In memoriam - Of A Fellow Forum Member @Major Khan Whom I Both Greatly Admired & Loathed

[R.M.C.]

My condolences, he was a great man.

 

[LucasK]

I enjoyed his posts, may he rest in peace.

 

[geoff rath]

Ontario Hunter, I've absolutely zero idea about his life in India prior to 1972. All I know is that he had an ex-wife who he was extremely bitter against. As well as a son who he could never see again. That much, he himself told me. But he never went into the other details.

But many military officers have said the following about him: That he started to publicly boast about things like killing and torturing Pakistani people during the war to his family members upon returning from the war (which is certainly not implausible, because he regularly used to make such boasts to us as well). And it rubbed off on his wife, his father-in-law & his mother-in-law in a very wrong way.

You see, in a war .... We must do many ugly things. You're a fellow service man, so you will understand. But when the war is over, we must leave that ugly part of ourselves in the battlefield and return home (both in body & spirit). Civilians will never understand what the nature of war really is, but it is not for them to understand either. Because they weren't there. We don't boast about things like killing/executing/torturing people (even when all of it is not only perfectly justified but also completely necessary). We do those things during an ugly time and then we never talk about it. We keep quiet about it.

Do you know ? It's been 53 years since the war is over and to this date... I've never once gone into the darker details of my wartime service with another single person in my life. I've never once talked about taking human life. Not with my parents, not with my children and certainly not my grandchildren. Not even with fellow war veterans. I left it all in the battlefield. I'm very happy about that decision of mine.

But we must not judge the Major too harshly. I returned from the war with a few bruises, here & there. To a very supportive pair of parents and friends. I had it easy. But he did get disfigured and (regardless of the reason) estranged from his family. And I suppose that the entire ordeal deeply scarred him (and not just physically).

It's very strange. The Major and I both had another thing in common. We're both divorced (although unlike him, I was absolutely forced to divorce my ex wife because long story short she was regularly beating up our children whenever I was away & I simply couldn't trust her around them at all anymore). So if anything, I could have related even more to him. But instead, he once even tried to use my divorce as a way to try to defame me when I was campaigning as a political candidate.

He was so talented and charismatic, but he was also so vengeful and vindictive. Even on these forums, he frequently made passing remarks about his "Deeds during the war". He never did learn to let go. The war is long over and many more violent conflicts have occurred all over the globe ever since then. People like us are a couple of elderly has-beens who's wartime glory days are long past us (although I certainly don't consider there to be anything glorious about war).

But there's absolutely nothing wrong about that. Rather than stay glued to the past, the healthy thing to do is to focus on improving our future and living pleasantly. Of course, we will reminisce about our past (I frequently do look back upon my younger days with nostalgia). But only about the good things which left a positive impact on us.

H-H, you are a man of rare insight and compassion, and I greatly admire you for that. As an aside, I seem to remember you expressing an interest in a 600 Nitro Express double (maybe I'm totally confused, a not unusual situation). If so, I know of a near new Verney Carron, here in Australia that might be to your taste. My respects again, Sir.

 

[Shootist43]

Hunter Habib, THANK YOU for letting us know of Poton's passing. I've known for quite a while that he was no saint. But I'll remember him as a friend that had some faults. But, ... don't we all?

Rest in Piece, .... Major ... Sir

 

[DieJager]

@Hunter-Habib you sir a a class act. Well written eulogy.

May the Major finds his peace in the afterlife.

 

[skydiver386]

As all of us over 50 know, there is a time when life stops giving, and starts taking away. May he rest in peace.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

H-H, you are a man of rare insight and compassion, and I greatly admire you for that. As an aside, I seem to remember you expressing an interest in a 600 Nitro Express double (maybe I'm totally confused, a not unusual situation). If so, I know of a near new Verney Carron, here in Australia that might be to your taste. My respects again, Sir.

Mr. Rath, this is absolutely fantastic news. Is it a boxlock or a sidelock ? I hope that it has a non-automatic safety ?

 

[geoff rath]

Mr. Rath, this is absolutely fantastic news. Is it a boxlock or a sidelock ? I hope that it has a non-automatic safety ?

