Last month, 25 officers from the three Armed Forces, both serving and retired, rode from Delhi to Longewala, in Rajasthan. It was the first-of-its-kind HOG (Harley Owners Group) rally in India. As the world’s only standalone HOG from the tri-forces, there are 135-140 members (about 225 defence forces officers own a Harley), with about 60% still serving, and four lady officers too.
When the group banded together, its aim was to “establish a separate identity, since there were so many officers from the Services who had Harleys,” as Col Robinder Singh Sirohi, who leads the group, says. He served in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) for 25 years, the fifth generation of his family to do so. “Not many people even within the HOG community know what we do, where we have gone, where we have fought wars,” he says. Through these rides, they hope to increase the awareness of “what our soldiers are doing, how they live their lives. Photographs and social media help us start a discussion on these things”.
IT WAS ABOUT: Revisiting a past and honouring it at the Armed Forces HOG Rally
Revisiting the past
They chose the border post of Longewala because of the battle there, during the Indo-Pak War of 1971. Across a five-day journey with families, the group covered Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, reaching Longewala, an approximately 1,000-kilometre drive.
On the way, they touched Tanot, significant, “because during the war it was a heavily-shelled area, but there was a small temple which remained untouched. They’ve kept the shells, and you can see them there, even today.” At Longewala, they laid a wreath at the memorial, honouring the soldiers who died there. They came back to Delhi via Nasirabad, touching a BSF post.
IT WAS ABOUT: Revisiting a past and honouring it at the Armed Forces HOG Rally
Every year, the group plans to do a trip to a site that has a military significance, in order to raise awareness of past sacrifices: Amritsar and Ferozepur, Leh and Kargil, Bangladesh border and the China border close to Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh). But it’s equally about revisiting a past they themselves didn’t have the time to think much about when in service.
“Longewala was our op area. Every year we would go there for two to three months for our training. But this time, our outlook was different. Earlier, I was seeing the land to note where I would deploy, from where I can enter, how I would traverse the terrain,” he says. This time, it was about reminiscing and honouring all that was past — looking at the same place with a different eye.
For the rally, they stayed at messes, and everyone from the oldest, Capt Sunil Sud, (a retired naval officer) at 66, to Maj Sumit Joshi, in his 20s (a serving officer from the Army), rode together.
RE to HD
What’s taken hardcore Royal Enfield owners to HDs? “There’s no problem with the bike ever,” he says of the tourer. “You ride it, park it, and cover it up until the next weekend,” he says. Originally, it wasn’t just the name that made the Bullet the favourite of Indian Army officers.
IT WAS ABOUT: Revisiting a past and honouring it at the Armed Forces HOG Rally
It was the deep-throated roar, its ruggedness, and the fact that it was an ‘official’ bike for the Army. But then, macho came undone, Harley Davidson entered the market.
“My father rode an Enfield Bullet. It was the only bike then — in ’85-’86. He presented one to me when I was commissioned in August 1988,” he says. But in 2010, he sold it, and after leaving the forces a couple of years later, bought an HD in 2014, beginning with an Iron 883 and moving on to a Heritage Softail. “By then we knew it in India. I am a Harley fan. The great thing about Harleys is that no two motorcycles are the same, even if you have the same model, because everything from the handlebars to the seats and the brakes are customisable. It’s a lifestyle, really.”
The Battle of Longewala
A note issued by the HOG team says: “‘A’ company (reinforced) of the Indian Army’s 23rd battalion, Punjab Regiment, commanded by Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, was left with the choice of either attempting to hold out until reinforced, or fleeing on foot from a Pakistani mechanised infantry Pakistani force. Choosing the former, Chandpuri ensured that all his assets were correctly deployed, and made the most use of his strong defensive position, and weaknesses created by errors in enemy tactics. He was supported by an Indian Air Force forward air controller, who was able to secure and direct aircraft in support of the post’s defence until reinforcements arrived six hours later.” By noon the next day, the Pakistani army was routed.
