In the pic: Brigadier M.P.S. Bajwa (now retired), then Commander of the 192 Mountain Brigade, checks on an injured Pakistani soldier, Sepoy Mohammad Arshad, captured in the Dras sector during the Kargil War.
The young prisoner was wounded, terrified, and confused — unable to understand the Gorkha soldiers around him who spoke in Gorkhali. Sensing his fear, Brig Bajwa knelt beside him and gently said in Punjabi, "Mohd Arshad, kee haal hai? Kaka, tagro ho" ("How are you, son? Stay strong.")
The moment he heard his native tongue, Sepoy Arshad broke down and began to cry. "You're a Commander? I've never seen a Commander in my life," he said in disbelief. He confessed he had been told Indian soldiers would kill him. Instead, he was shown compassion, treated for his injuries, and spoken to with dignity.
In war, how you treat the defeated says everything about your values. This is what it means to be a soldier of the Army.
The young prisoner was wounded, terrified, and confused — unable to understand the Gorkha soldiers around him who spoke in Gorkhali. Sensing his fear, Brig Bajwa knelt beside him and gently said in Punjabi, "Mohd Arshad, kee haal hai? Kaka, tagro ho" ("How are you, son? Stay strong.")
The moment he heard his native tongue, Sepoy Arshad broke down and began to cry. "You're a Commander? I've never seen a Commander in my life," he said in disbelief. He confessed he had been told Indian soldiers would kill him. Instead, he was shown compassion, treated for his injuries, and spoken to with dignity.
In war, how you treat the defeated says everything about your values. This is what it means to be a soldier of the Army.