Hello, H-H, I've initiated contact with my contact; I'll be in touch as soon as I know more ... See my P M>

 

[WebleyGreene455]

Major Khan was always quite polite to a new guy from GA in the time I've spent on here. I knew he wasn't a young man anymore and when he disappeared, I suspected we would not see him return again. I'm still dismayed to be correct.

 

[fourfive8]

RIP Major Khan

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I appreciate your eulogy of the Major… I’ve known a few people that were not easy to be friends with. Hell, I’ve not always been. I’m quick to remind the ones that stuck it out with me how much it means to me.

You certainly put in a great effort with the Major Kahn. I hope you continue to chop wood and carry water…

 

[sestoppelman]

Thank you for the great write up on the passing of Major Khan. You obviously knew him better than the rest of us.
I conversed with him via PM a few times and found him to be quite engaging and extremely polite and I enjoyed our conversations, as have I with you also, very much so.
Sorry to hear of his passing,

RIP Major Khan.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Major Kahn, may you finally find peace.

 

[Malambo]

Dear Major Khan. Thank you for sharing your interesting stories. Rest in Peace.

 

[Uncontrolled_round_feed]

RIP Major
Well written HH
Best thread title ever

 

[fourfive8]

@Hunter-Habib, thanks for sharing that history! This is truly a small world. Major Khan and I had a couple of mutual acquaintances. One there and one here in the US. Back in 1969 and 70 four of us shared a residence... all in engineering and physics. I shared the residence with two fellows from India and one from Pakistan. As I learned from Major Khan, while he was active here on this forum, he knew and worked with in some capacity, the father of one of my roommates. While conversing via PM with Major Khan, I learned of that connection some 50 plus years after the fact. The world can be very small.
Major Khan always treated me with respect and freely shared his knowledge. I sincerely hope that whatever demons plagued him in life, allow him to rest in peace now.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I’m not sure how I missed this thread until now. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversations with the Major, and all of his posts. I have missed his absence on the forum the last couple years, and I will miss him from now on.
May he rest in peace.
@Hunter-Habib did you ever get to know Kawshik Rahman. I have wonder about him recently as well.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I’m not sure how I missed this thread until now. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversations with the Major, and all of his posts. I have missed his absence on the forum the last couple years, and I will miss him from now on.
May he rest in peace.
@Hunter-Habib did you ever get to know Kawshik Rahman. I have wonder about him recently as well.

@Wyatt Smith
Yes, but not very well. He, the Major and a few other war veterans who immigrated from India shortly after the war formed their own social circle. They used to sit together at the Annual War veteran’s Commemorative dinner. He is fortunately alive and well. We used to exchange many pleasantries until the in incident with the Major in 1989. At that, we became a bit distant. But he and I are still friendly towards each other whenever we bump into each other. One of his weaknesses is that he is a very submissive man and always seemed to let the Major do all the thinking for him.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

It is with a heavy heart that I must inform our fellow forum members that Major Poton Khan (Forum Name @Major Khan) has breathed his last at 8 AM on 8th January, 2024 in his home. He was 81 years old & very healthy for his age, but suffered from a lifelong fondness towards Keru (a locally brewed liquor which is often not distilled properly in order to to cleansed of all impurities). It is believed that poisoning from a large quantity of Keru is what caused his unfortunate demise.

The Major and I had a very turbulent relationship; one which was plagued by many petty immaturities on both our parts over the last 52 years . I first had occasion to meet him at a War Veterans commemorative dinner in 1972. Both of us had just returned from our service in the 1971 Indo-Pak war (him being a Major & I being a Staff Sergeant). He had suffered a bullet wound to the lower right side of his face and was facially disfigured (although reconstructive surgery in the United States in 1974 would eventually repair his face significantly). He was bitter, but also a great story teller and we fellow war veterans were immediately drawn towards his tales of heroism and adventure during & before the war. He was a commanding officer of a force reconnaissance unit during the war and had (by all accounts) gotten shot only because he was trying to save the lives of the freedom fighters under his command. And he was well decorated with the highest possible military award being granted to him. He and I became fast friends and being only a wing shooter up until that point in my life, I was greatly inspired by his tales of big game hunting (immediately aspiring to commence this exciting new hobby myself). He would frequently make casually condescending remarks about my mother’s Pakistani heritage, but I took it all in good humor.

