IT was past midnight. Feeling restless, I came out of the operations room. What could be happening hundred-odd km away made me perspire.

The moment of reckoning was nearing. It was the culmination of 16 months of a relentless offensive to clear South Manipur of insurgents.

After four days, all the teams closed in on to the designated areas. The main blow was to be delivered by the teams of Dogra led by Lt-Col Rajiv Bakshi, the Officiating Commanding Officer. In fact, success of the operation was largely dependent upon this column.

For past 24 hours, there was not contact with Rajiv’s column as they were to cut through thick jungle. At last, the radioset came alive. Rajiv told me that he was in close proximity of the target and going to strike at first light.

Stretched out on the sofa in the operation room I awaited the dawn to set in. I was shaken out of slumber by the Duty Officer. He apprised me of the fierce encounter that was on in the Parbung area, and added that Rajiv had been critically wounded. A helicopter was on the way to evacuate him.

Within minutes, I was able to get through to Lieutenant Pant who was now leading the operations.

He told me that Church Hill had been effectively surrounded and an intense encounter was on.

I sat back, leaving it to the staff to monitor progress of other teams. The brief lull was broken when Military Hospital at Masimpur communicated the news of Rajiv’s demise.

Was the worst unfolding? As I was wondering over the option of moving in some reinforcements, some good news started pouring in. Pant’s team had stormed Church Hill and took a heavy toll of the militants, eliminating half a dozen, including the area commander.

Simultaneously, all the other teams stuck at their respective targets and by mid-day over a dozen militants had been eliminated. What seemed to be a fiasco in the morning, turned out to be one of the most successful counter-insurgency operations conducted in the area.

In the evening, with a heavy heart and deep sense of loss, I spoke to Colonel JML Bakshi, Rajiv’s father, to personally share the grief as also to narrate the heroic performances. In a composed tone, after listening to me Colonel Bakshi responded: “General Dwivedi – I am proud of Rajiv on two counts, firstly as a father, for he has done the family proud and secondly as ex-commanding officer, because Rajiv has maintained the legacy of the battalion”.

All I could manage to say was that the “sacrifice made by Rajiv will not go in vain”. “God bless you all,” said Colonel Bakshi and hung up.

Next day when I landed at Parbung, it was a bright morning. The residents had turned up in large numbers to share their sentiments and express gratitude for the supreme sacrifice made by Rajiv and the contribution of his valiant team for ushering in a new era for the community. The militants had been meted natural justice as they had run their writ for almost 10 years.

To immortalise Rajiv and as mark of gratitude to the Army a memorial has been constructed on Church Hill which will always remind the posterity of the historic event. On January 20 every year, special service is solemnised by the locals. On this day, when sound of gong echoes in the Parbung valley, thousands of miles away, some of us would stand in silence, reckoning “for whom the bell tolls”. 

Published in The Tribune  by by Maj-Gen G.G.( Retd. )  Dwivedi