Young battlefield chroniclers

Vijay Mohan in Chandigarh

IN a conference hall at Punjab’s Directorate of Defence Services Welfare, a motley group of youngsters has been scanning reams of researches and interviewing people for over two years to compile India’s martial legacy since the ancient times.

A first of its kind in the country, the team is formed to work its way across the vast spectrum of bygone eras that have shaped the subcontinent. The teammates are mostly in their twenties and come from vocations as diverse as engineering, management, humanities, psychology, economics and information technology. To be on the 10-member team, they had to pass a written test, language proficiency and an interview. Several of them left jobs in their chosen fields to be war researchers.

It was in March 2015 that the team got off to a start, when information and data was required for the Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum project at Amritsar. While the museum complex was inaugurated in October 2016, the research continues as some work still remains. The team made a presentation on various aspects for the museum, history and their role before Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh this month.

“The team’s research captures everything that is militarily noteworthy from the Harrppan civilization, early Persian campaigns and Alexander’s campaign right up to the present day,” says Maj Gen Raj Mehta, the project coordinator. “The team has been divided into buddy pairs to complement and supplement each other’s efforts. Given their enthusiasm for a discipline that has few takers in this country, their academic work and field trips, we call them our battlefield archeologists,” he said. Hired on a contract basis, the team members’ focus right is north-west and north-east of the country.

The days are lost in worming through piles of books and sifting through a plethora of information gleamed from the Internet. “We spend long hours studying factious facets of history. Our work also requires travelling frequently to historical places or military establishments,” says Vishali Thakur, who majored on psychology and is the team’s coordinator. “We have to regularly make presentations on various topics and themes. All this can be very hectic,” she says.

Sukhendu Dass, an MBA with two-year experience in IT, left his high-paying job to get on board. “What we have learnt here,” he says, “is discipline and work ethos that we want to carry forward. Being associated with military history, learning values and interacting with those in uniform help us to groom ourselves in a better way.” 

Rispy Kaur, who did her masters in Economics, says, “I have matured greatly as an individual. I am now a confident speaker and presenter. Bonding with colleagues has also been a unique experience and improved my interpersonal skills.” 

Anchal Grover, an English major, says nothing in her pervious knowledge had prepared her for this kind of a task, where work discipline and attention to detail is majorly required. “We also feel special because of the respect accorded to women in the armed forces. Earlier, we lacked a sense of pride,” she said.

The team also has a husband and wife amidst them, though they are not buddy pairs. Loveneesh Thakur came from Shimla to join the team. He says he has fine-tuned his creative side by developing his graphics and research skills. His wife Poonam’s tryst with the team was incidental. A Masters in computer applications, she said that more often than not, discussions on military history are the standard fare at home.

The team is instrumental in bringing out a coffee table book on military history that was released during the inauguration of the war memorial. In the run-up to the release, the team often spent 16-18 hours a day. “We have often written our reports and prepared presentations while travelling. At times we have made notes on back of ATM slips and even on palms while attending telephone calls when on the move,” Vishali said.