Pakistan shelling forced BSF jawans to skip Diwali

RANBIR SINGH PURA/ARNIA: This October 30, jawan Lal Chand, sub-inspector Naresh, subedar major H S Rathore and thousands of other jawans did not join their families for Diwali.

This was the first time since the 1999 Kargil conflict that such a large number of personnel remained on full combat duty during the festival.

Non-stop shelling by Pakistan Rangers kept the BSF personnel busy fighting along the 198-km stretch of the international border in Jammu.


“Whether alone or with fellow troopers, I will defend every thing that my country holds sacred. It’s a pledge we can’t break,” said a BSF jawan, as he took position to fire 120mm mortar shells.

Angered by the killing of his colleague Jitender Kumar on October 26, one jawan pummelled a Pakistani bunker till it caught fire and killed a Ranger.

Their camaraderie keeps the jawans together. They scramble eggs, discuss Big Boss and count skipper Virat Kohli’s centuries. Some eagerly wait to hear of childbirths in their families or talk about their children’s exam scores.

On Diwali, when there was less shelling, some played carrom while others chose badminton or basketball.

Whenever Pakistani forces begin firing, there’s a pep talk by their chief, IG (Jammu frontier) Deep Upadhyay. “Hamari toh Diwali chalti rahegi. Hum roz usi utsaah se Diwali manayenge. Datey raho. Shabash,” Upadhyay tells his troops.

A week after Diwali, they distributed sweets and hugged each other. With an impromptu bhangra, they returned to their routine task –– aiming at the enemy.