<div>Hawan-oven By D K Havanoor
The jawans from different backgrounds, had their own ways of expressions.
Jawans have their own way of expressing themselves with the pronunciation of certain words and terms used in the army. They are influenced by their mother tongue and in some cases by their understanding of the term or by formulating their own terms to their understanding of certain function or object.

I worked with Sikh Light Infantry. The regiment was composed of mainly dalit Sikhs of Punjab. During my time, the jawans of my regiment were of elementary education; hence, their understanding of English was elementary too. They spoke in Punjabi and wrote in the Gurumukhi script. After a few years of service they would pick up a little bit of Hindi. At the time of commissioning when I came to know that I was being commissioned in a Sikh battalian, I inquired with a Sikh instructor as to where the battalion was located. He said

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