After the war, the Major chose to remain in the army for another 2 decades while I decided (for a combination of reasons) to pursue a career in forestry (working for various forest departments across the nation up until 1993, depending upon where the Ministry of Forests would have me stationed). Aside from immensely being in love with forest life (including but not limited to hunting), I had another reason to pursue a career as a forest ranger instead of choosing to remain behind in the army. I was well aware of the fact that we were living in a newly born nation and that political instability was rampant. I anticipated that violent military coupes would soon become a regular occurrence in the near future (I was not wrong in this regard), and that during military coupes… army officers often suffer the worst.

The Major and I remained very friendly towards each other through out the entirety of the 1970s, although he always had a hair trigger temper and could get extremely aggressive if someone disagreed with him regarding matters that were as trivial as the best bullet that could be used on big game. On one particular incident in 1974, I had just returned from a big game hunting safari to Kenya and was sharing my experiences with other hunters at the Dacca Rifle Club. When I remarked how poorly I thought of Winchester Silver Tip bullets (much preferring Remington Core Lokt to them), the Major completely went feral with rage and gave me a sound rant in front of everybody else present. Even though I personally found his behavior to be quite vulgar (especially considering that I had hunted in Africa & he never did), I immediately apologized to him since he was both my senior in age and rank.

In 1981, I was posted for my first term as DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) of the Sundarban mangrove forests while the Major became a supervisor at the Bengal Ordinance Factories branch in Khulna. Friction between us increased because I would not grant hunting permits for more than 2 Axis stags per season in each of the region’s four forest ranges. I was merely carrying out orders from the CCF (Chief Conservator Of Forests) and was doing my job, but the Major took it very personally that I did not grant him an unlimited number of hunting permits. He also didn’t think too kindly of me enacting a zero tolerance policy towards anybody killing Royal Bengal tigers (again, I was merely carrying out my orders).

When the Man Eater of Mohesshoripur began his depredations upon local residents in 1981, the Major developed an openly antagonistic relationship with me because I was completely unwilling to let anybody hunt down the Man Eater until the Ministry of Forests issued a ”Kill-Order” for the problem animal in question (even though I personally wanted the Man Eater to be killed as well, I was still determined to carry out my orders from my superiors). This they eventually did, and I successfully shot the creature shortly afterwards (though more through sheer luck than out of any skill on my part). The Major had filed a complaint to the CCF about my “Ineptness“. And he would file similar complaints against me when the Man Eater of Talpatti and the the Man Eater of Chand Pai were at large (which would eventually be killed by forest guard Pachabdi Gazi and myself in 1987 & 1988 respectively). By 1988, we could both hardly be called friends anymore although we were still cordial with each other.

Our relationship took a very dark turn in 1989 during the hunt for the Man Eater of Atharobeki. When the Ministry of Forests had issued the “Kill Order” for the tiger, the Major and Brigadier General Mahmudul Hassan (along with their sepoys) had gone off into the Sundarbans for six weeks in order to hunt down the problem animal. I had loaned them a forest department launch, as well as some of my most dedicated forest guards for their assistance. What occurred next was downright disastrous. When they went to the Sundarbans to hunt down the Man Eater of Atharobeki, they massacred 5 Royal Bengal tigers… none of whom were the man eater in question- 1 male tiger, 3 tigresses (1 of whom was pregnant) & 1 sub-grown cub. The news eventually got leaked to the media (because of the Major's "Boasts") and the ignorant anti hunting masses publicly rioted outside the Ministry of Forests until CCF Noor Uz Zaman publicly declared never to issue another ”Kill-Order” ever again after the Man Eater of Atharobeki would be dispatched. My second administrative term overseeing the Sundarban mangrove forests had already come to an end by then, but even I was appalled at what had occurred. I was even more consumed with rage because I had learnt that the Major was physically abusing all of my staff and treating them like dogs during his six weeks stay in Atharobeki (including hurling a boot at one of their faces). A very public and aggressive argument broke out between the two of us. Long story short, the Major was prohibited from setting foot inside the Sundarbans for many years to come (until a new government came to power) and was forced to resign from his position in the Ordinance Factories. I ended up shooting the Man Eater of Atharobeki, using the already existing “Kill-Order”. And as of this time of writing in 2024, that was the final Royal Bengal tiger to be legally killed in the Sundarban mangrove forests.

