Diary of an Infantryman

© Brig. Ian da Costa (Retd.), 2013

Published in 2013 by

Saligão 403511 Goa, India http://goa1556.goa-india.org goa1556@gmail.com

M: +91-9822122436 P: +91-832-2409490Publishing Goa... not by accident

Project co-ordinated by Frederick Noronha

Copy editing by Pamela D’Mello

Cover design by Bina Nayak http://www.binanayak.com

Typeset using LYX, http://www.lyx.org

Text set in Palatino

Printed by Brilliant Printers Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore

http://www.brilliantprinters.com/

Published with financial assistance from the Directorate of Art & Culture (Govern-ment of Goa) scheme for Goan authors.

See Goa,1556’s complete online catalogue at http://bit.ly/Goa1556Books2

ISBN 978-93-80739-48-9 Rs 300

Contents

Foreword | Lt. General DD Saklani (Retd) 8

Acknowledgements 10

1 A Goan Family Away From Home 13

2 The Doctor and his Garden 21

3 A Goan Village... in Nagpur 29

4 Marriages... and School 42

5 On a Maiden Voyage 48

6 Beyond the Adolescent Years 53

7 The Best Days, at the NDA 56

8 Zojila Company, IMA 64

9 A Young Officer in JK 68

10 Starting Life with 14 Kumaon 72

11 First Major Skirmish 78

12 Two Steps Up 84

13 The 1965 War and the Battle for O P Hill 90

5

CONTENTS

14 Getting Married... and Goa 115

15 Pathankot, Poonch and Thereabouts 121

16 Srinagar Then 124

17 End of an Era 131

18 Peace Station: Madras 135

19 Raising the Naga Regiment 138

20 1971 and Bangladesh 145

21 The Battle of Dharmadaha 149

22 At Wellington 164

23 Back to 14 Kumaon 168

24 The Mountain Brigade and a ‘mad river’ 176

25 Life at Mhow 184

26 The Low, Picturesque Clouds of Nagaland 190

27 In the Desert, Moving Stealthily by Night 196

28 Mhow, Seat of Military Education 214

29 Life At Kumaon House 216

30 A Visit to Gangolihat 227

31 An Old Army Club 232

32 Of Holiday-Homes and Memorials 242

33 Calling it a Day 250

34 Setting Out, to the Plains 258

6

Contents

35 A Battle on Goa’s Roads 263

36 The Evening of Life... In Saligão 270

7

Foreword

The first time I met Ian was in theearly sixties. He had been recentlyposted to 14 Kumaon1, which was sta-tioned at Mahura in the Uri Sector ofJammu & Kashmir. At that time I wasin 13 Kumaon, in the adjoining dis-trict of Baramulla. It was during a din-ner hosted by my Battalion that I cameacross him. I have a vivid memory ofmeeting a young officer just commis-sioned from the IMA (Indian MilitaryAcademy, Dehradun); a tall well-builtman, full of spirit, fond of music anddance. But what perhaps made an im-pact on my mind was that I was meet-ing a pure, powerful, loving and God-fearing young officer! That image of

him stays with me even today.In this book, I believe he has presented a very vivid account of

his life; both positive and negative experiences of his career, though

1 The Kumaon Regiment is the most decorated regiment of the Indian Army. Theregiment traces its origins to the 18th century and has fought in every major cam-paign of the British Indian Army and the Indian Army, including the two worldwars. Kumaon gets its recruits from the Kumaonis of Kumaon division and theAhir from the plains.

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Foreword | Lt. General DD Saklani (Retd)

the positives weigh heavily against the negatives. Ian recollects his

memories right from his childhood days to schooling, regimental and

Army life of 37 long years to his current social commitments in Goa.

He vividly describes his kith and kin, near and dear ones and fellow

comrades in service. This is the story of Brigadier (Retired) Ian da

Costa, VSM. His memoirs will be a source of immense joy and inspi-

ration to his children, grand children and future generations of his

family.

