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59 Engineer Regiment) Message from the Chief of Army Staff GENERAL BIPIN RAWAT, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC The Army has always held the Corps of Engineers in the highest esteem for their professional competence, elan and 'never say die' attitude. Combat Engineers provide crucial combat support in battle which has often made the difference, tipping the scales of victory & success in our favour. True to their motto, 'Sarvatra' the Sappers are omnipresent whenever and wherever the Army has been called to perform whether in War or in Peace. The Bengal Sappers with a glorious history of 217 years can be justifiably proud of their contribution to all military operations conducted both in India and across the world. “….. left an indelible The Second Edition of the Bengal Sappers Coffee Table Book provides a vivid account of the rich history and mark in all the stellar achievements of the Group. I wish the entire fraternity of The Bengal Sappers the very best in all their military operations endeavours and am sanguine that they will march ahead steadfastly and earn many more laurels in the undertaken by the future. Indian Armed Forces since independence.” Jai Hind (Bipin Rawat) General Chief of Army Staff 9 Message from Our Own Engineer-in-Chief LIEUTENANT GENERAL SK SHRIVASTAVA, AVSM At the outset, I convey warmest greetings and best wishes to All Ranks, veterans and families of the Bengal Sapper's Fraternity. The Second Edition “Trail Blazing into the New Millennium” is a welcome and much needed publication which adds on to the First Edition by recounting the stellar accomplishments of the Group in all fields over the last fifteen years. As one goes through the pages of the Coffee Table Book you are filled with a sense of wonder and pride at what the Group has achieved and the marvellous time honoured traditions which are still in place. I am also sanguine that this historical and pictorial record will inspire and motivate the past, present and future generations of “God's Own'. Jai Hind (SK Shrivastava) Lieutenant General Engineer in Chief Forword I am pleased to present the Second Edition of the Coffee Table Book of the Bengal Sappers, “Trail Blazing into the New Millennium”. This Second Edition adds to the outstanding narrative of the First Edition and gives and update on the chronology of events since 2005. The Bengal Sappers continue to live up to their tradition and have covered themselves in glory in all fields to include Military Operations - Op DEEWAR, Op PARAKRAM & Op VIJAY; Disaster Mitigation - Op KOSI PRAHAR & Op CLOUD BURST and Excellence in Sports. While most of our older Regiments have celebrated their Golden Jubilees, we have also added new units to our folds. Our Alma Mater, BEG & Centre Roorkee, now has a vibrant new look with modern administration and training infrastructure four our troops and those from friendly foreign countries. I am certain that our glorious history of valour and tradition in the last 217 years, so evocatively captured in narrative and pictures of the Coffee Table Book, will continue to inspire us in meeting future challenges with our indomitable spirti and keep our bonds of camaraderie warm, strong and life long. Jai Hind CkaxkyCkaxky LkSilZLkSilZ (Harpal Singh) Lieutenant General DGBR, Colonel Commandant The Bengal Sappers & Military Survey Preface The Commandant's office has arguably the most spectacular view any appointment could have. But this might not always have been, since in 1988, a new double storey Group HQ Building was constructed and the Commandant's office was to shift there. However, this would mean the Commandant would be moving out from an office occupied since 1854 from where he had a clear and unimpeded view of Ghazini Tower. The vacation of the heritage building was robustly objected to by senior and elder Bengal Sappers – and quite fortuitously their view prevailed. It is nuggets like these and others like the Faujeshwar Mandir, the tradition of Miyanjis, the heroic deeds of Major Nandu Jayal and Major Jai Bahuguna which make our History so vibrant. We have tried to capture the same in the pages of The Bengal Sappers “Trail Blazing into the New Millennium”. Of course the Second Edition is old wine in new bottle. One doesn't throw out the best vintage, do you? And so, we have been fortunate to have had at ‘home’ the diligent services of Colonel Sunder Nathan, VSM (Retd) the author of the First Edition for authoring this one! Thank you Sir! But yes, we have added some more, fresher wine too. And I daresay the Reader will savour the blend. I would like to compliment The Centre Team of Lieutenant Colonel Arup Mukherjee, Major Satinder Thakur and Havildar Bhupesh Chauhan who deserve mention for their untiring efforts in supporting the unfolding of this tapestry of The Bengal Sapper story ; vividly and colourfully. Wishing you happy reading !! Ckaxky