In the following years, I became CCF myself in 1993 and held onto the post until 2000. After that I pursued a career in politics for a decade and held two terms as an MP (Member of Parliament). The Major began a very public smear campaign against me but considering my reasonable amount of success over the years… I don’t think it worked very well. I was able to peacefully retire from politics and adjust well to civilian life.

As we both grew old, the Major and I both buried the hatchet although we were still far from friends. Up until his dying day, one of his favorite stories to tell about me was that I made one of my forest guards kill those 3 man eating Royal Bengal tigers and I simply posed with their carcasses for the photographs. Nevertheless, I am genuinely sad to hear of his tragic passing.

Now, I will address a controversy that many of our fellow forum members have had about the Major. He always claimed (both on these forums and to all those who knew him in real life) that he was a professional hunter/ professional Shikari in India during the 1960s (prior to the Indo-Pak war in 1971 and India banning hunting by passing the so-called “Wildlife Protection Act” in 1972). I can’t say for certain what the truth really was, since I first met him in 1972 after the hunting ban was enacted in India. I know that he uploaded a few photographs on these forums which were later discredited as being taken from books authored by other hunters. While he was alive, I never said anything out of respect/decency. But even I recognized that practically all of his his “Tiger Hunting Photographs” were really taken from a 1954 book called “The Tigers Of Trengganu“ by Colonel Arthur Locke.

But I also did hunt with him several times throughout the 1970s, so I can personally attest that he was a very good wing shooter as well as being extremely competent at driven hunts for Sambar deer and Bengal bush boar. He also did once make a very impressive shot on a clouded leopard which charged him upon accidentally getting flushed out during a beat for Muntjac deer. His knowledge on firearms and ammunition that were carried into 1960s India by visiting client hunters was also immensely accurate. So what was the truth ? I suppose we’ll never know. What we do know for a fact is that the Major authored around 50 articles on these forums and most made for highly entertaining reads (regardless of whether or not they were true).

Three things are clear about the Major. The first is that something tragic definitely did occur in his life in India between 1970 and 1972. The second is that the Major retained an inherent hatred towards Indians and followers of the Hindu faith all throughout his life. The third is his hatred towards all Pakistani people. And this is quite evident in his writings.

While I can sympathize with his tragedies and it is true that the majority of the Indian Hindu population (post 1972) think inherently negatively about hunting/firearms ownership/meat eating, I never really did see eye to eye with him about his indiscriminate hatred towards an entire race of people. There are so many talented Indians and Hindus in the world (both today and in the past), who make for exceptionally skilled hunters and shooters. An individual must always be assessed on his/her own merit rather than be judged simply for their faith or country of birth. And it is true that we fought against the Pakistani army during the war in 1971, but those days are long gone and the people of a nation shouldn’t be scrutinized for a governmental decision of their leaders 53 years ago.

The war left a very deep impact on Major Poton Khan and he was never quite able to come out of that dark place in his life. He never did move on, even decades after the war ended. And the entire ordeal left him very bitter in later life (which can sometimes be sensed from his writings). Perhaps, that was why he loved to tell his stories on these forums. He wanted to feel important again.

Perhaps, this is all too easy for me to say. I came back from the war to my very loving parents and was later blessed with two very beautiful children (and later grandchildren). All of whom have greatly continued to be my rocks throughout the the years. As well as my friends and staff. By contrast, the Major lived a very lonely life. I understand that he had a family in India who got estranged from him during/ after the war. The story goes that he frequently boasted about some of his more darker deeds during the war to his family members and his wife & in-laws were genuinely disturbed by these boasts.

