मामा जी का एक और लेख
OF GENERATIONS AND GAPS
For me, a visit to Singapore is very nostalgic. My father, as part of 4/19 Hyderabad (4 Kumaon, now) fought for the defence of Malaya/Singapore during Second World War. When the Allied surrendered, he was also taken a Prisoner of War by the Japanese. After the war he came on pension, with a 'Jangi Inam' and retired prematurely effective 6 Jun 1946. I came in this world as a free Indian in Dec 47. Singapore was not a subject of interest till my son went there on an employ and became a Permanent Resident three years ago.
My father, who passed away in 1980, did not tell me much about Singapore for he might have just been interned there and put behind barbed wires at the Changi POW camp. But what he did tell us was the tale of torture, pain, hunger and humiliation the Allied prisoners were subjected to. He also told us how Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and others of the INA regularly visited Indian POWs and lured them away with promises of India's liberation from British colonial rule. A third of the Indian POWs joined the INA. Those who deserted their units (while in captivity) and joined INA became 'freedom fighters' and later enjoyed much better perks and privileges. But my father never regretted his decision to remain a 'soldier' of the British Indian Army.
Singapore is uniquely historical. In the 1980s, in pursuit of modernity, they cleared everything that was history. But very soon they realised that if there was no history – Singapore would become a state but not a Nation. They stopped the clean sweep and started preserving the monuments and memorials. It is just a stroke of coincidence that my son resides in the Hillside condominium (Bukit Timah), where the old Ford Motor Factory is preserved as a war memorial and his office is situated in the City Centre alongside the Battle Box, another memorial. Though I do not intend detailing the events of the War as such, the Battle Box, which was HQ to the Allied Forces under General Percival, and the Ford Factory, the Command Post of the Japanese General Yamashita, can not go without mention.
'The Battle Box' was the underground bombproof bunker of Britain's HQ Malaya Command, during Second World War. Situated 9 meters beneath Fort Canning Hill, it was also the site where General Percival reached the fateful decision to surrender Singapore to the invading Japanese, on 15 Feb '42. The spirit is so historic that even today, at the Battle Box, the guide is called 'orderly', visitor's arrival is 'report for duty', ticket office is 'Guard Room', tourists are 'bona fide recruits' and the souvenir shop is a 'Quarter Master Store'. What better way to salute the martyrs !
Ford Motors (US) had established this factory just before the outbreak of the Second World War on the Malayan Railway line connecting the Malay Peninsula with Singapore Harbour for the industrial and economic convenience. Once the War broke out, the Allied took it over and planned to use its assembly line for aircrafts and accessories but it couldn't happen. Once the Japanese reached here they used the factory premises as a forward headquarters during the battle of Singapore. The historic meeting between Yamashita and Percival, took place here on 15 Feb 42, leading to the surrender of Singapore. This Factory details the sequence of events and exchange of communication between the warring commanders from 6 A.M. to 11.15 P.M. of 15 Feb. The developments of that day, as recorded, infer that the Japanese wanted Allied forces to lay down arms and sign the document at the earliest whereas the British wanted to delay it as much as possible on the plea that their troops were spread out and needed to effectively implement the cease-fire. But the Japanese couldn't afford time for it would allow British to come out of the shock and regroup. And if that happened, Japanese survival on the threatened and long maintenance line would be untenable. Therefore, the surrender was forced just before the midnight. And this defeat was the beginning of the fall of British Empire where the sun would never set – a shock from which they could never really recover. Interestingly, once the Japanese captured the Ford factory, they used its production line for Nissan vehicles till they vacated Singapore after three years of occupation. The official Japanese surrender ceremony was held in the City Hall on 12 Sep 1945.
I do not wish to detail the course of the battle or the strategies of the warring sides. I neither had access to such details nor inclination. What bothered me was the 'gaps' between my father, his son and his son. Had my father been alive today I would have taken him to the Country where he suffered the torture of his life and where his grandson was living as a resident, undoubtedly as a happy and prosperous citizen. Whichever memorial or museum I visited, I was connected to my father, the soldier, through the history of a nation alien to me. My son can hardly remember his grandfather. Only thing he tells people in Singapore is that 'his grandfather' fought there for them.
Statues of the warring Generals at the Ford Factory
It is a connection that can not be described, illustrated or realised fully. In a way it is a story of the Unknown Soldier which only the kin know, feel and connect with. It is not a memory down the lane either. My father suffered one of the worst kinds of torture and humiliation that the Japanese inflicted upon the Allies. For my son, Singapore is a paradise on earth. And for me ? It’s just connecting generations with no connectivity except the emotions flowing through blood. I would like to live with that.
लेखक- Lt Col HS Bhandari (Retd)
72/10, Malwa Green
Signals Vihar
Mhow (MP)
Tel : 07324-274549
E-mail : hoshiyar_bhandari58@rediffmail.com[/color]
