'The greatness of India can be experienced by meeting Indians on the frontiers of India.'
It was a special evening on India's border with China in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. A bada khana or grand feast had been hosted for soldiers and armed forces personnel serving on India's Eastern frontier, far away from family and loved ones on Diwali day.
"The whole nation stands with our soldiers. We want to send the message that a son, husband or a father who is guarding our nation's borders is not alone and everyone is with them on Diwali," says Tarun Vijay who has spent most of last month travelling from Siachen to Tawang, along the China border with a group of armed forces officers and personnel.
En route, the group addressed students at colleges and encouraged them to become warriors in uniform. They also met soldiers serving at various units, spending an extended time in Tawang, a strategic border town and a leading tourist destination.
The Vayu Veer Vijeta rally started on Air Force Day on October 8 from the IAF station in Thoise, Siachen, and covered 7,000 kilometres. The journey culminated in Arunachal Pradesh with a Diwali celebration at a border post where Indian and Chinese troops are eye-ball-to-eye-ball -- and at a bada khana in Tawang where Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu, the commander of the 190 Mountain Brigade, the local MLA and others were present.
"It was a special Diwali with soldiers where jawans from all faiths -- Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs -- all celebrated together. This again proves that the armed forces are the greatest thread of national unity and you can feel that unity even more in a border town like Tawang," says Tarun Vijay, one of the drivers in the rally.
"Every citizen is a soldier -- a guardian in our border areas."
The border post which is a breath away from the Chinese
After travelling through Ladakh, Srinagar, Jammu, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Lucknow, Guwahati, Tezpur, the group arrived in Tawang.
"After crossing the Bumla Pass we went to Zero Point which is right on the border. There were Indian and Chinese flags on respective sides and we could see Chinese soldiers across."
"We sang the National Anthem over there," says Tarun Vijay who conceptualised the initiative.
"Tawang is a divine and mysterious place. It is a lesser known, lesser understood, place of revered saints, monks and warriors. It not only has the renowned Buddhist monastery built during the time of the 5th Dalai Lama, but a land where every citizen has lived a life of a warrior, a soldier against Chinese designs," he continues in a WhatsApp post from Tawang.
"We also visited the Chumi Gyatse or holy waterfalls. Guru Padmasambhava who is known as the second Buddha had created 108 waterfalls to guard the local people from any harm."
The group also traveled to the border outpost at Chumi Gyatse on the Line of Actual Control where Indian and PLA troops are eye-to-eye.
"I saw a milestone which read 'Tibet 0 Miles'. The Chinese post across had a huge hoarding of Xi Jinping and a flag of the Chinese Communist party. It was so close that one could touch it," says Tarun Vijay, a former Bharatiya Janata Party member of the Rajya Sabha.
"We met our soldiers and greeted them for Diwali. We had a wonderful lunch with them," he adds.
The signs of breakthrough in India-China relations was evident with an absence of tension between the troops, he said. Sweets would be shared with PLA troops on Diwali.
"We want peace, harmony and a secure border. This breakthrough is the reason we are having a happy and peaceful Diwali on the border."
The Graveyard of Chinese soldiers
In Jaswantgarh, the rally stopped where all passing tourists always make a point to make a halt -- the memorial to Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat.
The brave 21-year-old soldier was awarded the Mahavir Chakra for exceptional courage in the 1962 War with China [you can read about the hero here].
The young soldier had stood like a wall against Chinese troops, long after soldiers around him had fallen in one of the Indian Army's most famous campaigns -- the Battle of Nuranang.
A temple and a museum has been established in his memory.
"We saw the graveyard of Chinese soldiers. More than 300 soldiers were given a respectful military burial in the high tradition of our armed forces. The Chinese refused to take their bodies back," says Tarun Vijay.
The graveyard was constructed in 1965.
A museum to Major Khathing on Diwali Day
Diwali was also the day when a museum was dedicated to a brave son of Arunachal Pradesh.
Major Ralengnao Bob Khathing persuaded Tibetans in Tawang to integrate with India before the Chinese could react, without a single bullet fired.
"The sensitive border town would have gone under PLA shackles had Sardar Patel and the then governor of Assam not acted swiftly and secretly to order an army operation to bring Tawang into Indian territory," informs Tarun Vijay.
A statue of Sardar Patel and the Museum of Valour were inaugurated virtually by the defence minister on Thursday.
After spending 23 days on the road, meeting students, soldiers, armed forces officers, governors, chief ministers and locals, the 7,000 kilometre journey ended with a memorable Diwali with the soldiers and air warriors.
"The greatness of India can be experienced by meeting people in the border areas. People must first come to the frontiers of India before planning trips to Mauritius, Maldives or Singapore."
"Tawang and Bumla Pass are open to civil tourists. One can go up to the China border, Zero Point with permission from the local administration," exhorts Tarun Vijay.
"India has the greatest vacation spots, meet Indians first, and then go abroad."
"The fantastic highways the rally cruised on, the roads all up to the border," says Tarun Vijay, "are good for fighter jets to land. From Thoise to Tawang, the newly created highways mde the IAF fighter pilots amazed and proud of the Modi government's achievements."
The route and participants
The Indian Air Force-Uttarakhand War Memorial rally known as the Vayu Veer Vijeta Rally began on Air Force Day, October 8, from the IAF base at Thoise in Siachen.
It travelled through Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
It was conceptualised by Tarun Vijay, chairman of the Uttarakhand War Memorial.
The car rally was commanded by Wing Commander Vijay Prakash Bhatt.
The other officers included Group Captain R C Tripathi, Vayu Medal, Everest summiteer and ex-para jumper. He belongs to the same village as Rifeman Jaswant Singh Rawat, MVC.
The army officers included Lieutenant Colonels Ashwini Pawar, Everest summiteer Swati Basedia, mountaineer and Geetanjali Bhatt.
SEE: Air warriors at Sela Pass
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