I had invited him more than a few times to accompany me on Safari to Africa more than a few times during the 1970s and early 1980s. But he never accepted my offer, always insisting that Africa would be far inferior to the hunting opportunities available in pre 1972 India. I genuinely wish that he would have taken me up on my offer. He might have felt better.

Even though the Major and I had our differences, I still believe that (at heart) he was a good man. He and I both essentially wanted the same thing- To see that hunting remains perfectly legal and sustainable for the long term. His article "How I Personally Believe That The Future Of Hunting Can Be Saved" is still one of my personal favorites and allowed me to see how much he genuinely cares about the future of hunting.

I will miss him greatly and I genuinely wish that we could have remained friends.


View attachment 579271
The Major (Left) & I (Right) On A Hunt For Bar Headed Geese in Kukri Island In 1979. Just A Decade Later, Our Friendship Would Take A Disastrous Turn

@Hunter-Habib
Thank you for informing us of the passing of the Mojor Ponton Khan.
Whether his exploit in hunting ate true or not I don't know but I did enjoy his writing immensely.
As you said he had a deep love of hunting and a good knowledge of weapons that worked in India.
In my personal dealings with him thru PM'S in the forum and a few phone calls I found him to be a pleasant man even inviting me to hunt in his country with himself and Sgt Kawshik Rahman. But he did have a big hatred for the Hindu people.
It is with a sad heart I hear of your turbulent relationship with him and understand how you feel as I have had good friends turn nasty for some unseen reason. It hurts knowing what could have been.
It's a pity he never hunted African game as I feel like yourself he would have enjoyed it immensely.
My sympathy to his friend and family and yourself. May your God be with you during this time.
It is a shame he became so bitter after the war but these things happen to some people.
Bob

 

[Doug Hamilton]

It is with a heavy heart that I must inform our fellow forum members that Major Poton Khan (Forum Name @Major Khan) has breathed his last at 8 AM on 8th January, 2024 in his home. He was 81 years old & very healthy for his age, but suffered from a lifelong fondness towards Keru (a locally brewed liquor which is often not distilled properly in order to to cleansed of all impurities). It is believed that poisoning from a large quantity of Keru is what caused his unfortunate demise.

The Major and I had a very turbulent relationship; one which was plagued by many petty immaturities on both our parts over the last 52 years . I first had occasion to meet him at a War Veterans commemorative dinner in 1972. Both of us had just returned from our service in the 1971 Indo-Pak war (him being a Major & I being a Staff Sergeant). He had suffered a bullet wound to the lower right side of his face and was facially disfigured (although reconstructive surgery in the United States in 1974 would eventually repair his face significantly). He was bitter, but also a great story teller and we fellow war veterans were immediately drawn towards his tales of heroism and adventure during & before the war. He was a commanding officer of a force reconnaissance unit during the war and had (by all accounts) gotten shot only because he was trying to save the lives of the freedom fighters under his command. And he was well decorated with the highest possible military award being granted to him. He and I became fast friends and being only a wing shooter up until that point in my life, I was greatly inspired by his tales of big game hunting (immediately aspiring to commence this exciting new hobby myself). He would frequently make casually condescending remarks about my mother’s Pakistani heritage, but I took it all in good humor.

After the war, the Major chose to remain in the army for another 2 decades while I decided (for a combination of reasons) to pursue a career in forestry (working for various forest departments across the nation up until 1993, depending upon where the Ministry of Forests would have me stationed). Aside from immensely being in love with forest life (including but not limited to hunting), I had another reason to pursue a career as a forest ranger instead of choosing to remain behind in the army. I was well aware of the fact that we were living in a newly born nation and that political instability was rampant. I anticipated that violent military coupes would soon become a regular occurrence in the near future (I was not wrong in this regard), and that during military coupes… army officers often suffer the worst.

