‘Every day was a nightmare’: Bengal man returns home from Russia-Ukraine war

Urgen Tamang, a resident of Himali Gaon, a small hilly village in West Bengal’s Kalimpong district, recalled how he along with a few other persons, were duped by job-agents and forced by the Russian military to join the war against Ukraine after a basic weapon training of just 12 days.

“I saw many Indians, getting killed in the war. Every day was a nightmare for me. I couldn’t eat or sleep for days. I still can’t believe that I am back home and united with the family. I thank God for my safe return from the war zone in Russia,” Tamang said after coming out of the Bagdogra airport near Siliguri town in north Bengal on Saturday.

Tamang served in the Indian army for 18 years but had never been to a battle front. He joined the army just after the Kargil war. He was 23 years old then. He retired in 2018 as a jawan and was looking for a job.

“The agents, who took me to Russia promising a helper’s job with good salary, handed me over to the Russian Army after I reached there. My ordeal began there. I along with a few other persons were dropped in the battle zone just after 10 – 12 days of basic weapon training,” he said.

It was on March 23 this year that Tamang released a video for the first time from the warzone, requesting Indian authorities to help him return to his hometown.

HT had earlier reported that in mid-July he released another video in which the 47-year-old claimed how 13 out of 15 non-Russian members in his group had been killed in the war. He and a Sri Lankan man were the only non-Russian fighters who survived.

He said he was deployed in Russia’s southern region of Rostov. They were made to dig trenches and work for very long hours. They were also sent to a warzone in southern Crimea near the Black Sea where they were deployed in the battle front and slept in bunkers for days.

On Saturday he landed at the Bagdogra airport. His two children and wife were in tears when they saw him coming out. After an emotional reunion, Tamang touched the feet of Rabi Pradhan, the man who played pivotal role in getting Tamang back to his hometown.

Pradhan, chairman of the board of administrators with Kalimpong municipality, consistently pursued the case of Tamang’s release from the Russian army, with the Indian authorities.

“Urgen had almost lost hope that he would ever be able to return home. He couldn’t return despite having his name in the list of 34 Indians who managed to return to India earlier this year. He was depressed and frustrated and was worried that he would be pushed into the war zone again,” said Pradhan.

Pradhan said that the breakthrough came when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia in July this year and took up with matter of release of Indians in the Russian army with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar said in August that at least 66 Indians were still enrolled in the Russian army. On September 10, Pradhan wrote to the Indian embassy in Moscow, stating that Tamang was yet to be released.

Tamang was released by the Russian authorities and reached Moscow on Tuesday. He landed in Bagdogra around 11.45 am on Saturday with family members, relatives and neighbours waiting anxiously to receive him.

Kundan Rai, a Kalimpong resident said: “Now we will celebrate Dasai (the biggest festival of the Gorkhas) in a grand way.”

Sangdoma Tamang, a relative of Urgen, said: “The ordeal of Urgen, his family members, which lasted for several months has finally come to an end.”