‘My son died for a boundary’
The phone call lasted just one minute and barely exceeded pleasantries, but it is one Upendar Babu, 61, will never forget.
On the other end of the line was his son Santosh, 37, a colonel in the Indian army, calling from his posting in Ladakh, not far from the disputed border with China.
After reassuring his parents he had eaten his dinner, his time was up and he had to pass the phone to one of the 30 men under his command.
Less than 48 hours later, Babu received a call to say his son had died leading a patrol in the Galwan Valley. Troops from nuclear powers India and China had beaten each other to death in brutal hand-tohand combat.
‘‘We were watching the news about the death of Indian soldiers on television,’’ Babu said. ‘‘There were no names initially. We never thought our son would be among the dead.’’
On May 5 and 6, Chinese troops allegedly crossed the disputed Line of Actual Control into India and seized at least 60 square kilometres of territory.
Despite apparently pledging to withdraw, Chinese soldiers allegedly ambushed a patrol led by Col Babu. At least 20 Indian soldiers died in fighting involving nailstudded batons, rocks and rods covered in barbed wire.
They were the first to die along the 3488km disputed border since 1975.
China at the weekend insisted the incident took place entirely within its territory, boldly renewing claims on the disputed area.
Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, said his country was ‘‘hurt and angry’’ and insisted ‘‘upholding sovereignty is foremost’’.
Details began to emerge in India of the casualties, some as young as 20, who died 14,000ft up on a sheer mountainside.
Five came from small villages in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states-, lured to the army by the promise of a generous pension. Up to 100 soldiers die a year outside of combat in the unforgiving terrain of the Himalayas.
Doctors believe Col Babu drowned falling into the freezing waters of the Galwan River during the struggle.
‘‘I’m just a common man in India and there was a dispute regarding a boundary and for that my son died,’’ Babu said. – Telegraph Group