I must congratulate the author for his great service to the regiment

and the Army. His simple style and moving narration of experiences

has made the book an enchanting voyage of his selfless style. As for

myself, I count it a great honour to have been asked to write the fore-

word. I wish Ian, his wife Gladys Lisboa da Costa and their children

a very good, healthy and joyful life.

Lieutenant General D.D Saklani,PVSM, AVSM (Retd)

Mhow (MP)

9

The Best Days, at the NDA

W HEN I joined the National Defence Academy (NDA), I wasthe only cadet in the course who had service ‘NYA’ (Not Yet

Allotted). Later I was allotted the Army as my service.Daddy wanted me to join the Navy but I preferred the Air Force,

so the Army seemed to be a just solution and neither of us could crib.

My friends at the NDA were from my 12 Division of ‘Dog Squadron’.

2986 Ajit Singh Chaudhry, 2988 Martin Fernandes and 2990 Chuhar

Singh Kanwar remained always together in one group.

Martin, Ashok Sarin and Kanwar were Air Force cadets and grad-

ually got segregated when the fifth term began. Chaudhry and I grav-

itated to each other. Others were 2987 Harbir Singh Sirohi, a Naval

cadet, and 2989 A.K. Sarin, an Air Force cadet.

At the NDA I played a lot of games. I ended up as football cap-tain, but I also was a member of the squadron basketball, hockey,volleyball, cross country, athletics and boxing teams. I remember thebout with SCC (Squadron Cadet Captain) N.B. Singh (an ex-cadet ofLawrence Military School, Sanawar) of George Squadron in Octo-ber 1959. We hammered each other mercilessly. He was undefeatedall through his Academy career. The referee’s verdict was, ‘A veryclose, clean and hard hitting bout, a special clap for the loser, Bluethe winner.’ I was in the fourth term at that time and N.B. Singhwas in his Passing out or sixth term. I had bruises all over my chest,face and left shoulder as N.B. Singh’s jab was actually foul and leftthe imprint of the seam of his left glove whenever he jabbed at me.

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The Best Days, at the NDA

However his appointment, stature, seniority and fame got him afavourable verdict.

As an NDA cadet (left), and as an Instruction in Mhow.

I was good at games but soon learnt that I could not neglect mystudies. I was good in PT and passed my Second Class and alsopassed First Class in swimming. This was a record that still holds! Idid my basic, Third Class, Second Class and First Class swimmingtests, all in one evening. This brought me a special applause duringthe ante room procedure. My Divisional Officer, Capt R.R. Chatter-jee of Signals, hadwarnedmemany a time that I would be relegated!Such behaviour from an instructor in an Academy was unfortunate,but who would do anything about it? I decided there and then that ifI ever became an instructor I would help all students, especially theweaker ones, to become better officers. I stuck to my ideals when Iwas posted as Instructor to the Officers Training School, Madras andlater twice to the College of Combat, Mhow. Instructors are meantto help students and not to harass or frighten them.

My fifth term was very smooth. My academic results had im-proved considerably and I stood joint first in Service subjects. CaptR.R. Chatterjee could not bully me any more as he was posted outand Capt Nautiyal, also from the Signals, took over.

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DIARY OF AN INFANTRYMAN

At the NDA, the author (extreme left), leads the field in the 800m. 1958.

Vipin, Chaudhury, the author and his brother Emil in the D-Squadron ante-room.

Passing out from NDA was a great event, especially after I had

climbed up the ladder in the Order of Merit. I stood jointly first in Ser-

vice subjects along with K.D. Singh, who later got the gold medal. In

academics, I enjoyed French (my foreign language) which was allot-

ted to me in my fourth term as I only passed my Compulsory Hindi

test in my third term instead of in my second term. I owe a lot toMon-

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The Best Days, at the NDA

sieur Pal, my French teacher, who encouraged me to catch upwith the

rest of the class and I did not disappoint him. I also did well in His-

tory, Political Science and Science. Emile joined the NDA in my sixth

term. He was in Bravo Squadron and I did look after him through my

other course mates and friends. I also did have a little fun by giving

the squad he was marching in simple punishments like picking up

their cycles and running. I was also the Honour Code member of my

squadron in my final term.

