The Scorpion Kings

They are swift, silent and deadly. They undertake missions that ara beyond the bounds of ordinary soldiers. THE WEEK looks at what makes the Desert Scorpions, India's most elite special force, so special

- Namrata Biji Ahuja

Major Vikramaditya, 31, clearly remembers how he first came to hear about para commandos. It was in the summer of 2000, when he and his young friends had gathered at Vikram Park in Udhampur to witness para jumps in the run-up to the Infantry Day celebrations on October 27. “‘Para commandos are deadly. What they do, and who they are, I don’t know. But they can kill a human with their bare hands.’ These were the first words I heard from a classmate at the Army Public School in Udhampur,” says Vikramaditya, who was born in a small village called Chiryai near Udhampur.

The sight of the paratroopers filled the 14-yearold with awe. “I saw men coming down on parachutes, as if they were coming from some other planet, and landing right in front of us,” he says. “They were like men out of a fairy tale. They smiled and waved at the children happily, and it seemed to me that they had bulbs in their eyes.”

Vikramaditya’s father, a geologist, had always told him to follow his heart when choosing a career. That day, on the lawns of Vikram Park, Vikramaditya set his heart on becoming a para commando himself.

Seventeen years later, he is living his dream. He is a member of the 10 Para (SF), an elite unit of special forces commandos who are trained to be masters of battlecraft. They are so skilled in carrying out special ops behind enemy lines that each one of them is a weapon unto himself.

The para commandos are part of the Army’s Parachute Regiment. There are 14 units in the regiment—nine special forces and five para. The para units can airdrop deep into enemy territory and give tangible gains to ground forces. The special forces units can be launched into battle from land, air and water.