Declared Dead At War But Returned Alive

In general, war brings pain, death, and grief. But what if it turns the greatest sorrow into one of the best moments of happiness? Captain Ram Kumar's story is just like that. Being declared dead, he suddenly appeared safe and sound in front of his family. The parents who got their son's death news a few days back and had been grieving like anything became the happiest people on the planet overnight.    

Let us find out the entire back story of this incident from Capt. himself. And also discuss his participation in some of the greatest Indian history of wars. 

At what age did you decide to join the Army?

While I was almost 18 years old, when most of my peers left the village for work, I was left alone. The urge to serve the country while ensuring financial stability led me to join the Army.

What was your experience during the 1965 war?

We were supposed to reach the war zone on 8 August 1965. However, since the situation turned extremely tense, we were ordered to depart early. 

Before the battle, everyone was tense. Once it began, all the worries got vanished. Neither we thought of our family nor hunger or life. We wanted to destroy the enemy and make them learn a lesson, so they never dared to storm into our country. 

What war tactics do soldiers follow in the battle zone?

The primary goal of the Army is to simply weaken or eliminate the enemy's fighting capacity. For that, we set alternative plans by preparing two troops. So that when the first troop goes and fights in the front line and in case it finds the enemy outnumbered, the second troop can immediately come forward to help. Additionally, during bombardments, we lie on the ground for safety. This ensures maximum army strength and minimum causalities.  

How does it feel to lose dear ones during the war?

I still remember the martyrdom of one of our soldiers, who also happened to be my distant uncle. In a bomb blast, his lower body was completely blown away during the war. I got extremely terrified. Looking at my cold, pale face, he started encouraging me. 

Until his last breath, he kept saying, “Son, do not worry; I am fine. Focus on the mission, and do not deviate with such a minor accident. Just keep going!

Witnessing such heart-wrenching moments boils my blood and fills me with courage and bravery. I feel as if I can tear every enemy apart all alone.

How painful it is to inform a colleague's death to its family?   

Of course, it is. I can relate to it because an LMG bullet severely injured my leg. Those days they used to send messages to soldiers' families via telegram. But in my case, they mistakenly sent the wrong message. 

In my troop, there were two soldiers named Ram Kumar. One was me, and the other one was Naik Ram Kumar. Unfortunately, he got martyrdom, and I got severely injured. Our telegrams somehow got swapped and reached the wrong destinations. My injury news was sent to Naik's house, whereas my family thought I was dead, receiving the wrong telegram.

So, how did your family get to know you are alive? How did they react to it?

When the management knew about it, they immediately delivered the right messages to the respective homes. On receiving the message of my being alive, my family did not believe it. They thought that the top management was lying to comfort them. To clear this doubt, they asked my family to reach Agra and check out themselves. When they reached Agra and found me alive, their happiness was in the seventh sky. 

How did the Indo-Pak 1965 war end?

Hostilities between the two countries ended when a ceasefire was declared by UN Security Council Resolution 211. Following diplomatic intervention by the Soviet Union and the United States and the subsequent release of the Tashkent Declaration, Being soldiers, we felt somewhat sad and discouraged as we had made numerous sacrifices for it. However, now we had to return empty-handed even after entering their territory.

How Pakistan surrendered during Bangladesh Liberation War?

Around 2:00 am, we received a message to charge an attack against Pakistan with full force. The situation was tense as there were high chances of thousands of casualties on both sides. Fortunately, a little later, we received the news that Lieutenant General A. A. K. Niazi of the Pakistan Army signed the Instrument of Surrender under the supervision of Lieutenant General J.S (Jagjit Singh) Aurora and Bangladesh Forces , getting us a sigh of relief.

Conclusion