Ian and Emile, in mufti, at the Sudan Block, the iconic symbol of this tri-services

academy. The NDA administrative headquarters was named in honour of the

sacrifices of Indian soldiers in the Sudan theatre during the East African

Campaign.

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DIARY OF AN INFANTRYMAN

I still remember all the squadron mates of my course. No. 2973was R.K. Batra (Ordnance); 2974 was S.K. Dutta who got relegatedafter the first term; 2975 was Surender Kumar (Engineers); 2976 wasR.K. Dhir (Noni) who went to 3 Sikhs; 2977 was U.B.S. Sidhu orBhaia as he was earlier called, who went to J&K Rifles; 2978 wasS.K. Dhawan (Daddy) who went to 5 Sikhs; 2979 was H.S. Bawa and2980 was P.K. Venugopal – both were relegated; 2981 was the contro-versial R.K. Joshi, from Jai Hind College, Matunga in Bombay, whowent to the Navy and was ultimately faced a court-martial and wasdismissed from service.

Then we had 2982 D.N. Das (ASC) who also was relegated; 2983

H.C. Gujral of 5th Battalion, the Jat Regiment (5 Jat), who was

awarded a Vir Chakra (Vr.C) for action in Jip Jaap and Hot Springs

in Ladakh in 1962 and died in a Pak air raid in the Sialkot Sector in

the 1965 war; 2984 J.L. Mahan from King George’s Medical College

(KGMC) in Ajmer, EME died of natural causes as a Major; 2985 H.S.

Chathrath (Arty) was also relegated; 2986 A.S. Chaudhry (Arty) my

close friend, he later dropped the Chaudhry and is now known only

as Ajit Singh; 2987 H.S. Sirohi, also called Jat Bhai, was a spotter on

the Alize aircraft on INS Vikrant and was shot down and died in the

1971 war; 2988 Martin Fernandes, 2989 A.K. Sarin (Makhan) and 2990

C.S. Kanwar were from the Air Force. Martin became a navigator and

retired as a Wing Commander and is still fine in Calcutta, and is in

touch with me. Sarin and Kanwar were both pilots – helicopter and

fighters. Both crashed and died early in service.

Unfortunately for me, the final results at NDA were calculated on

the basis of average marks scored over all six terms. This did not

allow me to climb up the ladder fast enough. In my sixth term I was

appointed CQMS (Company Quarter Master Sergeant) which was the

third highest permanent appointment in the squadron.

The football I had learnt at Nagpur, stood me in good steadwhenI joined the NDA. Because of this, I went with the Dog SquadronTeam to Belgaum in 1958 to play a match against King George’s Mil-itary School. It was a good outing. The next year KGMC footballteam came to NDA to return the visit and we beat them 3-0. I scoredone of the goals! S.K. (Stony) Sonpar who was our SCC (SquadronCadet Captain) in 17th Course and S.C. Chopra the CQMH (Com-pany Quarter Master Sergeant) scored the other two. I ended up,being the captain of the squadron team in my sixth term and we

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The Best Days, at the NDA

were rated third on the academy championship during my finalterm. That was the best that the squadron did in the six terms that Ispent there.

With Dad and brother Emile (right), 1961.

I could have played for the NDA team, but a new rule didnot permit NDA team members to represent their squadrons.

NDA main (Sudan) block.

I chose to remain in the squadronand try and win the ChampionshipTrophy. We could have done better,but I was unwell with a heavy coldduring the championship matches.In the playoff for third position, wedrew 1-1 in the first match with thenew King Squadron. Dodamani wasthe Squadron Cadet Captain of KingSquadron. I was XOW (ExcusedOutdoor Work and Games) by theRegimental Medical Officer, as I wasunwell. However, Dodamani like

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DIARY OF AN INFANTRYMAN

a gentleman allowed me, on my re-quest, to play when I should have been resting. He must have re-gretted it later, we won 4-1, by scoring two of the goals myself! Oneof these was called the Nagpur goal. This was because the ball onlypassed betweenme (centre forward) andManMohan Burman (rightout) of the 23rd Course, who was also from SFS High School, Nag-pur, and two years my junior. Finally I headed his centre into the netin a diving finish.