LkSilZ (Raghu Srinivasan) Brigadier Commandant BEG & Centre, Roorkee C r e d i t s F i r s t E d i t i o n S e c o n d E d i t i o n Research, Text & Editing : Colonel SK Nathan, VSM (Retd) & Sudhir K Arora Research, Text & Editing : Colonel SK Nathan, VSM (Retd) Team BEG : Team BEG : Colonel Ajay Wadhwa, VSM Lieutenant Colonel Arup Mukherjee Lieutenant Colonel G Ashokan Major Satinder Thakur Captain Alok Devrani Havildar Bhupesh Chauhan Havildar CS Rawat Havildar Manish Kumar Naik Rajpal Singh Production Team - Production Team - Layout & Design : Shrikant Sharma Colour Photographs : Ajay Khullar Layout & Design : Mr Sudhir K Arora Colour Photographs : Lt Col Arup Mukherjee & Ajay Khullar Lithographs : Achieves BEG & Centre and Regimental Archives Lithographs : Archives BEG & Centre and Regimental Archives Published by : The Commandant, Bengal Engineer Group & Centre, Roorkee Published by : The Commandant, Bengal Engineer Group & Centre, Roorkee Copyright : BEG & Centre, Roorkee, 2005 Copyright : BEG & Centre, Roorkee, 2019 Production : Greenfields publishers, Anekant Place, 29-Rajpur Road, Dehradun-248001 (UA) Production : Greenfields publishers, Anekant Place, 29-Rajpur Road, Dehradun-248001 (UA) Available form : The Commandant, Bengal Engineer Group & Centre, Roorkee-247667 (UA) Available form : The Commandant, Bengal Engineer Group & Centre, Roorkee-247667 (UA) Price : Rs 750/- Price : Rs _____ CONTENTS Historical Landscape “God’s Own” Alma Mater Inception to Independence __ __ Post Independence Panorama “God’s Own” in New Millennium __ __ Bengal Sappers in Nation Building Factscape & Sports __ __ Foreword - First Edition Preface - First Edition Writing the foreword of a historical document is a rare honour Our Coffee Table Book “ The Bengal sappers – trail Blazers of the Indian Army” is a historical and I consider myself privileged to be a part of this history, to pen account of traditions and accomplishments in spheres ranging from soldiering to soldierly a few words for the Coffee Table Book of The Bengal Sappers – to pursuits, winning the battles while leading from the front, of redefining strategies and of nurture a trail blazing epic. testing the limits of human endeavor. Be it the taming of mighty rivers, unfurling the flag atop the Himalayas or fighting the vagaries of nature and by overcoming them all by our indomitable will, we The Bengal sappers, have always lived upto our ethos of Just Do It – Chak The Bengal Sappers have a proud heritage and an envious record De ! of achievements. I have long cherished a dream that the Group should have a pictorial account of its trials and tribulations, its The Bengal Sappers have a chequered history of two centuries. The first set gallantry awards challenges and victories, its glory and ethos, so that all Bengal ever given to an Indian Army soldier by the British were to Subedar Devi Singh and twelve Sappers, through the ages, can reminisce about the past and Bengal Sappers at Ghuznee. There are a large number of 'Firsts' to our credit but one of the dream of an eventful future. It is indeed commendable that the most important is the unique distinction of having the largest number of Battle and Theatre team at the Centre has undertaken the challenge and made my Honours. The conduct of our Bicentenary Celebrations and Tri-Service Affiliation have added dream a reality. new feathers to our glory. It is my belief that once a reader flips through the pages of this book, he would be engulfed The book narrates our glorious past and documents our rich with a sense of amazement and if the reader happens to be a Bengal Sapper, he would be record vividly in pictures and words. Over two hundred years of extremely proud of having been a part of the great tradition called “ The Bengal Sappers”. The our past have left an indelible impression on contemporary team at the Centre has worked with lot of heart and soul to present our rich heritage lucidly. military history. The documentation of this eventful period is a They have made an attempt to cover all the defining moments of history as vividly as possible. matter of pride for all of us. I am sure this pictorial account will act as a Holy Book for the coming generations of 'God's This book, I am sure, will inspire and motivate future generations Own” to emulate the unparalleled legacy left by our venerable ancestors. to scale greater heights of human endeavor and will bind every Bengal Sapper in reveling in our achievements. I am also Our thanks are due to our Colonel Commandant for his blessings, guidance and support. sanguine that this book will continue to imbue soldierly virtues Finally, I would like to place on record a very special thanks to Colonel SK Nathan, VSM (retd) and professionalism for which “ God's Own” is held in high but for whose untiring efforts and vast contribution, the book would have continued to remain esteem.
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