How can a man die better,
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And temples of his gods."
(Soul stirring inscription on the 13 KUMAON War Memorial at Chushul, Ladakh in the memory of the fallen comrades in The Battle of Rezangla).
After the partition of undivided India into two independent nations as India and Pakistan, our family in 1948 migrated to then small dusty semi-desert like obscure town Gurgaon, then the southern most district of the erstwhile State of Punjab. Though at that time, totally unconcerned, I came to know some of my hardy, thrifty and simple Yadav college friends. However, at that time, I did not know that Ahir and Yadav were synonymous and the same side of the coin. I was also then least aware how in my later life, Ahirs would be the most influencing and dominating factors in my rest of the life.
It was Major Prem Bhatia - my elder brother commissioned in the 6 KUMAON on 4 Dec 1954 who had ignited the KUMAON passion with in me. Our great Regiment has produced many brave soldiers and generals but it's my late brother Major Prem Bhatia, Vir Chakra, Hero of the Battle of Walong who has ever remained my sole role model for me. As I grew up, I learnt with amazement from him that 25% of the strength of his Paltan and 2 KUMAON (Berar) were Ahirs. Later when they were transferred to 13 KUMAON he was emotionally very upset as Ahirs in his C Company, beside being professionally excellent soldiers, were equally good sportsmen always ensuring that his Company was the Champion Banner Company and that 6 KUMAON could easily win all formation sports events. Similarly there were Kumaonis in 13 KUMAON that were transferred to 2 KUMAON (Berar) and 6 KUMAON for equal numbers of Ahirs. Nothing thrilled me more when I got a telegram from my brother conveying me, "You are being commissioned in 13 KUMAON of Late Major Shaitan Singh PVC of the REZANGLA fame' just before my passing out parade from the IMA in 1963. I was indeed the most fortunate one to be then commissioned in the Rezangla famed first pure Ahir Paltan of the Regiment.
Ahirs, Yadavs or Yadavas reside throughout the country especially in Haryana. They include the Abhiras or Ahirs of the Northern India, Raos of Haryana, Gwallas of Uttar Pradesh, Mandals of Bihar, Pradhans of Orissa, Yadavs of Rajasthan, Ghoshals of Bengal, Gopas and Reddys of Andhra Pradesh and Wadeyars of Karnataka. The Jats often look low upon them but the Ahirs call themselves Somavanshi Kshatriyas. The Yadav contribution to the composite kaleidoscopic culture of India is immense - the nomadic art forms, the Abhira language that is Apabhramsa Devnagari, the Raslilas and certain ragas like Ahir-Bhairav, Abhirika, Gopiksha, Kannada Guala and perhaps most of all, The Krishna Cult.
Although Yadavs or the Ahirs form one composite group and are an important community of Haryana, but numerically they constitute less than 10 % of the total population. Most of them live in the region around Rewari and Narnaul which is therefore known as Ahirwal or the abode of the Ahirs. Their origin is controversial. Some historians hold that they were a powerful race of nomad cowherds from the Eastern or Central Asia who entered India from the Punjab in large hordes about the same time as the Sakas and the Yuehchis in 1 st or 2nd century BC and gradually spread over large parts of the Northern, Eastern and Central India often called as cow belt of the country. Other views are that they came from Syria or Asia Minor about the beginning of the Christian era; were Dravidians; sprang from the Aayars of Tamil Nadu; lived in India long before the Aryan invasion; were descendants of the Yadavs of the Lunar family of Pururavas Aila; and that their original habitat was the region between the Rivers Sutluj and Yamuna from where they migrated beyond Mathura in the East and Gujarat and Maharashtra in the South . The Ahirs of Mathura region were known to be peace loving cowherds where as the Ahirs of Rewari and Mahendargarh were powerful and accomplished warriors. The off shoots from the kidnapped women or widows were known as Yaduvanshis, while the ones with Ahir fathers were called Yadavs. Out of these Yadavs, many have been categorised into backward classes where as the rest of them are flourishing farmers in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Incidentally, though we all know about Ahirs and Haryana but very few know that the word Haryana has been derived from its ancient inhabitants Abhirayana that got changed to Ahirayana over a period and to present day Haryana. Similarly The name 'Abhira' stemed from Abhira or the fearless, the honour they earned after the Battle of the Mahabharata. In the 1st AD, invading Scythians and Kushans forced Ahirs out of their land to lower Rajasthan in the Aravali Region. In Marwar, Saurashtra and Maharashtra they served the local rulers and established their own Kingdoms. Ishwar Sena, a great Ahir General, became master of the Western Deccan and became King whose descendants continued to rule the region for nine generations. For centuries the Ahirs were eclipsed as a political power in Haryana until the time of the Pratihera dynasty. In time they became independent rulers of south-western Haryana.
