“Beyond ‘Ikkis’: Arun Khetarpal and Hanut Singh’s heroics in the 1971 war”, First Post, February 08, 2026
“In recent times, Bollywood has come out with a set of movies based on overt and covert conflicts with Pakistan. While Dhurandhar and Border II have made it big at the box office, Ikkis ran aground, perhaps because it converted what should have been an outstanding war movie into an anti-war whimper. But this story is not intended to be a critique or even a commentary on Ikkis but seeks to shed more light on the personality of the man who commanded the regiment ‘Ikkis-year-old’ Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal (Param Vir Chakra – Posthumous) fought as part of.
In the 1971 war, Arun’s regiment – the 17 ‘Poona’ Horse – was commanded by Lt Col (later Lt Gen) Hanut Singh. Born in Jasol to a soldier father, Hanut had the natural Rajput inclination to be a good cavalryman. It came as no surprise when he chose the Army as a profession and was part of the 1st Course of the Joint Services Wing – the precursor to the National Defence Academy (NDA) – during his training. Among his course-mates were three future service chiefs – Sunith Rodrigues (Army), Laxminarayan Ramdas (Navy) and Nirmal Suri (Air Force). It was in the academy that Hanut began to be noticed for his unusual personality – a loner with high personal discipline and a sense of moral values.
For the uninitiated, it was the cavalry regiments that were converted into armoured formations. In December 1952, Hanut was commissioned into one such regiment – the 17 Poona Horse. Earlier in the century, this unit had seen the raising of two squadrons of Rathore cavalry being funded by the ruler of Jodhpur. The Poona Horse was one of the last units to be Indianised, with few Indian officers available at the time of Independence. During Hanut’s early days with his parent unit, the regiment was not considered of high standard and was the butt of some uncharitable remarks by senior officers. Hearing this, Hanut appears to have made it his mission to take the regiment higher – an incredible leadership quality for a young officer in his early twenties…….”
Read full article at firstpost.com
