14th September 1997 has indeed cast an indelible imprint on my mind. I was attending the prestigious Staff course at Wellington. It was the first time the routine weekly movie got screened on three consecutive days back to back. You guessed it right. It was the Bollywood blockbuster, ‘Border’ based on the exceptional gallantry displayed in the face of the enemy by Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, MVC, VSM and his men. This had happened for the very first time in the history of the Staff College, just because of the popular demand of about 400 officers attending this tri-service year-long course. Traditionally, the movie used to be run in a smaller auditorium named, ‘Mulla’ but due to its smaller capacity, the film ‘Border’ had to be screened in ‘Sekhon’, a much larger auditorium.
This movie turned out to be the highest-grossing film of the year. We were all busy like a bee in the middle of our very first war-game exercise. On top of that, I had also been selected to play an important appointment in the war-game and had my final briefing to the Commandant the very next day. It was a ‘do or die’ situation for me to do well in the course, my Instructor had clearly warned me. The choice was clear. Either I skip the movie and prepare well for my presentation or take a chance and go for the movie. I opted for the latter. Watching the Battle of Longewala involving my Punjab Regiment come alive, was too irresistible. My briefing also went off very well. Having seen this movie, it further intrigued me to research more about this famous Battle. The in-depth study of the Battle further fuelled my curiosity to meet its hero, Brig Kuldip Singh Chandpuri. I belong to 15 Punjab whereas Brig Chandpuri was from 23 Punjab Regiment. There was a very slim chance of bumping into each other. However, God has its ways when you have an earnest desire to meet your idol.
In 2014, fate got me posted as Brigadier Operational Logistics at Chandimandir with the Western Command HQ after outstanding command of the Brigade. On a soggy winter morning, a tall and smart Sikh veteran Brigadier walked into my office and introduced himself.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Brig Kuldip Singh Chandpuri right there in front of my eyes. At the age of 74 years then, I found him ramrod straight, extremely energetic and vibrant. He was humility personified. He had come to brainstorm key logistics matters affecting veterans viz about the canteen and other miscellaneous issues. Throughout my tenure, Brig Chandpuri took the initiative of organizing Punjab Regimental get-togethers at the DSOI. We all fervently requested him to make it a contributory dinner, but to no avail. He always took pride in being the singular host and footing all the bills much against our wishes. He did a yeoman’s service in the larger interest of veterans.
Whenever asked about the epic Battle of Longewala, he gave full credit to his troops and the Indian Air Force that came in the morning. Not many would know that it was his brainchild to construct the Memorial for defence personnel from Chandigarh. Whenever I visit Chandigarh, I always make it a point to pay my tributes at this thoughtfully designed Memorial located in the Terrace Garden in Sector 33. He also touched the lives of many civilians whom he had never met by doing a wonderful job in the capacity of nominated Councillor in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation from 2006 to 2011. He provided much-needed traction to several pending works hanging fire. He successfully pushed crucial decisions of the Corporation thereby impacting the daily lives of citizens of the City Beautiful. During my several interactions with him, I discovered him to be an outdoor man and an ardent lover of the countryside and nature. Perhaps that’s the precise reason he left his footprints on the sands of time as an outstanding soldier and a born leader of men. He was a dog-enthusiast; a cynophilist to the core.
After the release of the movie, ‘Border’ he became a larger-than-life figure. Despite this majestic aura and image, he never had any airs about him. He was always accessible even at odd hours, especially to his subordinates; the Junior Commissioned Officers and his troops. Whenever any Jawan knocked on his doors to air his grievances on some pension-related problem he never rested, till some solution saw the light of the day. He had a knack for not only initiating the soldier’s case but also ensuring a perfect follow-through keeping the soldier apprised about the progress till its logical conclusion. The last I met him was during the Punjab Regimental Reunion held at the Punjab Regimental Centre at Ramgarh (Jharkhand) in November 2017. The event as usual was a four-day long affair with no respite ranging from wreath-laying ceremonies, the colour presentation ceremony and an unending series of social functions. I was observing him very closely. He was the only officer who attended all the functions and never sat down at any of the events.
I always found him catching up very warmly with his old soldiers nostalgically recalling anecdotes during his Command. That speaks volumes of the energy and the vigour he possessed at the age of 77 years. Unfortunately, we lost him fairly young November 2018 when he would have turned 78. I came to know of a unique visitor at their home three days after his cremation from his dear son Hardeep who is yet another exceptional achiever in his sphere. A gentleman and a lady had walked into their house a few days after his cremation to offer their tributes.
On being enquired by Hardeep, they disclosed that all the Indians residing in Belgium had pooled their money to buy them air tickets to fly to India and pay their last respects to Brig Chandpuri. This was a huge emotional moment for the whole family. His reputation travelled far and wide which transcended international boundaries. This reminds me of the old British officers who visited our Punjab Regimental Centre on invitation many years back and all spoke highly about him. He will always remain the lodestar of not only the Punjab Regiment, but of the entire Indian Army for all times to come. I take this opportunity to bow my head with all my reverence and nostalgically reminisce the warm conversations, I and my wife Nidhi indulged with him, all those years when we met. It is only because of heroes like Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri that the Indian Army has an envious reputation the world over.
He commanded 15 Punjab in Lebanon under the UN flag in 2006 and was picked up to command the Assam Rifles Sector as DIG in the most sensitive sector of Churachandpur in Manipur. For his outstanding command in Manipur, he was selected as ‘Brigadier Operational Logistics’ for the entire Western Command in 2015.