Rao Tula Ram was one of the most important Ahir leaders of the 1857 War of Independence. He was born on 9 Dec1825 in the well known Rao family in village Rampura in Rewari. He was educated according to the then prevalent customs and knew Persian, Urdu, Hindi and a smattering of English. In November 1839, Rao Tula Ram ascended the throne on the death of his father. Along with Meerut, the people of Rewari under the dynamic leadership of Rao Tula Ram and his cousin Gopal Dev revolted against the Raj in a big way. He fought many battles against British Raj along with the forces of the last Moughal King Bahadur Shah, the Marathas and the Rajput princes. The battle of Narnaul was undoubtedly one of the most decisive battles of the Uprising of 1857 fought by Rao Tula Ram that left English jubilant over their success. On l7 May 1857, the Rao went to the tehsil headquarters at Rewari with four to five hundred followers and deposed the tahsildar and the thanedar. They appropriated the cash from the tehsil treasury, took all the government buildings in their possession and proclaimed, under the sanction of Emperor Bahadur Shah, their rule over the Pargana of Rewari, Bhora and Shahjahanpur. Their headquarters was in Rampura, a small fortified village, one mile south-west of Rewari. While Tula Ram became the Raja, he appointed his cousin Gopal Dev as his Commander-in-Chief. However, the Britishers sent a 1500 strong column under Colonel Gerrard, an officer of conspicuous merit who on 6 Oct 1857who captured Rampura mud fort after minor skirmishes. On November 16, while Gerrard forces were bogged down in the desert terrain at Nasibpur, a small village two miles North West of Narnaul, the rebel forces under Rao Tula Ram pounced on them. Rao Tula Ram's first charge was irresistible and the British forces scattered before them. The Patiala Infantry and the Multani Horse of the British forces were completely disheartened but the Guides and the Carabineers came to their rescue and saved the situation under intense artillery fire. But soon the situation took an unexpected turn when Col Gerrand was mortally wounded by a musket ball demoralising the the British. Rao Tula Ram took advantage of the situation swooped down upon them forcing them to withdraw. However, though his forces fought valiantly, suffering heavy causalities they could not with stand intense artillery bombardment followed by repeated charges by the British cavalry and infantry and were forced to retreat. The pursuit of the fleeing soldiers was quick and inexorable, and they were very soon driven out of the town. After a little fighting Rao Tula Ram lost the day and, when the sun went down, there remained none in Narnaul except heaps of corpses here and there but Rao Tula Ram managed to escaped to Rajasthan and joined Tantia Tope's forces. Since he was refused pardon after the revolt, he escaped to Iran in 1862 and then to Afghanistan in the winter of 1862, where he died of dysentery at Kabul on 23 Sep 1863 at a young age of 38. Gopal Dev also died in oblivion in 1862 and both were dispossessed of their Jagirs. Many raganis have been composed and sung by the Ahirs as folklores glorifying their valour and honour.
