CHENNAI: Tankiso Mahlatsi’s lifetime ambition to serve his country has brought him to Chennai. The 27-year-old from Lesotho, a landlocked country in Africa, is one of the 36 cadets - the rest are from Afghanistan - now undergoing a basic 11-month military training at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) near St Thomas Mount. After a comprehensive training that includes drill, weapon handling and field engineering, the cadets would be joining the army of their respective countries.Though they come from diverse backgrounds, the spirit of valour and the desire to serve the motherland binds the foreign cadets with their Indian counterparts without any language barrier. Each foreign cadet had a story to say. In the case of the Tankiso, he always dreamt of serving in his country’s army and quickly opted for India for his training as he had heard about the high skilled rigorous training methods.“It is not as hard as you perceive. We have a common understanding and everyone helps. My parents too have been supportive and I will join the army there once I pass out from here. About India, I only had a hint about the political and economic scenario before I came here. But it was the weather that is harsh. I was not used to spicy food but now I am getting used to it,” the cadet said in English as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back.For 22-year-old Asadullah Muslim from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, it is his inspiration from his father and the situation in his war-torn country. “My father was in the army. I was born in Pakistan as my family migrated during the war with Russia. Given the present situation there, we all want to serve our country and impart the training we undergo here to others,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone as fellow cadets from his country nodded in agreement. The cadets explained their plans to join a three months course in Afghanistan to learn army drill and tactics after passing out from OTA and before joining the Afghan National Army.Though coming to India was a comfortable choice, as they knew Hindi, it was a shock to see India from what they had known only through Bollywood films. “Our summer is like the winter in Chennai. It was quite warm when we came here. Training had been tough but good and we help others who do not know Hindi or English. We willl al go back to our country and teach our people,” another cadet Farhad Dilshad from Mazar-e-Sharif, quickly added.OTA officials said close to 750 cadets, including 200 women, were being trained for 11 months, which is divided in to two terms. Each term, comprising five-and-a-half months, had at least 15 foreign cadets getting trained. Other than Lesotho and Afghanistan, OTA had trained cadets from 20 different countries including Jamaica, Nepal and Bhutan and at times women cadets too. For foreign cadets who do not know either Hindi or English, booklets and handouts to learn the basic army terminology in English were given, while other cadets, too, will teach them the basics of the language. Foreign cadets are also allowed to write exams in their language, OTA officers said.
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