Dial 9 for Assistance From The Mountain Rats
By
Colonel Awadhesh Kumar, Veteran Special Forces
On 26 Jan 2016, President Of India and the Supreme Commander In Chief Shri Pranab Mukherjee, conferred the award of ASHOK CHAKRA posthumously to Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami of 9 PARACHUTE SPECIAL FORCES. The medal was presented to his widow, right after the flag hoisting, with virtually the entire nation watching it along with the President of France, the Chief Guest.
ASHOK CHAKRA is the third highest National Award, the highest being the BHARAT RATNA followed by PARAM VIR CHAKRA ( PVC ). Though it is the second highest Gallantry award after PVC,for peace time act of bravery, this is the highest award.
Till date a total of 63 Ashok Chakra have been awarded and it includes both military and civilians. The first A C was awarded to Flight Lt Suhas Biswas, IAF.
The table below lists the Regiments/Corps which have won these Ashok Chakras along with the 21 PVCs awarded till date :
PVC /AC
(a) Armored Corps. 2 /0
(b) Corps of Engineers. 1/ 01
(c) Brigade of Guards 1/ 02
(d) Parachute Regiment 0/08
(e) Punjab Regiment – –
(f) Kumaon Regiment 2 /04
(g) Maratha Li Regiment 0/05
(h) Bihar Regiment 0/03
(i) Grenadiers Regiment 3/ 03
(j) Jat Regiment 0/04
(k) Sikh Regiment 2/0
(l) Mahar Regiment 1/0
(m) Rajput Regimen 1/ 01
(n) Rajputana Rifles Regiment 1. 02
(o) JAK Rifles Regiment 2/ 02
(p) JAK Light Regiment 1/02
(q) 1 Gurkha Rifles Regiment 1/ 01
(r) 5 Gurkha Rifles Regiment 0/01
(s) 8 Gurkha Rifles Regiment 1/ 04
(t) Gurkha Rifles Regiment 0/ 01
(u) 11 Gurkha Rifles Regiment 1/ 03
(v) Army Medical Corps –0/ 01
(w) IAF. 1/ 02
(x) Civilians – 0/01
(y) Police Forces Central/State –0/ 10
(z) Russian Miltary – 0/02
On perusal of above list, it can be seen that out of 23 Infantry Regiments, the Parachute Regiment alone has 08 Ashok Chakras. Four of these belong to 9 PARA SF and two to it’s Siamese twin 10 PARA SF ( this unit was carved out of 9 ).
So far 9 has 04 Ashok Chakra, 01 Kirti Chakra, 08 Vir Chakra, 24 Shaurya Chakra, 118 Sena Medal, 08 Yudh Seva Medal and 08 Vishist Seva Medal to it’s credit. This tally is in spite of the fact that in 1971 war for the Mandhol Gun Raid,Major Chander Malhotra deserved at least a Mahavir Chakra if not a Param Vir Chakra.
Only one Vir Chakra and one Sena Medal was awarded to Malhotras Charlie Group. For wringing the CHICKEN’S NECK, Narender Rathores Bravo Group received nothing and though Ashok Carriappas Alpha Group stood up like a wall and prevented the Paki break thru towards Akhnoor and eventually Jammu, was just given one Sena Medal.
I have to ask General O P Sabharwal or other Veterans of that time whether on 10August 1972, as Commanding Officer 9, he had thrown a Mess Party or not. His management of his battalion spread over three Infantry Divisions from Jammu to Poonch, finally stood vindicated. On this day Lt Gen PS Bhagat and Lt Gen Abdul Hamid Khan had met at Suchetgarh to commence re demarcation of the Cease Fire Line into LoC.
One of the first thing which Gen Hamid had queried about was the Mandhol Gun Raid…..the raid commander must have been given a PVC ? A few years later the book… HISTORY OF PAKISTAN ARTILLERY …written by a Paki General from Corps of Arty again grudgingly talked about the daring raid. Of Course our Supreme Commander too finally acknowledged 9 by awarding the Theatre Honours for defence of J&K and Battle Honours for Defence of Poonch.
Our Siamese twin now firmly ensconced in the land of valor, Rajasthan ….10 PARA were actually carved out of 9, thus forming two more wieldy and flexible units.
This unit during 1971 war had gone right up to Chachro, Virawah, Islamkot and Nagarparkar about 80 Kms inside Pakistan, led by His Highness Bhawani Singh of Jaipur.
Well the King was merely visiting an area which Jodhpur/Jaipur states must have coveted in the past and then forcibly debarred from it by some idiotic line drawn on a map by someone called RADCLLIFF.
Sadly the territory recovered by 10 for their Commanding Officer (or may be it belonged to JODHPUR State because 20 RAJPUT led by Col Bhandari from Jodhpur too had advanced in the same direction), all 3600 SQ Km, was handed back by India on 22 Dec 1972 as per Shimla Pact.His Highness was decorated with a Mahavir Chakra.
Theatre Honours for Defence of Sind and Battle Honours for Chachro was awarded to the unit by the Supreme Commander.
Today the units tally stands as 02 Ashok Chakra, 01 Mahavir Chakra, 03 Kirti Chakra, 08 Vir Chakra, 08 Shurya Chakra, 52 Sena Medal, 23 Mention In Despatches, 02 Yudh Sewa Medal and 04 Vishist Sewa Medal.
Here it needs to be added that for display of sustained courage (distinct from courage displayed on the spur of the moment)over a 24 hour period. Lt Col Dalbir Singh, the Commanding Officer during OP PAWAN definitely deserved a Param Vir Chakra instead of the Vir Chakra awarded.
How come just two units of the Indian Army comprising less than 0.1% of it’s strength have achieved so much in comparatively so less a time.
Though leadership, training and all other military qualities do matter, there must have been something mixed in the UNITS DNA when the raising had commenced.
So how did the story of …..Dial 9 for Assistance from the Mountain Rats …..commence (this phrase dial 9 was coined or rather growled by our then Tiger Tej Pathak in 25 Oct 1987,as a pep talk, at Udhampur airbase before sending us the BATS Team to Jaffna, one fine morning).
Regarding Mou rain Rats. I had joined the Unit in 1978 at Naushera. Being a field area all officers stayed in the officers accommodation / huts. Every evening, the greatest story teller then Major KD Pathak would regale us with various stories of 9 ever since 1968, when he had joined the Unit. In these stories he used to compare our role with that of a Mountain Rat ….come out swiftly from hide, strike / snatch and vanish silently.
Then in end Nov 1978, Lt Premjit Rockpa with two of his ADCs, 2/ Lt Anil Nayer and and 2/ Lt Awadhesh Kumar were sent to, Para Regt Training Centre for a Shooting Competition. At that time newly converted 1PARA COMMANDO was already Nick named “ SUPER COMMANDOS “ by rest of the Paras. 10 of course called themselves the DESERT SCORPIONS. That left us the lowly 9 !.
Then the very next evening ( Saturday), we three were having COKE in the Mess bar when in walked several senior captains of the Regiment. The began pulling our legs and we kept fending them. We just kept saying that we are just Mountain Rats and not super.
Though finally we accepted their Challenge and started having two Hercules / Old Monk for every per of their. Suddenly there was some lucky break, due to arrival of a few guests and we vanished, truly like a Mountain Rats, through the Mess kitchen, grabbing as many scotch eggs and mutton cutlets as possible and reached our rooms. We finally got up for a very late Sunday lunch.
Well a few admirers of Charles Beckwith and Delta Force and SEAL6 etc may like to call themselves as GHOST OPERATORS ……but we remain the dreaded Mountain Rats.
