Two months of annual leave is the one thing that most soldiers posted in sensitive areas look forward to. After surviving 10 months in often rough weather and hostile terrain, it was always refreshing to get back home and be with the family. The year was 1965. We had just finished a successful war with Pakistan. My colleagues and I were eager to return to the comfort of our homes.
The Indian Railways had shown their appreciation for the jawans who fought the war by announcing a special train to take us home from Pathankot. So, one fine morning, I boarded a train bound for Chennai. The train was only for soldiers—all of us returning after fighting the war. There were about 150 of us.Although we were moved by the Railways’ kind gesture, as the journey progressed, we realised that all was not well.
As a special train introduced on a one-time basis, it did not have a proper schedule drawn out. The authorities had to find arrival/departure slots, taking into account the movements of the scheduled trains. In other words, the special train allotted to the jawans was given the least priority. The train had to stop here and there for inordinate amounts of time, waiting for the tracks to clear.
Soon, it turned out to be a tedious trip. We could not take it any longer after the train halted at one station for hours. We went to the station master and urged him to do something to let the train proceed. He expressed his helplessness.
I spoke to his bosses at different levels. It is a Herculean task to move a behemoth like the Railways, but I ultimately persuaded its honchos to agree to treat it a special case and grant priority status to our train. There was a heart-warming reception waiting for us at Madras Central with flowers and sweets, which made us forget all the tribulations of the past two days.