The formation Of LTTE, serving in J&K and Sri Lanka, Animal encounters and suffering from PTSD, Maj. Abhay Sapru opened up about all his experience of being a part of the Special Forces and serving in areas of difficult situations.

Guests from military backgrounds are always loved by you guys. I love having people from the Para Military Force.

Life Of People In Special Forces

“When people join the Special Forces, they want to treat it as a profession and not as a career. We all were there because we wanted to be there. We wanted to go out, do unorthodox soldering, and tough life. If you go to SF unite, you will find all types of people.”

“They are always up for exploration, to discover themselves, and they are different.”

Why Did Abhay Sapru Leave the Special Forces?

“The moment I joined the academy, and when they try to put you in the grind, I always had this voice back in my head. Some day I will be a civilian. I am here to explore and prove my point to my day.”

Serving In Sri Lanka

“Serving in Sri Lanka was the worst. I have served in the northeast and J &K. We don’t know the terrains. They didn’t have the weaponry while serving in Sri Lanka. Every battalion that went in saw casualties. The Tamil Tigers were killers.”

The Formation Of LTTE

“In the early 80s, the Tamils were treated as second-class citizens. There was resistance from time to time. At some stage, all these Tamil parties came up with LTTE, LF, and EPR. After coming under pressure from the sort of genocide committed by Sri Lankan forces. A whole bunch of these people came to Tamil Nadu.”

“There was a voice to create a separate Eelam, including parts of Tamil Nadu. The Indians had to intervene, so they were trained. They trained them in Chakrata, a town in Dehradun.”

$\"\"$ Being In Sri Lanka During The Rise Of LTTE

“In 1987, a bunch of us were sent in. We were sent as a peacekeeping force. We were just sitting and watching till the accord was being signed. The coast guards had captured around 17 of the senior LTTE leader. This was the spark. By that time, an accord was signed between India and Sri Lanka. The LTTE was against it as they were supposed to be handed over to the Sri Lankans. They consumed cyanide and committed suicide.”

“The opposition was only living in the wild. So during our time in the Sri Lankan jungles, we had to have no artificial smell of any aftershave or hair oil. They were very aggressive. They had better weapons than the Indian army.”

$\"\"$ “The bunch of our casualties was because of the innovative explosives they used. They had mines made into a soap box.”

Serving In J&K

“In J&K, two civilians were killed around 7000 feet up in a forest. They were cutting wood at 5 in the morning. One of my boys was also there. He had got shot in his stomach and one of his forearms. He had to be carried down and kept awake. We used to carry sanitary napkins to soak blood. We got him out, but he died twenty days later.”

$\"\"$ Suffering With PTSD

“After seeing all the situations in Special Forces, you don’t panic. I had to pinch myself during serious stuff happening by civilian standards. What people pursue as a huge issue is not an issue. We come out as insensitive and careless.”

“I suffered from PTSD for many years. You would withdraw yourself in a gathering. You would get angry seeing people enjoying themselves. I had anger in me, and it takes time to heal. There was nobody at that time to talk about PTSD. You might need a military counselor.”

“When I wrote the three books, I went to those places. Going to those places and putting them in a book has helped me put them out of my system. I even did painting and sketches.”

Animal Encounters

“I didn’t have animal encounters in the Northeast. We were hitting a Naga camp in Burma. It was with permission that we crossed over. At night, we started hearing money called Gibbon. It has a human laugh. We heard that, but at the start, we didn’t realize it was an animal. We thought it was some militant.”

Militants Of J&K

“Their imagination was not vivid. Their thought process was very mathematical. Those who started in the Madrassa knew the history of Mahmud of Ghori or Mahmud of Ghazni. They were convinced to fight and look down upon Indians when it comes to fighting. They were well-trained and good fighters.”

It was a pleasure having Maj. Abhay Sapru on The Ranveer Show. I hoped you learned a lot from his experience.

Thank You.

Formation Of LTTE, Serving in J&K, Suffering PTSD: Maj Abhay Sapru\’s Life Experiences