frail looking build, but despite my strong physique, I had to use all my strength to guide him under the tank. Of course, after the shelling was over, he warned me to never repeat this ever again. His reasoning was very simple, as a Commandant he cannot afford to show fear in front of his men.”

Lt Col Hanut Singh was a professional to the core, well read on mechanised forces tactics and strategy, and had trained his Regiment to perfection. He was also a great spiritualist and could undertake deep meditation for six to eight hours at a stretch. Bally Takhar goes on to say that, “Whenever there was a lull in combat on the battlefield, we would dig a pit under the tank, to enable him to undertake deep meditation.   His enormous spiritual strength coupled with his professionalism, stood the Regiment in good stead during the 1971 War. His decisions on the battlefield were always out of the ordinary. The Regiment was waiting for minefield breaching to be completed for induction into the bridgehead. Only 250 yards of enemy minefield had been breached so far, when he suddenly ordered the tanks to move across the unbreached minefield to induct into the bridgehead, as he could visualise the requirement of armour to stave off pressure on the infantry from enemy armour counterattack. We got across the approximately 600 meter deep unbreached portion of the enemy minefield without any losses, but the leading Armoured Personnel Carrier of 18 RAJ RIF following through was blown up in a mine blast.”

Subsequently, over 16^th and 17^th December 1971, Poona Horse engaged in fierce tank versus tank battles with 13 Lancers and 31 Cavalry of Pakistan Army. It bore the brunt of three to four determined counter attacks by tanks of the two enemy armoured regiments but successfully repulsed them, inflicting severe losses on the enemy.

The focused spirituality of Lt Col Hanut Singh, the professionalism and the daredevilry of officers and tank crew of Poona Horse enabled them to carry the day. A key factor in their success was the uncanny adeptness of their Commandant to know the focal point of the battle at every stage, and the knack to position himself accordingly to influence the course of events, even when personally engaging enemy tanks.

In the course of two days of continuous battle, Poona Horse destroyed 50 to 60 enemy tanks, before ceasefire was declared. In the process it also suffered around 15 odd own tank casualties. Pakistan lauded the valour of Poona Horse by bestowing upon it the sobriquet of ‘Fakhr E Hind’ (The Pride of India).

Post retirement, Lt Gen Hanut Singh led an ascetic life at an ashram on Rajpur Road at Dehra Dun, till he attained final ‘samadhi’ in 2015.