Brigadier (Retd.) AJS Behl, a distinguished veteran of the 1962 India-China war, breathed his last on Tuesday at Command Hospital in Chandimandir. Aged 82, he succumbed to age-related issues. The final rites are scheduled to take place in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery on December 17, 1961, Brigadier Behl played a significant role in the 1962 war. Serving as a young officer in the Battle of Namka Chu as part of the 7 Infantry Brigade, he was captured at Tsangdhar during the conflict. His illustrious military career extended to participation in the 1965 Rann of Kutch operations and the wars of 1965 and 1971. Brig. Behl, retiring as the Deputy Director General of the NCC in Jammu and Kashmir in April 1995, commanded the 195 Medium Regiment and was deployed in Tsangdhar with ‘E’ Troop of the 17 Para Field Regiment as the gun position officer.
Inducted from Agra on September 30, 1962, Brigadier Behl, then Lieutenant, arrived in Tezpur, Assam, along with his troop commander, Captain (later Maj Gen) HS Talwar. Engaging in the Battle of Tsangdhar on October 20, 1962, against Chinese forces, his troop, surrounded and facing artillery fire, fought valiantly until the afternoon, when they were compelled to surrender. Brig. Behl, along with 38 men under his command and his troop commander, spent a year in Chinese captivity in Tibet before being repatriated to India. He rejoined his battalion shortly thereafter.
His role in the 1962 war is vividly recounted in the book “1962: The War That Wasn’t.” In a later interview with historian Claude Arpi, Brig. Behl expressed his enduring anti-Chinese sentiments, emphasizing their potential threat.
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