Jaffna University Helidrop

An uneasy truce The signing of the Indo-Sri-Lankan accord on 29 July 1987 brought a temporary truce to the Sri Lankan Civil War. Under the terms of the agreement, Colombo agreed to a devolution of power to the provinces, Sri Lankan troops were to withdraw to their barracks in the north, and the Tamil rebels were to disarm. Also, on the request of President J. R. Jayewardene, India was to send a contingent, the IPKF, to Northern Sri Lanka as a peacekeeping force. The LTTE, who had enjoyed support from India till then however, agreed to the truce only reluctantly. The Tigers had rejected the Provincial Council framework as inadequate and Prabhakaran had protested against the Indian military intervention. The Tigers resisted the spread of what was deemed India's self-serving aim of binding Sri Lanka into India's geopolitical sphere of influence, The opposition to the induction of Indian troops soon flared into active confrontation. The Indian administration had not expected opposition from the Tigers However, faced with growing diligence from its erstwhile partner, India adopted a strategy of aiding alternative Tamil power bases, including the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, which had emerged strongly in the November 1988 elections, and at the same time continue negotiations with the LTTE. The Colombo government alleged the boat was involved in smuggling arms across the Palk Strait and on the grounds denied immunity to these captured Tiger separatists. The deterioration of the situation put the Indian government into a position of having to enforce peace in Jaffna by force. The Indian government had already been accused of inaction in the face of a failing accord. It was declared on 9 October that the IPKF was to launch a terminal campaign against the LTTE. ==Prelude==

The Indian intelligence reports received on 10 October indicated that a Tigers' meeting was to be held at Kokkuvil in the Jaffna University campus on the night of 11 October. Intelligence further indicated the meeting was to be attended by a number of high-profile Tiger leaders, including Velupillai Prabhakaran, Gopalaswamy Mahendraraja (alias Mahattaya), as well as the LTTE local commanders. The Indian Army was aware even before this that the LTTE had been using the university as their operational headquarters. The Indian forces had already prepared for a Special Helicopter Borne Operation against Jaffna University. With these reports, General Harikat Singh- GOC 54 Infantry Division, decided to use the window offered by this meeting to capture the LTTE leadership—a move that was expected to leave the rebel movement directionless in the face of the impending assault on the LTTE strongholds by the IPKF. The final plan tasked a hundred and twenty commandos from the 10th Para Commando group and three hundred and sixty troops from the 13th Sikh Light Infantry for the mission. The Para Commandos and the delta company of 13 Sikh LI were to be heli-dropped into the University Football ground in three waves of four helicopters. The rest of the Sikh LI contingent was to advance on the ground to link up with the heliborne troops. To minimise exposure to ground-fire, fast-roping was ruled out and the decision was made to assign the first wave of the Paras with the additional responsibility as pathfinders to mark the drop-zone. The operation was to use four Mi-8s flying from Palay airfield, two from the No. 109 Helicopter Unit, and one each from the No. 107 Helicopter Unit and the No. 112 Helicopter Unit. The Mi-8s had provisions for fitting rocket pods; this was deemed not necessary since the IPKF did not anticipate any significant resistance from the ground. A Sri Lankan Air Force Bell 212 gunship was detailed to carry out a diversionary strike west of the drop-zone across the railway tracks, which the Indian troops were under strict orders not to exceed. On the morning of 11 October, a reconnaissance flight over the university however revealed that the football field- the designated drop-zone- may be unable to accommodate four helicopters in a single wave. Holding off outside the drop zone in the face of expected hostile fire was ruled out and a change in the plans saw the decision made to divide each wave into two flights of a pair of Mi-8s. The second flight was to leave Palay Airfield - about four minutes flying time from the drop zone- only after the first flights had started on their return leg after disembarkation of their contingent. The whole operation was expected to last for ninety minutes. ==Operation==

Unknown to the Indian intelligence, the Tigers had intercepted Indian radio communications, had advanced knowledge of the operation, and had correctly identified the landing ground. Jaffna University had been turned into a fortress. Several 50 calibre machineguns had been moved to the north of the football field, and Tiger cadres had laid an ambush for the Indian troops. First insertion - The Bravo Team, 10 Para Commando The operation H-Hour was set at midnight of the 11th. Led by Major Sheonan Singh as the Team Commander of the Para Commandos along with Major Rajiv Nair and Captain Ranbir Bhadauria, the first stick of forty Para Commandos were inserted in the first flight of two Mi-8s. It was at this point that the commander of the tank troop, Major Anil Kaul, devised an alternate route. Kaul was aware that the railway tracks of the Palaly-Jaffna rail line passed behind Jaffna university. Kaul decided to drive his tanks on the rail tracks. However, as the tanks fought their way in, passing through the narrow lanes, RPG fire hit his tank in the turret. The explosion sprayed splinters over his eye and arm and severed his wedding ring finger. He was put on morphine by his men. Lt. Col. Dalvir Singh had to take over the command of both the SF troops as well as the tank troops from thereon, even though he had never operated a tank prior to that. The 4/5 Gorkhas and ground detachment of the 13 Sikh Light Infantry had linked up by this time. The besieged Para commandos were successfully extricated after 2 days of fighting by Lt. Col. Dalvir Singh and the rescue team. Both Lt. Col. Dalvir Singh, as well as Major Anil Kaul, was awarded Vir Chakra for their courage and leadership. Delta Company, 13 Sikh Light Infantry Although the Para Commandos were successfully extricated, the fate of the Sikh Light Infantry remained largely unknown until recounted by Sepoy Gora Singh, who had been taken prisoner, and was later released. Through the night, the Sikh Light Infantry had progressively been annihilated. Birendra Singh and his Platoon Commander Subedar Sampuran Singh fell to enemy fire sometime in the morning. By 11:30 am on 12 October, Delta Company was down to three jawans surviving. When they ran out of ammunition, the three survivors attempted a bayonet charge. Two were killed by LTTE gunfire and the last man, Sepoy Gora Singh, was taken prisoner. When the Indian Army finally reached the area after a week of heavy fighting, they found the battlefield littered with pieces of Sikh Light Infantry's uniforms and equipment, along with thousands of .50 MG shells. According to Singh, the dead Sikhs were stripped of their weapons, uniforms and equipment and their bare bodies laid out in a row at the nearby Buddhist Nagaraja Vihar temple. The corpses were burnt with a barrel of oil. The LTTE claimed to have tried to get in touch with the IPKF HQ at Palaly, but their efforts to get them collect the dead bodies were in vain. The bodies had started to decompose, and they had no option but to cremate them. In total the Delta company lost 30 men killed in action, accounting for almost all of the Sikh LI casualties. The Para Commandos lost six men in the battle. ==Aftermath==

Following the operation, the Indian Army awarded 10 gallantry medals. Major Birendra Singh of the Sikh Light Infantry was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra on the Republic Day of 1988. Lt. Col. Dalvir Singh, the Commanding Officer of 10 Para SF who volunteered and led the rescue mission, was awarded Vir Chakra for "conspicuous courage and valiant leadership". Major Anil Kaul of the 65 Armoured Regiment, was also awarded the Vir Chakra for his actions, having lost his right eye and left hand. He retired from the army as a Colonel, having his career affected by his wounds. The lone survivor Sepoy Gora Singh was later promoted to the rank of Naik. Every year, on 11 October, 13 Sikh Light infantry conducts ardās after bhog of the Akhand Path in memory of the soldiers and officers of 13 Sikh Light infantry who were killed in the Jaffna University heli-drop. ==See also==