Long Night in Malé

On the ground in Operation Cactus,the 1988 Indian military intervention to avert a coup to unseat President MA Gayooms government.

For security reasons,the first aircraft was stated to be just a cargo flight to Trivandrum. The second aircraft,piloted by Wing Cdr. later Group Capt. Amardeep Gill,following one kilometre behind,was to maintain radio silence throughout the journey.

During the flight,Arun Banerjee explained to Subhash Joshi and Bulsara the geography of the islands,the layout and location of important buildings in Male,and how to go from Hulhule airfield to Male. In between,Joshi kept passing last-minute instructions on the drill to secure the airfield,for distribution of ammunition,and so on. In Friendly Two,KKK Singh explained the problems of artillery deployment on the small airfield,movement to other islands if that became necessary,and the state of ammunition supply. Amardeep Gill kept me informed about the ground stations that we crossed below and also of any important radio conversations he heard in the cockpit.

When the aircraft passed over Trivandrum at 37,000 ft altitude,the air traffic control was quite surprised that these two planes,instead of landing at Trivandrum,were going towards the Maldives. They were apprised of the reasons and asked to maintain secrecy.

The significance of no information or instructions from Delhi sank home. There was to be no contact thereafter till we reached Hulhule8230;

Around 9.25 pm,Anant Bewoors plane,about 25 km from touch down,came down to 20,000 ft and made radio contact with the air traffic control at Hulhule,identifying itself as Friendly One. To our pleasant surprise,the air traffic staff responded immediately. They gave the codeword Hudia as clearance for landing. That was quite a relief. However,despite that,we knew that even a small obstruction on the runway,unseen at night,could cause a disaster. Friendly One asked the staff if they could switch on the runway lights. Promptly,the runway lights came on. They were as quickly switched off lest the rebels got alerted and rushed to the airfield. Friendly One descended using two amber lights against a black background in the moonless night8230;

The aircraft stopped slightly short of the runway end at 9.50 p.m. It was a daring and highly skilled action,rarely witnessed. The engines of both planes were kept on. Paratroopers started jumping out of the aircraft. Their sub units,on the run,took position around the airfield. Medium machine guns,recoilless rifles,rocket launchers and infantry mortars were deployed. The runway lights were off. Except for minimum lights from the aircraft,it was dark at Hulhule airport. There was no sound of firing from Male,the lights of which were visible across the water channel.

While the unit equipment was being unloaded,I walked across,along with two escorts,to the small hut-like airport building. Two locals,very scared,were hiding in a corner. I went and asked them if they knew English or Hindi. Seeing me standing without arms,they felt less afraid and said,Thora thora. One of them was holding a transistor. I asked him to switch it on. Instead of news about the armed rebels,I heard a Hindi film song. That made all of us smile8230;

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By this time the rebels had come to know of the Indian troops arrival. Luthufee and several PLOTE mercenaries got into a panic and decided to escape with some hostages in a hijacked merchant vessel,M.V. Progress Light,anchored at Male harbour under the cover of darkness. Seven hostages taken on board Progress Light included the Maldives minister of education,Ahmed Mujuthaba,his Swiss wife and his mother-in-law8230;

After receiving orders from the naval headquarters to stop Progress Light from going towards Sri Lanka,Gopalachari warned rebel group leader Luthufee to surrender immediately or face destruction in the next three hours. INS Godavari fired a four-inch shell that shattered the foremast of Progress Light. The anti-aircraft guns raked its deck and a depth charge was dropped close to the ship by a Sea King helicopter. The ship,its crew and others on board were now totally shaken. The Filipino engineer on the ship stopped its engines. Luthufee realised that the game was over. The marine commandos stormed on board. All rebels were taken prisoners and hostages were released from their custody. Education Minister Ahmad Mujuthabas wife had received shrapnel injuries. She needed medical attention and was flown to India for minor surgery.

When this news was given to Rajiv Gandhi in New Delhi,he walked across to the naval chief,Adm.J.G. Nadkarni,and gave him a pat on the back,adding in good humour,Good job Admiral,but I doubt if Mujuthaba will forgive the Indian Navy for rescuing his mother-in-law!

Gen Malik is former Army chief