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'Born to Dare' – A story of Lt. Gen. Inderjit Singh Gill

Syed Ali Mujtaba, Ph.D. - 6/1/2008

Well I am not a soldier, some of my friends are, I had nursed that desire to be a soldier at certain point of time in life but as it moved on the idea vanished into the blue. However when I heard Mr S. Muthiah, speaking about Lt. Gen. Inderjit Singh Gill, a soldier’s soldier that idea again brushed my heart

It was a story telling session at the British council Chennai, and Mr Muthiah, was narrating the World War campaign of Inder Gill from his book “Born to Dare” that chronicles Gills life.

Lt. Gen. Inderjit Singh Gill, PVSM, MC; is a legend in the Indian Army but little known outside it, he is a revered figure, particularly among the paratroopers and Special Forces.

Serving Britain behind the German and Italian lines during World War II, Inder Gill was part of a campaign to foment resistance against the Axis powers in Greece and to cripple their transport arteries by blowing up key bridges. Leaving Greece, he served with the Royal Engineers on the slog from Cassino to Bologna, where he was injured twice in explosions, shrapnel from which he carried in his body for the rest of his life.

Joining the Indian Army, he served with the J&K Militia in Kashmir in the troubled times just after Independence, and was involved in peacekeeping operations in Korea and Gaza. Commanding the high passes during Sikkim’s travails, he also headed the Directorate of Military Operations during the 1971 War, before retiring as commander of India’s Western Army. But all the while, the things closest to his heart were the Parachute Regiment and training, both as trainer and trainee.

Since I did some reading and research on the British policy during the World War II, I could feel the punch in Mr Muthiah’s narration. In his inspiring account, S. Muthiah painted a vivid picture of a soldier who deserves to be better known for his invaluable contribution to the military history of India. His talk was essentially centered on Inder Gill’s heroics in the Greece campaign; the blowing up of Gorgopotamos Bridge, the training of the resistance movement in Greece and other details.

Frankly, I had no clue about Inder Gill, so every word from his chronicler seemed amazing. Mr Muthiah was on a song describing Inder Gills life and times.

Inder Gill was born to a Sikh father and a Scottish mother and grew up in England. He had major part of is career in the British army, and participated in the Greece and Italy campaign during the Word War II.

When the war was drawing to close, he moved to India and became the first Indian trainer at the IMA academy, Dehradun. During the pre Partition days, he was chum of Pakistani General Tikka Khan and along with him supervised the division of the British Army’s assets between India and Pakistan.

Inder was in the thick of action during the Jammu and Kashmir raid in 1948. He was there in action in 1965 and 1971 wars. Inder was described as the architect of the 1971 operation as he used his experience of trainer during the WWII, to train the Mukthi Bahni troops to lead guerilla warfare in East Pakistan.

With a baggage of war heroics behind him, Inder Singh became a legend and many interesting facts about him was brought out by Mr Muthiah during hour long talk. The warrior who trained his men to be ever-prepared for action and the patient teacher who helped create thinking officers and gentlemen, while being ever at odds with conventional authority. An outspoken maverick, he was at the same time obsessed with following the straight and narrow of what he thought was right and wrong despite the trouble it got him into even till the last days of his career. But for one born to dare, it was all in a day’s work.

The most interesting part was Monoa Gill; wife of Inder Gill sat through the entire story telling session. Lady Gill must be in 70s still looks as gracious as ever. When Muthiah told the audience that she was an ace para-trooper, the youth in her frail face sparkled. I was watched her with fascination, as she was listening to her husband’s heroics described by his chronicler.

After the talk I tried to pick up a conversation with her by wishing her Good Evening. She was quick to acknowledge, and asked me whether I knew these stories before. I feigned ignorance and she said nothing wrong, you are not an army guy. I told her it was quite an education to me to know some one as great as Mr Inder Gill.

Lady Gill said, she feels very nostalgic when such talks were organized and she misses her husband much who left her many years ago. You see I am growing old too; I am not keeping good health. For a moment I had to act pope to her. I tried to sermonize that every thing that’s born in this world has to die one day; no one can escape that fate.

However, there are certain individuals like Inder Gill for whom William Shakespeare has especially written these lines; “His life was gentle and the elements so mixed in him that Nature might stand up and say to all the world ‘This was a man’!” Hearing it, she exclaimed, “Charming You!” It’s a while now; those words still rings my ears.