Page 247 - Leadership in the Indian Army

get off lightly, but had to resign his commission. Prem and Mohini invited
him to stay with them, which he did for about a year before he was able to
get a job as the Assistant Commissioner of Refugees.

In June 1946, Prem was again sent to England for a year to complete the
engineering course, and this time, Mohini accompanied him. Momentous
events were taking place in India during this period, and there was talk
about partitioning the country. Prem was deeply disturbed, and wrote a
monograph entitled ‘ My Land Divided ’, in which he pleaded against
attempts to divide the country on communal lines. He cited the example of
the United States of America and Russia, where people of different ethnic

groups had been able to join hands, and which had gone on to become
powerful nations. Collins was interested in publishing the monograph, but
when permission to do this was sought from the Indian government, it was
refused.
In June 1947, Prem returned to India and was assigned to the Punjab
Boundary Force, which was commanded by Major General T.W. Rees and

had its HQ in Lahore. Soon after Partition, communal violence and riots
ripped the subcontinent, and India and Pakistan realised that each would
have to assume responsibility for maintaining law and order within its
respective borders. On 1 September 1947, the Punjab Boundary Force was
wound up, and Prem was posted as Commander Royal Engineers, 4
Infantry Division, in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The division was
located at Jullunder, with Major General K.S. Thimayya as its GOC. His

old friend, Raj Batra, was the Commander Signals, having moved his unit
from Rawalpindi to Jullunder at the time of Partition.
Mohini Bhagat was then at Mussoorie, staying at Bhagat Kot. However,
she and Prem’s stepmother fell out with each other, and in October 1947 she
suddenly decided to join him in Jullunder. One of her lady friends heard
that she was planning to travel by truck, along with her baby and servant.

She offered to give them a lift in her car, and they left Mussoorie
accompanied by one of Prem’s cousins. At this time, Punjab was in turmoil
and the mass exodus of refugees had begun. By the time they reached
Ambala, it was dark. They were stopped at several places, including a
picket manned by soldiers of the Baluch regiment, who were escorting
Muslim refugees awaiting repatriation to Pakistan. At each place, they
announced that they were part of Major General Thimayya’s family. This

worked like a charm, and ensured their safe passage. They reached