With Commandant Rear Admiral B.A. Samson and cadet J.L. Mohan.

I receivedmany chits for the canteen formilk, sweets and samosaswith love and admiration from the other cadets of the squadron.This was their way of saying, ‘Thank You Sir.’

I bumped into Burman and his wife in the Calcutta-based Defence

Services Officers’ Institute (DSOI) during a dinner in 1984. After a

short break in Mhow with my family, I was on my way back to Na-

galand where I was Colonel In-charge of Administration of 8 Moun-

tain Division. It was nice meeting them. Burman had taken prema-

ture retirement and joined the Dabur Pharmaceutical Company as an

executive. (Dabur, incidentally, had its name derived from “Daktar

Burman” and is India’s leading ayurvedic medicine manufacturer,

named after the physician who founded it.) We met and chatted and

parted never to meet again since then. Football has been and still is

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The Best Days, at the NDA

my favourite game. These games and matches brought out the best

in us and made us strain every nerve and muscle to do well. But the

spirit of the game was never forgotten and no unfair means were ever

used to gain a victory.

Musical moments. A music club performance at 1960. The author is second from

right, playing the accordion.

Daddy, Marie Mignon, Olaf, Alfred and Cherie D’Souza, their

friend, attended my NDA Passing Out Parade. They all stayed in old

‘H’ Squadron along with the other guests. It was a happy occasion.

Two hundred and seventy six cadets passed out from the NDA that

term. All said and done, I still think that the cadet days were the best

days in my life.

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Zojila Company, IMA

I was posted to Zojila Company1 on reaching IMA, the IndianMili-tary Academywhich is the officer training academy of the Indian

Army established in 1932 in the run-up to Independence. Corpo-ral Winston Peter Mascarenhas from Bangalore was my course in-charge for the first month. He was called Peter by the cadets, as itwas easier to remember. Winston Churchill was perhaps not so wellknown as ourWinston Peter! Peter was a great help and also guidedme.

Seniors often asked me to sing a song. ‘Diana’ was my favorite in

those days and all liked it. From the Academy in Dehradun, we could

see the white snows of Mussoorie and its lights at night. We made a

cycling excursion to Mussoorie and walked up part of the way.

Half way through my third term at IMA, I was appointed a per-manent Lance Corporal. Then, because I was able to maintain dis-cipline amongst my course mates, I was appointed Staff Sergeantof Zojila Company during the fourth term. This entailed ensuringdiscipline of the company, making parade states, overlooking pun-ishment parades, conducting the Orderly Room Procedure for pass-ing orders every evening before dinner. It entailed harder and moredirty work than others of my course had to do. Capt Y.R. Bahl of15 Kumaon was my Platoon Commander. Capt P.N. Kathpalia of4 Kumaon was the senior most Kumaoni officer posted as instruc-

1 IMA cadets are organized as a Regiment with four training battalions, of four com-panies each. There were sixteen companies in 2013. Battalions are named for gen-erals of the Indian Army, and companies after Army battles.

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Zojila Company, IMA

tor. Later, Colonel N.K. Sinha, ex-Commandant of the Kumaon Reg-imental Centre, was posted as the Deputy Commandant. He couldnot be of much help but it raised my morale.

At IMA (standing from L): Alhawat, Dad, Capt Y.R.Bahl, Col N.K. Sinha, the

author and Capt P.N. Kathpalia (later COR). Kneeling, B.S. Yadav and Y.S. Bisht.

