GENERAL BAIJU BAKRA

 GARHWAL RIFLES

SARASIJ MAJUMDER

This incident happened before India became independent. At that time there was a training centre of Garhwal Rifle in Lansdowne. At that time, the British rule was waging wars with countries like France, Germany, Burma, Afghanistan etc., hence the Garhwal Rifle platoon also had to participate in the war at those places as per the rule of the government.

At this time, wherever the Garhwali soldiers were sent to war, they used to come back proud of their bravery.

At one such time, to suppress the rebellion in Afghanistan, the soldiers of "Garhwal Rifle" along with other military units were sent to the "Chitral" area of ​​Afghanistan.

On reaching Chitral Afghanistan, the commander explained the map to the soldiers and asked the troops to move forward from different directions. All the troops had to move forward covering a very large area and meet at one place.

In the rugged and unknown region there, a platoon of the Garhwali platoon lost its way due to confusion of direction and got stuck in a densely rugged place. The unknown place and this crisis, the situation was very dire.

The soldiers were in bad condition after wandering for several days. The condition was becoming worse due to hunger and thirst. Being in enemy territory, they remained hungry and thirsty, hiding in the bushes throughout the day, and at night they used to crawl and move ahead, searching for a way out.

Similarly, one night, the tired soldiers were trying to find their way while avoiding the enemies, when they felt some movement moving towards them in the bushes in front.

Courage, courage and strength came from the fear of enemies moving towards us by tearing through the bushes.

Everyone held their guns tightly and stood with bated breath, ready to attack at the signal of the Group Commander, with their guns drawn and gazing towards the bushes.

In the darkness of the night, it was difficult to estimate the exact position and number of the enemy, but still everyone stood alert holding guns firmly.

But when he came out of the bushes and stood fearlessly in front of them, everyone held their breath, their grip on their guns loosened and their hunger also returned.

The one whom they had considered an enemy and got ready to attack was a huge wild goat who was standing silently in front of them, watching them.

That goat was very magnificent, its big horns and long beard showed its age and it was standing like a perfect angel, watching the activities of the soldiers.

Those soldiers, lost in a strange country, were hungry for many days. They surrounded the goat and decided among themselves to eat it and started laying siege to capture it. The goat also stood silently and kept looking at them.

When the goat saw that the soldiers were coming towards him, he started walking backwards in the direction from where he had come, keeping an eye on the soldiers as he was standing.

Slowly, the soldiers kept moving towards the retreating goat, mesmerized, with knives in their hands.

After walking a long distance, the goat brought them to a big field and the goat stood there. The soldiers surrounded the goat but then the goat started digging the soil with its hind legs and within a short time, big potatoes started coming out of the soil.

Seeing the potatoes coming out of the field, the soldiers understood that this goat was also understanding our hunger and pain of heart. Seeing our desperate hunger, he thought of a way to save our lives and after thinking how that silent creature took us to the field. He also saw that they were raising weapons to kill.

Seeing the goat's silent behaviour, all the soldiers became sad, everyone left their weapons and hugged the goat. After that the soldiers collected the potatoes dug by the goat, roasted them and ate them.

After filling their stomachs, new strength was felt in them and they moved towards their destination.

After walking some distance, he also found his friends. The Garhwali platoon was victorious by attacking the designated place. While returning, the soldiers brought that huge goat along with the spoils of victory, cannon, gun and gunpowder to Lansdowne cantonment.

The victorious soldiers were honoured at the Lansdowne Cantonment of Garhwal Rifles. Along with him, that goat was also honoured because it had saved the lives of all the soldiers of the platoon in the war, hence that goat was honoured with the title of "General".

That goat may not have understood the definition and dignity of the post of "General", but he was seeing the affection of the soldiers and officers standing in the parade ground, all of whom were showering flowers on him.

That "General Bakra" with a huge strong body and long beard, covered with garlands of flowers, looked like a perfect saint. The soldiers named him "Baiju" with love and respect. That General Bakra had full military honours, he was given separate batman facilities in a separate quarter of the military barracks.

His ration system was also available through government service, there were no restrictions on him, he could roam anywhere in the entire city of Lansdowne. RP soldiers kept track of his whereabouts.

In the evening, he would either come on his own or he would be searched and taken to the quarters.

Whenever he passed by the shops in the market, he could eat whatever he wanted - gram, jaggery, jalebi, pakora, vegetables, anything.

There were no restrictions on anything, if the shopkeeper wanted, he could collect the bill for the food eaten by sending it to the army.

Even till his old age, “General Bakra” used to come and eat something or the other in the market every day, shaking his long beard.

Seeing him, even the new recruits used to salute him with their boots, why could it be that he was honoured with the rank of General.

General Bakra was like this

Source:

1.0 http://www.uttarakhandtemples.in/blogs/admin-blogs/garhwal-rifles-general-bakra

2.0 https://www.amarujala.com/news-archives/bizarre-news-archives/bakra-became-general-army-praise-him

3.0  Image-- Google