Though we all know Rewari is 'Garh' of the Ahirs, very little is even known by the locals how it was named. During the Mahabharata period there was a king named Rewat who had a daughter named as Rewati who founded a city named 'Rewa wadi', after his daughter. Later Rewati got married to Balram, the elder brother of Lord Krishna. Much later the city Rewa wadi became known as Rewari. The Lal Masjid near the old courts is said to have been built during the regime of Mughal emperor Akbar in the year 1570. Similarly, Mahendergarh town was previously known as Kanaud which took its name from the Kanaudia Brahmans. During 17th century a fort at Mahendergarh was built by the Maratha Ruler Tantia Tope. This fort was named as Mahendergarh in 1861 by Narinder Singh, the ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Patiala, in honour of his son Mohinder Singh and consequently the town came to be known as Mahendergarh.
In the Indo-China war of 1962, almost all the Ahirs hailing from the Ahirwal region of Southern Haryana serving in 13 KUMAON set an unparallel example in the military history of India by defending their motherland at frozen windy heights of Rezangla in Ladakh district of Jammu & Kashmir.
The battle of Rezangla fought against the Chinese hordes on 18 November1962 on a ridge 17,000 feet above sea level, overlooking the strategic Chushul plains in Ladakh, is one of the most glorious chapters in the history of the Indian Army and the Ahirs. This battle has been compared by many military historians with the famed battles of Thermopylae and Saragarhi. The ill clad and ill equipped Ahirs of the Charlie Company of the 13 KUMAON led by undaunted leadership of Major Shaitan Singh ferociously fought till 'the last man and the last round' in blood freezing minus 30 degree temperature. Of the 120 defenders, only three survived who were seriously wounded. The rest, including Major Shaitan Singh who was awarded Param Vir Chakra posthumously, were discovered after the winter, frozen in their trenches, holding their weapons but with no ammunition to fire and defend. Of the 120 martyrs, 114 were Ahirs from the Ahirwar heartland of Rewari - Mohindergarh belt in Haryana. Even Bollywood was inspired to make a film Haqeeqat on this classic battle. Major-General Ian Cardozo, in his book 'Param Vir, Our Heroes In Battle' writes, "When Rezangla was later revisited, dead jawans were found in the trenches still holding on to their weapons... every single man of this Company was found dead in his trench with several bullet or splinter wounds. The 2-inch mortar man died with a bomb still in his hand. The medical orderly Lance Naik Dhaiya had a syringe and bandage in his hands when the Chinese bullet hit him... Of the thousand mortar bombs with the defenders all but seven had been fired and the rest were ready to be fired when the mortar section was overrun." Nk Sing Ram, a wrestler of repute almost killed one dozen Chinese single handily after his ammunition was exhausted. The heroes who were awarded the Vir Chakra in 1962 defending Rezang La were Naik Hukum Chand (posthumous), Naik Gulab Singh Yadav, Lance-Naik Ram Singh (posthumous), Sub Ram Kumar and Sub Ram Chander while Hav Phool Singh and Nk Sing Ram (posthumously) were awarded Sena Medals respectively. DK Publications in their book 'The Gods of Valour' unfold the story of the chivalry and sacrifice of the Charlie Company of the 13 KUMAON in the Battle of Rezangla. All these brave Ahir sons hail from Rewari where in Gudiani village a replica of Chushul Rezangla Memorial has been built in the memory of the fallen heroes. In all functions in all the Ahir units in the Indian Army and specially in Ahirwal heartland and 13 KUMAON, ragainis like 'Attarah November Basath ko Ik Hua Ghore Sangram Suno Jawanon...' and 'Rewari Motor Adde Par Unth Par Sawar Tha..' are sung in unison with full josh and missionary zeal. In 1994, late Sub Sujjan Singh of 13 KUMAON from Kanina had the unique distinction of being awarded Ashok Chakra -the highest peace time award while fighting militants in Kupwara in the Kashmir valley. For its excellent services in the defence of the country, 13 KUMAON was also awarded 'The Bravest of the Brave' Trophy by the then COAS Gen NC Vij. Beside 13 KUMAON, many brave Ahir soldiers from Haryana and other parts of the country have made their mark in the various wars fought by the Indian Army and won gallantry medals. Among them are Brig RS Yadav, MVC, Commodore BB Yadav, MVC, and Leading Seaman CS Yadav, MVC. Many Ahirs excelled in Kargil war and insurgencies in Punjab, J&K and the North East. Havildar Umrao Singh of Palra village in jhajjar (Rohtak) was the only Ahir and gunner awarded Victoria Cross in Arakans during Burma Campaign in the Second World War Smart, erect, slim and handsome when he went for Victoria Cross Reunion in UK some years back, Queen Elizabeth II was so impressed by him that she went and shook hand with Umrao Singh. This brave son of Haryana died at the age of 85 years on 21 November 2005 and was cremated with full military honours in his native village Palra.