Gentleman Cadet (GC) Godfrey T. Lobo fromMangalore becamemy good friend. He was six months junior to me, belonged toNaushera Company and we often went to church and spent Sun-days together. We were in opposite camps. Initially he was in theClement Town Wing, while I was in the Premnagar Wing and visaversa in my final term. He had come through the Services streamand had had a tough childhood.

I had been very strict with Zojila Company GC’s and my owncourse mates. At the end of the term and just before passing out, Iwas ragged like hell by the juniors. It was a tradition that passing-out seniors would voluntarily submit themselves to ragging and dothe punishment given by the juniors. It was tough, but I compliedeven though I was ill with a bad winter cold. Besides being the StaffSergeant of Zojila Company, the Parade had to do a turn and dressup on my Command as we were the last Company on parade. I hadto be perfect in all my drill movements.

I had opted for the Kumaon Regiment as my first choice andthere was a rumour that I would be posted to 4 Kumaon. The

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DIARY OF AN INFANTRYMAN

NCO in the Mess was from that battalion and looked after mevery specially. He also gave me regular news about the battalion.

Martin Fernandes, my course-mate from Lucknow,

and friend at D-Squadron, NDA. Retired as a Wing

Commander, and settled in Kolkata.

I always got adouble helping ofchicken because ofthat. The Colonelof the Regimentwas Lt Gen KunwarBahadur Singh whowas also the Adju-tant General of theArmy. He wouldpersonally come toDehradun to inter-view the GentlemanCadets and selectedthe best from themfor 4 Kumaon towhich he earlierbelonged. But LtCol T.N. Raina wassmarter than him.He was a GeneralStaff Officer GradeI at the Army Head-quarters. He put astroke before 4 and Iwas bound for 14 Kumaon.

Daddy and Olaf came for my Passing Out Parade at Dehradun.They stayed with Captain Willie Dias and his charming wife Bar-bara. Capt Willie Dias, from the Army Supply Corps (ASC), wasthe MTO (Mechanical Transport Officer) of the IMA. He was a greatsportsman (athlete and hockey player). A very nice, kind and ever-helpful officer, he was liked by all. I again passed out thirty-third inorder of merit. coincidently repeating my performance at the NDA!My Indian Commission (IC) Number was 12833 and K.D. Singh was12801 as he was first in order of merit. I could have done better, butthe duties of my appointment took much of my time that I couldhave spent on studies.

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Zojila Company, IMA

I askedMrs. BarbaraDias to put onmy pips2 as Second Lieutenant

at midnight of December 17, 1961, as this was done during a dance.

Daddy had put on his white bund-gala suit and Gandhi cap and also

his World War I medals, which made him the centre of attraction. It

was a nice enjoyable night at Chetwode Hall. celebrated as a dinner

dance. I had been transformed from a cadet to a young officer. Over

350 Gentleman Cadets passed out along with me, as the Direct Entry

Course, Service Cadets, NCCCourse and Technical Graduates Course

also passed out together with the 19th NDA Course.

There was no looking back thereafter. My quest for learning wasas keen as anyone else’s, but the environment had hitherto not beenup to the mark. Later, when the environment was without bias, Idid better than my colleagues H.C. Gujral and R.K. Dhir, who wereSquadron Cadet Captain and Cadet Sergeant Major respectively ofthe same Fox Squadron at NDA. Again, we were in the same Com-pany and I had proved my mettle and continued to do so.

I owe a lot of my success to my sister Gilda and partly to myMum

who encouraged me. The silver lining was that it left me stronger and

more confident than ever. My university that was my home readied

me to face the world and overcome even the sternest of tests. That is

why a home is considered the nursery of all men and women, great

and small. Whatever I achieved in life was due to their teachings and

personal example. I therefore consider myself very fortunate indeed,

that I had parents who showed me the way to success in life’s strug-

gle.

2 Badges for officers were first introduced in 1810. These badges consisted of (andstill consist of) crowns and stars, the latter being more likely to be called ‘pips’today. These rank insignia were worn on shoulder epaulettes. After Independence,the crown was replaced by the Ashoka lions.

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