The Major and I remained very friendly towards each other through out the entirety of the 1970s, although he always had a hair trigger temper and could get extremely aggressive if someone disagreed with him regarding matters that were as trivial as the best bullet that could be used on big game. On one particular incident in 1974, I had just returned from a big game hunting safari to Kenya and was sharing my experiences with other hunters at the Dacca Rifle Club. When I remarked how poorly I thought of Winchester Silver Tip bullets (much preferring Remington Core Lokt to them), the Major completely went feral with rage and gave me a sound rant in front of everybody else present. Even though I personally found his behavior to be quite vulgar (especially considering that I had hunted in Africa & he never did), I immediately apologized to him since he was both my senior in age and rank.

In 1981, I was posted for my first term as DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) of the Sundarban mangrove forests while the Major became a supervisor at the Bengal Ordinance Factories branch in Khulna. Friction between us increased because I would not grant hunting permits for more than 2 Axis stags per season in each of the region’s four forest ranges. I was merely carrying out orders from the CCF (Chief Conservator Of Forests) and was doing my job, but the Major took it very personally that I did not grant him an unlimited number of hunting permits. He also didn’t think too kindly of me enacting a zero tolerance policy towards anybody killing Royal Bengal tigers (again, I was merely carrying out my orders).

When the Man Eater of Mohesshoripur began his depredations upon local residents in 1981, the Major developed an openly antagonistic relationship with me because I was completely unwilling to let anybody hunt down the Man Eater until the Ministry of Forests issued a ”Kill-Order” for the problem animal in question (even though I personally wanted the Man Eater to be killed as well, I was still determined to carry out my orders from my superiors). This they eventually did, and I successfully shot the creature shortly afterwards (though more through sheer luck than out of any skill on my part). The Major had filed a complaint to the CCF about my “Ineptness“. And he would file similar complaints against me when the Man Eater of Talpatti and the the Man Eater of Chand Pai were at large (which would eventually be killed by forest guard Pachabdi Gazi and myself in 1987 & 1988 respectively). By 1988, we could both hardly be called friends anymore although we were still cordial with each other.

Our relationship took a very dark turn in 1989 during the hunt for the Man Eater of Atharobeki. When the Ministry of Forests had issued the “Kill Order” for the tiger, the Major and Brigadier General Mahmudul Hassan (along with their sepoys) had gone off into the Sundarbans for six weeks in order to hunt down the problem animal. I had loaned them a forest department launch, as well as some of my most dedicated forest guards for their assistance. What occurred next was downright disastrous. When they went to the Sundarbans to hunt down the Man Eater of Atharobeki, they massacred 5 Royal Bengal tigers… none of whom were the man eater in question- 1 male tiger, 3 tigresses (1 of whom was pregnant) & 1 sub-grown cub. The news eventually got leaked to the media (because of the Major's "Boasts") and the ignorant anti hunting masses publicly rioted outside the Ministry of Forests until CCF Noor Uz Zaman publicly declared never to issue another ”Kill-Order” ever again after the Man Eater of Atharobeki would be dispatched. My second administrative term overseeing the Sundarban mangrove forests had already come to an end by then, but even I was appalled at what had occurred. I was even more consumed with rage because I had learnt that the Major was physically abusing all of my staff and treating them like dogs during his six weeks stay in Atharobeki (including hurling a boot at one of their faces). A very public and aggressive argument broke out between the two of us. Long story short, the Major was prohibited from setting foot inside the Sundarbans for many years to come (until a new government came to power) and was forced to resign from his position in the Ordinance Factories. I ended up shooting the Man Eater of Atharobeki, using the already existing “Kill-Order”. And as of this time of writing in 2024, that was the final Royal Bengal tiger to be legally killed in the Sundarban mangrove forests.

In the following years, I became CCF myself in 1993 and held onto the post until 2000. After that I pursued a career in politics for a decade and held two terms as an MP (Member of Parliament). The Major began a very public smear campaign against me but considering my reasonable amount of success over the years… I don’t think it worked very well. I was able to peacefully retire from politics and adjust well to civilian life.

As we both grew old, the Major and I both buried the hatchet although we were still far from friends. Up until his dying day, one of his favorite stories to tell about me was that I made one of my forest guards kill those 3 man eating Royal Bengal tigers and I simply posed with their carcasses for the photographs. Nevertheless, I am genuinely sad to hear of his tragic passing.

