Reality can hit you harder than any fiction that appears on the big screen. That's true for the film Ikkis, which tells the story of 2nd Lt. Arun Khetarpal, who was just 21 years old (hence the film's name) when he laid down his life on December 16, 1971.
That Fateful Trip To Lahore
Ikkis has an additional plot point that unfolds a full 30 years after the martyrdom of one of India's youngest Param Vir Chakra awardees. This is how it unfolds...
At the fabled Battle of Basantar - said to be the second biggest tank battle since World War 2 - fought on the Indo-Pak border on December 16, 1971, in the Shakargarh-Samba sector between Pathankot and Jammu, Arun Khetarpal, who was serving in 17 Poona Horse tank regiment, destroyed 10 Pakistani tanks before a shell fired from one claimed his life.
2nd Lt Arun Khetarpal (centre) with members of his tank unit, 17 Poona Horse. (Photo courtesy: Mukesh Khetarpal)
Of course, Khetarpal's parents - mother Maheshwari, and father, retired Brigadier Madan Lal Khetarpal, himself a WWII veteran who also fought in the 1948 and 1965 Indo-Pak wars - were proud of Arun's courage on the battlefield, but they struggled with the pain of losing a son so early.
Madan Lal Khetarpal, like many others of his generation, hailed from across the border. His roots lay in the town of Sargodha, which is in present-day Pakistan, not far from Lahore. He had studied at Lahore's well-known Government College before joining the army. "Papa always wanted to go back to Sargodha, the place of his birth, his 'watan'. He doubted he would get a visa, as he was ex-Army. But in 2001, when he was 81, he and four others were invited to a Lahore Govt College Students' Reunion. When he got his visa, he was very excited," recalls Mukesh Khetarpal.
Upon reaching Lahore, Madan Lal accepted the request of retired Pakistan Army Brigadier, Khawaja Mohammad Naser, to stay at his home during the reunion. Naser was also an alumnus of the Government College in Lahore.
"Brigadier Naser was a good host. He even organised my father's visit to Sargodha on the second day of his stay. Papa was very touched. On the third and last morning, Brigadier Naser took him for a walk, saying he had something to share with him," Mukesh recounts. "Papa was just not prepared for what Brigadier Naser said next. He said, 'Sir, I am from the 13 Lancers tank regiment, and on 16th December 1971, I was a Major, commanding a squadron of tanks that was confronted by the tanks of 17 Poona Horse."
'My father's immediate response was, "Mera beta Arun bhi 17 Poona Horse mein tha.." ("my son, Arun, was also in 17 Poona Horse." Then came the shock: "I know, sir. It was a shell from my tank that killed Lt Arun."
"My father was stunned by the revelation. For a few moments, he said nothing. Brig. Naser went on - 'Sir, at the Battle of Bade Pind [that's what the Pakistan Army calls the battle], Lt. Arun stood like a rock before our Patton tanks. He was a brave soldier and the main reason for our defeat that day...'"
"Recovering some composure, my father asked Brig. Naser, 'How did you find out Arun's name? How did you know it was his tank?'"
Mukesh Khetarpal, now well into his 70s, recounts the story thus: "16th December was the last day of the 1971 war; the Pakistan Army surrendered in Dhaka that day. Brig. Naser told my father that by the 17th, the ceasefire was in force, and as he was recovering the bodies of Pakistani soldiers, he saw Indian soldiers around Arun's tank.
"Naser added: 'Sir, I asked the Indian soldiers about the officer who had fought bravely commanding this tank. The soldiers told me, 'Sahab shaheed ho gaye' ['he has been martyred']. When I asked them his name, they said he was Arun Khetarpal. I have never forgotten his name, sir.'"
When A Father Chose Forgiveness Over Hate
As a grieving father and a former soldier, the 81-year-old Madan Lal was torn as he processed Brigadier Naser's revelation.
"Brigadier Naser also told my dad that he didn't know Arun was just 21 years old then, much younger and junior to Naser in Army rank and experience. When your son was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, I realised he was just 21, and I understood how big your loss was. That's why I asked you to stay with me in Lahore. So I could tell you myself and explain my actions....'", Mukesh recalls.
I asked Mukesh how his father shared this story with his wife and him. "Papa was very quiet for almost four days after returning from Lahore, instead of telling us about it, especially his Sargodha trip. But then he told us..."
Mukesh also remembers how his father finally processed Brigadier Naser's revelation as a soldier. "He had mixed feelings for some time. But he shed his anger. Because he understood that Naser and Arun, both did what they were expected to do, as soldiers."
But that's not the only irony. Brigadier Naser's tank regiment - the 13 Lancers - was originally a part of the Poona Horse regiment before 1947, that is, before India's Partition. Which means Arun Khetarpal's 17 Poona Horse and Naser's 13 Lancers were actually 'fraternal' army units once, which came to confronting each other at the Battle of Basantar. It is no surprise, then, that even though they engaged as enemy combatants in 1971, Brig. Naser fully recognised the unusual bravery of Arun Khetarpal.
Shortly after, when Brigadier Naser emailed photographs of Madan Lal Khetarpal's Lahore visit, he also wrote a small note saluting his fallen son. The note read, "To: Brigadier ML Khetarpal, father of Shaheed Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, PVC, who stood like an insurmountable rock, between the victory and failure, of the counterattack by the 'SPEARHEADS' 13 LANCERS on December 16, 1971 in the battle of 'Bara Pind'' as we call it and battle of 'Basantar' as 17 Poona Horse remembers. Signed: Khawaja Mohammad Naser, 13 Lancers, 2 March 2001, Lahore, Pakistan."
When India Hailed A Pak Hero In Kargil
Any military historian would know how often soldiers have lauded the bravery of the opposing side. In 1999, Captain Karnal Sher Khan of the Pakistan Army was awarded the Nishan-e-Haider, Pakistan's equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, for bravery in the Kargil war. Capt. Khan was killed in action on July 5, 1999, in Kargil's Gultari sector. The young officer received his award, at least in part, thanks to a letter of recommendation written to the Pakistan authorities by the Indian Army's Brigadier MPS Bajwa, who witnessed Captain Khan's bravery first-hand. Bajwa reportedly placed a citation for Khan in his uniform pocket while returning his body to the Pakistan Army.
Brigadier Madan Lal Khetarpal's choice to walk away from Brigadier Khawaja Mohammad Naser without any bitterness or hatred in his heart shows how, in death, too, Arun Khetarpal stood for respect and honour in battle, even among opposing soldiers.
Directed by Sriram Raghavan, the film Ikkis aims to retell this profound tale. Starring Agastya Nanda, the grandson of Amitabh Bachchan, in Arun Khetarpal's role, late actor Dharmendra as Arun's father, Brigadier Madan Lal Khetarpal, and Jaideep Ahlawat as Brigadier Naser of the Pakistan Army, Raghavan calls his film a 'war drama', not just a biopic of a national hero. That, perhaps, would be true of any sincerely researched, scripted, and crafted film that tells the story of a soldier caught in the vortex of war.
(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
