INDIAN VALOUR

Chronicle (Levin), 9 April 1946, Page 4

INDIAN VALOUR

The splendid feats of the Indian Army during the war have won the admiration of the world, but f ew people have a chance of he.aring any of its members- talk of their work. Radio listeners did have such an opportunity a- short time ago when Lieut.-Colonel Unni Nayar of the Mahratta Light Infantry told, in an "In Town To-night" interview with Roy Rich of the BBC, ■ how he dropped by parachute among the Japanese. He wasn't a paratrooper . proper, but an observor fpr tjhe Government of India, and was attache.d -to the Pubiic Relations Directorafe. Being an officer, and armed,. he.'was, of course, class.ed as a combatant. . He f ollowed many of the .. campaigns including the battle of Alamein, went to Burma, Sicily, and Italy. He left Singapore two days before the Japs arrived, and was in Rangoon wheh it was first bombed. So he made up his mind that those were among- the places he would "drop" on one day, It had always been his ambition to take part in an Airborne operation, so he jumped at the chance of joining a force going to Rangoon, He was supposed to fty there with them, get his story, and then fly back. But, instead, he jumped with them — and it was his first jump. There had been no time for him to have training so he took a chance and tried to remember all that he had been told' about parachuting. .But,. he's^id, "allrI could remember jWhile 1 , waited -forv the,- gfeeh light: were the various grisly stories J^had ; heard abput the jumps whibh 'had gone wrong? Any wayr they, let me ,go."ff'rst.,as I was new,- "and eyery-. thing went off - picelyr : Tbe i first thipg I remember after stepping off was drppping orr -the soft bank of a streams The. job i:n haftd , was-to , liqui^ate, the . , Japanesf . . gari^spn which would have resisted with' its artillery their; sea-borrie lauding, When the main .body of paratrDops afriyed, the job had beeri done, in Coio'nel 5 Nayaris i ''-vyords, , "very nicelyi." ." ' His Singapore wish ,was also realis'e4; tl>ough ihe, ydtpp"; wasn't quite so'smooth. Tt was uffcef .the Japs had shrrendered, but . Singapore seemed not; to, have- 'heard of it, beca'use they were still firing on Allied aircraft. Colonel Nayar went in a Liberator which was dropping medical units and supplies. The Colonel landed on the tarmac of Changi airfield arid hit the back of his head with such force that for about ten minutes he completely lost his memory. He got a shock, which brought it back, when a truck driven by Japs came rushing towards him. However, in it were British prisoners'of war, who were delighted to see the Indian unit, Despitp his apparently being a Colonel didh't' taker'it course. It might be:,alLright' as -a me.ans of get'ting sorfibwher'b, but for his, part he was still working out' a"rettiark made to him when he made some searching enquiries about the first chute he was to wear : "If it doesn't prove satisfactory, bring it back ahd we'll give yo.u another one."