Preparing from Motherland Security: My Unfloding Voyage 40

Studying in the college took away an additional hour in the prime sports time on most days of the week. The regular soccer in the late afternoon had to be abandoned: games had progressively turned into a week-end and holiday affair.
  Additional  seven hours a week were being taken away preparing for Motherland security. The Chinese aggression in 1962 had humilated India, thanks to Nehru's leadership to promote Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai and peace diplomacy with Chairman Mao. In 1963, all first-year students were compulsorily required to join the National Cadet Corp (NCC) for para military/ self-defence training twice a week. For my classmates, the training ground was near the Fort William in the Maidans, about 30 minutes by bus in the early hours of the morning. I had to get up at 5 AM, get ready in full uniform with heavy-weight boots to reach the training ground by 6 AM. The training was for about 90 to 120 minutes.  No food till I had come back home around 8-30 or 8-45 AM. Then have bath, quick lunch and go out aggain to reach college by 10-30AM. This two day training a week taught most of us very little, made us lose energy and time for nothing and did not enthuse us with patriotism. India had by that time completed more than a decade of national economic planning: but, the adminsistrative machinery was yet hopelessly  inefficient and ineffective.

Some of us tried to avoid the training by taking advantage of  exemptions granted but failed. I tried the excuse of being employed par-time in the morning. Nearly got a certificate to the effect from a factory employer, losing face to the elderly Gandian gentleman who had not expected youngmen to shirk the responsibility to get trained for emergency fighting to protect the motherland. But given the time consuming procedure gave up the effort and carry on the training. Some of us tried to help others. We went to a medical physicisn who would certify and recommed that my friend X's friend Y who had lived far away from us, had a very weak heath and chronic disease to permit him to withstand the NCC training. We visited a doctor in his clinic. He did not know us. We told him what was required. This doctor was interested in getting his fees (some Rs10 in 1963).  Since Y was not with us, one of us had to impersonate as Y. The doctor asked for the full name of Y, the name of the college, Father's name  and home address. Unfortunately the briefing was incomplete and by the time the doctor completed writing out the certificate, we knew thatr this certificate would be of no use as we had provided  hypthetical name of the father and the hypothetical home address.  We told the doctor we would come back in 30 minutes to collect the certificate as we have to arrange for the money for his fees. We did not ever come back to him.We could not go to reputed doctors who knew us for a false certificate either.

It was a funny experience but it was sad that we were trying to skip the NCC training: it is not that we disliked NCC training as such, but the scheme of training was administered in a manner that there was hardly any training and  wastage of time. Except those whose NCC training ground were near their residence, others found it a useless burden.  This compulsory NCC training Scheme was abandoned after a few years. But NCC training gave us an opportunity to see a rifle from close and hold rifles for a while. The usual parade and marching we knew from our primary school days. The mockery of training for us was over after about 60 / 70 days of training spread over 10 months with long  holiday breaks in between.