The Ahirs are not only good soldiers but equally good sportsmen, farmers, businessmen, educationists, artists, politicians ( likes of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rabri Devi, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rao Barinder Singh, Col Rao Ram Singh etc) and administrators. Swami Ram Dev, the modern Yoga Guru of the international fame is another notable Ahir from the Ahirwal region. But given an opportunity their first love after farming is soldiering. In a big Kosli like Ahir village, it is not unusual to find a recruit and a general in the Army from the same family. They have simple frugal vegetarian food habits and love their community hooka, kaddi, butter milk or lassi, pure ghee and choorma - a delicacy made from crushed chapattis mashed with liberal amount of pure ghee, nuts and jaggery though younger modern urban. Generation Ahirs are being attracted towards McDonalds, non-vegetarian dishes, booze and fast food. In 13 KUMAON, Ahir Jawans accepted officers only if they could run, play and sing raganis as good as they could. Maintenance of discipline in the Ahir unit is perhaps the easiest in the Indian Army.
Lately some Ahir leaders had been vociferously demanding for a separate Ahir Regiment in the Indian Army which is a political decision to be taken by the Central Government. However, the proud military traditions of the bravery, sacrifices, discipline, leadership and valour of the Ahirs in The KUMAON Regiment and other arms & services of the Indian Army is second to none. It is a matter of great pride that both the Kumaonis from the Hills and Ahirs from the plains blend so well in our great Regiment adding to combat effectiveness.
It is again a matter of great pride that the present Colonel of The KUMAON Regiment, Lt Gen Satyevir Yadav, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM is NOT only highly decorated veteran of the Kargil War but also professionally an upright senior officer who is a fine mix of an excellent KUMAONI and a Ahir from the heartland of the Ahirwal in Haryana. It was therefore, a matter of great emotional bounding for a retired officer like me in the company of two 13 KUMAON veterans - Maj Gen RK Khanna, VSM and Brig BS Lamba to visit Kanina in Mohindergarh district on 25 March 2007 to participate in Ex-Servicemen Rally well organised by retired Sub Maj (Hony Capt) Balwant Singh of 13 KUMAON and addressed by the Colonel of the Regiment. It is still a matter of immense pride for all of us that as a non Intelligence Corps cadre, Sub Maj (Hony Capt) Balwant Singh was rated as the instructor in the Intelligence school for over 10 years. We were equally sad to learn that Sub Maj (Hony Capt) Ram Singh, rated as the best 3 inch Mortar instructor for over a decade in The Infantry School, Mhow and one of the former enterprising Subedar Majors of the 13 KUMAON was no more. Incidentally Ram Singh was enrolled in 2 KUMAON (Berar) the unit I had the privilege to command and later transferred to 13 KUMAON. Thus, meeting old Ahir veterans of 13 KUMAON who who groomed us as young officers over 4 decades back was quite rightly emotionally most super charging. Needless to say the singing of ragni 'Attarah November Basath Ko Ik Huwa Ghor Sangram...' was nothing but a grand finale to this most nostalgic event.
So this is how the story of Ahirs in The KUMAON Regiment goes on and on and on motivating generations to come.... |
