An honest appraisal. Very admirable under the circumstances. If the Major hated both Hindu and Pakistani, where did that position him? Was he Sikh or Christian? Or non-sectarian?
I sense a great deal of regret on your part for not trying harder to mend fences. I'm thinking fence mending was not important to the Major and perhaps one characteristic you admired. But if it wasn't important to him, you should not let it be important to you. Not in this case. Somehow I do not think he would approve of you beating yourself up on his account. Am I wrong?
Ontario Hunter, you're incredibly perceptive. He was a liberal Muslim much like myself (the kind who exclusively follow the teachings of the Quran itself, but regard the teachings of later Islamic books to be completely invalid).
But he harbored an immense hatred towards all Hindus because he indiscriminately believed that all of them were anti-Muslim, anti-meat consumption, anti-firearms ownership & anti-hunting. He harbored an immense hatred towards all Pakistani people because we fought against them during the war (where his face got disfigured). I had a difference of opinion towards him because explained above... I do not inherently think of all Hindus as anti-Muslim, anti-meat consumption, anti-firearms ownership & anti-hunting.
And I bear absolutely zero grudge against Pakistani people ever since the war ended. Yes, their soldiers committed numerous atrocities against the Bengali civilian population. But then, so did we against the Pakistani civilians who were residing in Jenevah Camp at the time (albeit out of retaliation, but this is absolutely zero excuse for killing non-combatants during a war). I never personally did because I never compromise on my principles, but I'm not going to lie. I saw it happen plenty amongst my fellow soldiers and on more than a few occasions... I was forced to look the other way (an act of omission which I'm deeply ashamed of to this day). That's the inconvenient truth about war. It's bloody ugly and a disgrace to humanity (although sometimes necessary). There are no good guys. The winner just gets the privilege to get titled as the hero after it's all over.
You're 100% correct that I regret not trying hard enough mend the fences with the Major. But by God, I really did try a few times. In 1996, I telephoned him to invite him to my son's wedding but he cut the line as soon as he heard my voice. In 2008, during the Annual War Veteran's Commemorative Dinner... I invited him to share a table with me and my family. He refused. In 2022, my grandchildren were hosting a wild game barbecue party at the Dacca Rifle Club for all the members. My granddaughter sent him an invitation card which he promptly sent back through his chauffeur. What else could I have done ?
Yes, I suppose things could have been different if I had acted differently in the events prior to the incident in 1989. I could have allowed him to hunt an unlimited number of Axis deer in the Sundarbans (as opposed to only 2 adult stags every season as per government policy). But the other things which he wanted from me, were just not possible for me to grant him. I could not allow him to poach Royal Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans. The Ministry of Forests was scrutinizing the activities of every single DFO who was being stationed to oversee that territory. It would have resulted in career suicide for me.
And I definitely could not tolerate anybody physically assaulting my staff. He forcibly dunked the face of a Hindu forest guard into a pile of cow dung, as punishment for "Incompetence". And hurled a boot at the head of another elderly forest guard whom
@PerH knows.
I'm completely opposed to mistreating one's subordinates. We lead by making our subordinates get the inspired by us. By making them respect us. Not by abusing them, wantonly.
But despite all this, the Major was not an evil man. At least, I don't believe so. He was immensely troubled and needed our help.
