"My dear Dadaji... I have just received my first pay slip, so I thought that before touching the money, I should send you a present."
On August 30, 1971, 2nd Lt Arun Khetarpal received his first salary, a princely sum then of Rs. 685. The same day, he penned this simple and beautifully written letter to his grandfather Chaman Lal Khetarpal - who himself had been a World War 1 veteran - gifting his entire first salary to him.
Less than four months later, young Arun, just 21 years old, was martyred on December 16, the last day of the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
'Rookie' to War Hero in 5 Months
Arun got his Indian Army salary for just five months. A tragically short career, but what a career. The young tank commander who destroyed 10 Pakistani tanks in a single day, who refused orders to fall back even after his tank had caught fire, and who made sure the road to Jammu and Kashmir was not threatened by the Pakistan Army, died fighting till his last breath.
The heroism of India's youngest Param Vir Chakra awardee has been well captured in the film Ikkis. Directed by Sriram Raghavan, it features Agastya Nanda, Amitabh Bachchan's grandson, as Arun Khetarpal, and late actor Dharmendra as Arun's father.
Arun's untimely death made this letter to his grandfather even more precious for the Khetarpal family. It has been preserved for over 55 years by Mukesh Khetarpal, Arun's younger brother.
The letter Arun Khetarpal wrote to his grandfather. (Photo courtesy: Mukesh Khetarpal)
The 17th Poona Horse
The letter is written on stationery of the 17th Poona Horse Tank Regiment, Arun's first posting after being commissioned that year. Poona Horse had a proud 200-year-old history. In the 1965 war, their Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Ardeshir Taraporewala, had died in action, earning the regiment's first Param Vir Chakra.
When new officers of Poona Horse were 'dined-in', Arun toasted that he would be the unit's second Param Vir Chakra awardee. The unit officers laughed it off as they had been drinking, but that is what happened. The scene has been re-created compellingly in Ikkis.
Arun had excelled at the National Defence Academy in Pune and at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. "Arun was very bright. He had even cleared the IIT exam in 1967, but wanted to go to NDA, and fought with our dad over it, who finally agreed," recalls Mukesh Khetarpal years later. "He was gentle and quite softspoken, but was obsessed with becoming a soldier. He loved hearing World War 1 stories from our Dadaji."
The Khetarpals were a 'fauji' family. Arun's dad, Brigadier Madal Lal Khetarpal, was an Indian Army engineer, a World War 2 veteran who also fought in the 1948 and 1965 Indo-Pak wars. His great-grandfather, Ram Narain, served in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Sikh Khalsa army in the 19th century.
Mukesh Khetarpal has carefully preserved young Arun's payslip from September 1971. Army salaries used to be modest back then - Rs 400 was Arun's basic pay, Rs 160 was his Dearness Allowance, and Rs 50 'Kit Allowance', to keep his various uniforms and army fatigues, his shoes, belts, beret, and his rank and service ribbons, squeaky clean. He got just Rs 30 as 'Family Separation' allowance, as army officers are often posted to sensitive border areas where their families cannot be with them.
Arun Khetarpal's payslip, preserved carefully by his brother Mukesh Khetarpal. (Photo courtesy: Mukesh Khetarpal)
Of Motorcycles and Johny Mera Naam...
Young Arun, who studied at The Lawrence School, Sanawar, was mindful of some of the privileges he had as a young man. "My motorcycle is running very well ... nobody else over here has got as many things as I have. Daddy and Mummy have made me most comfortable ... There is nothing else that I need today but your blessings," he wrote to his grandfather in the letter. Arun also kept some time aside for 'extra-curriculars': before writing that letter, Arun had just watched the Dev Anand and Hema Malini starrer Johny Mera Naam, a big hit back in 1970-71.
The letter closes simply with Arun asking his grandfather to stay in touch: "Please do write when you find the time. Yours affectionately, Arun."
We don't know whether Chaman Lal Khetarpal was able to write back to his grandson. Within two months of penning the letter, Arun had been mobilised as war clouds loomed. The 17th Poona Horse moved to the Samba district and played an extensive role in the 1971 war in that sector. The regiment was deep inside Pakistan on the morning of December 16; they even heard over the radio that the Pakistan Army was surrendering in Dhaka, and that a ceasefire was imminent.
However, as fate would have it, the Battle of Basantar did rage on that day, claiming many lives on both sides. One of them was 2nd Lt Arun Khetarpal.
(Rohit Khanna is a journalist, commentator and video storyteller. He has been Managing Editor at The Quint, Executive Producer of Investigations & Special Projects at CNN-IBN, and is a 2-time Ramnath Goenka award winner.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
