Warriors in India's desert ready to fight Pakistan

JAISALMER, India -- The fiercely independent people of this ancient desert outpost, near the parched Pakistan border where Indian soldiers still patrol by camel, are aching for war.

A medieval sandstone fort that turns golden as the sun sinks into the Thar Desert and weary camels come to their knees is a constant reminder of the people of Jaisalmer's heritage as great warriors.

"Bring on another war, we are ready," shouts Jagdish Prasad Vasa, a craggy shopkeeper who has lived through the three wars between India and Pakistan since independence from Britain in 1947. His war cries draw similar chants from the old turbaned men drinking sweet tea at the foot of the sandcastle-like fort.

"The Jaisalmeris are warriors by nature, always on alert and never afraid to fight," says Vasa, spitting out juice from his "gutkha," a concoction of tobacco, betel nut and spices.

"It's time to put Pakistan down, for good."

Tradition of war

As Indian tanks, artillery and soldiers stream into this western desert state of Rajasthan and other border regions, including neighboring Gujarat and Punjab states and the Indian-held part of the disputed Kashmir region, Jaisalmeris are proud their city has been of strategic military importance for centuries.

From the legendary Rajputs -- the traditional Hindu warrior clan who ruled much of western India during the medieval era -- to the 1998 nuclear tests in nearby Pokharan, the desert people are enveloped by a warrior tradition passed down by generations.

"The people here have a legendary bravery and pride for their desert lifestyle. And they are not afraid of war," said Nand Kishore Sharma, Jaisalmer's chief historian and author of several books on the desert citadel.

"The Jaisalmeris are people who, like me, have been at the center of three wars," said Sharma. "The attack on our Parliament has made us realize that terrorism is now our new enemy. So there must be war -- a war between good and evil, not a war between Hindus and Muslims."

The new tensions between India and Pakistan were provoked by a suicide attack on India's Parliament Dec. 13. New Delhi blames Pakistan's spy agency and two Islamic militant groups that have operated out of Pakistani territory. Nine Indians and the five attackers were killed in the Parliament attack, and border forces have exchanged fire almost daily since the assault.

New Delhi said Saturday it wanted to avoid war, but refused to pull back tens of thousands of its troops massing at the border until Islamabad ended its backing for Islamic militants.

"I have said before and I would like to say it again: We do not want war, but a war in the form of cross-border terrorism has already been thrust at India," said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

India calls Pakistan the "epicenter" of terrorism in the region. Thousands of Islamic guerrillas, from a dozen-odd militant groups in Pakistan, have sneaked across the Kashmir frontier for 12 years to launch attacks on Indian army.

Pakistan denies that it supports the Islamic militants or that it was behind the Parliament attack. It accuses India of exploiting the assault to paint Pakistan as a terrorist state.

Train to the desert

The overnight train from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer -- the only means of transport to the desert town besides a two-lane road dominated by camels and speeding trucks -- is packed with soldiers headed to military bases and local tourists heading to the sand dunes for the New Year's holiday.

"Our in-laws and other friends said, 'You're going right to the warfront, are you crazy?"' said Anjali Sharma, a teacher from New Delhi who traveled to the Sam sand dunes just west of Jaisalmer and 28 miles from the Pakistan border.

She and her husband wanted their 4-year-old daughter to take a camel ride and experience the rosy sunset over the sand dunes.

"The troops are moving in, that's true. But I think it's now a wait-and-watch policy," Sharma said. "Meanwhile, we have to live our lives."

While politicians and pundits in New Delhi, the capital some 435 miles to the east, say they don't want war, the Jaisalmeris are clamoring for it.

"We badly want to go to war," said Lalit Gopa, a travel agent at the Gorbandh Palace. "They assassinate our people every day. We know the strength of the Indian military. If Pakistan drops four bombs, within 10 minutes we will drop 40 bombs."