Page 144 - Sanidhya 2025

From Protests to Press-to-Talk

Before the classroom came the crowd — and before theory, the thrill.

My posting to RAF didn’t come with fanfare — just a quiet — frontline tension cooled just enough to avoid another
movement during a time when Maharashtra always had spiral. We had faced the edge, stared down escalation, and
something brewing. One week we’d be perfecting drills held the line.
and formations; the next, we’d be off to Jalna, Aurangabad, I alerted the control room and ordered preparation of
or Amravati with a kit bag in the trunk and deployment non-lethal measures. Rubber bullets were issued, tear gas
orders on the wireless. It wasn’t relentless, just unpredict- launchers checked and armed — everything kept on
able — the kind of duty that kept you ready, but not standby. A use-of-force threshold was defined, but not
always rushed. crossed unless unavoidable.

There was a rhythm to it all. Long halts under flyovers, Somewhere in between, we found ourselves in Manipur
short briefings by torchlight, and that universal quest — a — brief but intense. The hills were beautiful, but behind
decent washroom, often found (or not) at a highway petrol that calm were curfews, convoy drills, and late-night
pump. We learned to rate them better than Google ever deployments. In Shekmei and Thoubal, duty came with
could. sharper edges. Yet even there, we found our small
comforts — a hot meal at the end of a long shift, or a
Sometimes, you’d be adjusting your bun in a side mirror, roadside tea stall where the vendor simply smiled and said,
balancing a tea cup on the bonnet, and checking your belt “Same as yesterday, madam?”
— all while listening to wireless chatter in the background.
Crowd control brought its own tempo — brisk, sometimes Eventually, I moved to CTC (T&IT), where formations
absurd, but rarely dull. The radio would crackle with codes, became lectures and the wireless became a teaching tool.
location calls, and the occasional mystery message that Now, I train others in voice procedure, net discipline, and
made us glance at each other and laugh — “Not again!” how to keep calm when ten radios call at once. The same
PTT button that once buzzed mid-march now helps me
Then came Jalna — peak of the Maratha protest. Tensions explain proper mic technique.
were simmering for days — the sit-in by protestors in
Antarwali Sarathi had taken a volatile turn after police It’s a different pace, but no less meaningful.
action on September 1st triggered statewide outrage. By
the time we were moved in, the atmosphere was charged. And yes, I still say —
Protestors were regrouping, local anger was palpable, and
the situation was deteriorating by the hour. On ground “Alpha-1, control, message over.”
arrival, we strategised keeping our platoons near. Our Only now, it’s followed by: “Did everyone copy that?”
priority was to isolate instigators while shielding peaceful
demonstrators and preventing escalation. But the dynamic
turned fast. One of our perimeter teams came under a
sudden barrage — large stones, some the size of cricket
balls which came flying from behind structures and Gauri Singh
rooftops. With a small quick reaction team, I moved Assistant Commandant
through a side lane to flank the protest route. Using cover, CTC (T&IT), Ranchi
we established a temporary cordon.
I ordered the unit to hold position, weapons down, and
stepped forward under white flag cover to initiate contact
with the community leaders. The crowd began dispersing