Now, I will address a controversy that many of our fellow forum members have had about the Major. He always claimed (both on these forums and to all those who knew him in real life) that he was a professional hunter/ professional Shikari in India during the 1960s (prior to the Indo-Pak war in 1971 and India banning hunting by passing the so-called “Wildlife Protection Act” in 1972). I can’t say for certain what the truth really was, since I first met him in 1972 after the hunting ban was enacted in India. I know that he uploaded a few photographs on these forums which were later discredited as being taken from books authored by other hunters. While he was alive, I never said anything out of respect/decency. But even I recognized that practically all of his his “Tiger Hunting Photographs” were really taken from a 1954 book called “The Tigers Of Trengganu“ by Colonel Arthur Locke.

But I also did hunt with him several times throughout the 1970s, so I can personally attest that he was a very good wing shooter as well as being extremely competent at driven hunts for Sambar deer and Bengal bush boar. He also did once make a very impressive shot on a clouded leopard which charged him upon accidentally getting flushed out during a beat for Muntjac deer. His knowledge on firearms and ammunition that were carried into 1960s India by visiting client hunters was also immensely accurate. So what was the truth ? I suppose we’ll never know. What we do know for a fact is that the Major authored around 50 articles on these forums and most made for highly entertaining reads (regardless of whether or not they were true).

Three things are clear about the Major. The first is that something tragic definitely did occur in his life in India between 1970 and 1972. The second is that the Major retained an inherent hatred towards Indians and followers of the Hindu faith all throughout his life. The third is his hatred towards all Pakistani people. And this is quite evident in his writings.

While I can sympathize with his tragedies and it is true that the majority of the Indian Hindu population (post 1972) think inherently negatively about hunting/firearms ownership/meat eating, I never really did see eye to eye with him about his indiscriminate hatred towards an entire race of people. There are so many talented Indians and Hindus in the world (both today and in the past), who make for exceptionally skilled hunters and shooters. An individual must always be assessed on his/her own merit rather than be judged simply for their faith or country of birth. And it is true that we fought against the Pakistani army during the war in 1971, but those days are long gone and the people of a nation shouldn’t be scrutinized for a governmental decision of their leaders 53 years ago.

The war left a very deep impact on Major Poton Khan and he was never quite able to come out of that dark place in his life. He never did move on, even decades after the war ended. And the entire ordeal left him very bitter in later life (which can sometimes be sensed from his writings). Perhaps, that was why he loved to tell his stories on these forums. He wanted to feel important again.

Perhaps, this is all too easy for me to say. I came back from the war to my very loving parents and was later blessed with two very beautiful children (and later grandchildren). All of whom have greatly continued to be my rocks throughout the the years. As well as my friends and staff. By contrast, the Major lived a very lonely life. I understand that he had a family in India who got estranged from him during/ after the war. The story goes that he frequently boasted about some of his more darker deeds during the war to his family members and his wife & in-laws were genuinely disturbed by these boasts.

I had invited him more than a few times to accompany me on Safari to Africa more than a few times during the 1970s and early 1980s. But he never accepted my offer, always insisting that Africa would be far inferior to the hunting opportunities available in pre 1972 India. I genuinely wish that he would have taken me up on my offer. He might have felt better.

Even though the Major and I had our differences, I still believe that (at heart) he was a good man. He and I both essentially wanted the same thing- To see that hunting remains perfectly legal and sustainable for the long term. His article "How I Personally Believe That The Future Of Hunting Can Be Saved" is still one of my personal favorites and allowed me to see how much he genuinely cares about the future of hunting.

I will miss him greatly and I genuinely wish that we could have remained friends.


View attachment 579271
The Major (Left) & I (Right) On A Hunt For Bar Headed Geese in Kukri Island In 1979. Just A Decade Later, Our Friendship Would Take A Disastrous Turn

I have missed the Majors writing, and am sorry that I never had the opportunity to meet him in person. Thank you for letting us know of his passing.