I joined the Indian Army in 1969 as an Officer cadet. After training at the Officers Training School (now OTA) in Madras (now Chennai), I joined my unit, 21 Rajput (Veer Ikkees) on 15 Mar 1970 at Kaying in the then NEFA. In Feb 1971 we started anti-insurgency duties in the Mao-Maram area as part of the 71 Mountain Brigade.
Just about that same time, in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), the Pakistani Army conducted Operation Searchlight to curb the nationalistic uprising in East Pakistan. The Pakistani President, Yahya Khan, famously said “Kill three million of them, the rest will eat out of our hands”. And he wasn’t joking. The Bangladeshis estimate that 3 Million were killed, and more than 300,000 women raped by the Pakistani Army. While the world talks about the Jewish holocaust during WW2, this one has largely been forgotten.
By Apr 1971 we started getting news about atrocities being committed by the Pakistani Army on the civilian population of East Pakistan. Like the crisis we see in Syria today, refugees were pouring out of East Bengal. Nearly 10 Million refugees entered India. We were a poor country, hardly managing to feed ourselves. Feeding 10 million extra people was a massive burden that we bore stoically, with almost no help from any other country. But we knew that the only way to put an end to this was war.
In Jun 1971, the 21 Rajput (along with the rest of our Armed Forces) started preparing for war with Pakistan on the eastern front. In Oct 1971 , the entire 71 Mtn Bde moved to Siliguri in West Bengal. Along with 21 Rajput - 12 Raj Rif, 5 Grenadiers & 7 Maratha Light Infantry ( MLI ) were part of our Brigade. As hot blooded young officers, were looking forward to going to war. The heady euphoria of youth and a desire to put an end to the genocide in Bangladesh was a cocktail of inspiration.
On 27 Nov 1971, we entered East Pakistan on the Siliguri - Saidpur axis. The 21 Rajput was spearheading operations along that axis. On 3rd Dec 1971, the then PM of India , Mrs Indira Gandhi, declared war on Pakistan, following an amusingly inept attack by the PAF on Indian airfields. They had wanted to destroy most of our aircraft on the ground. Not one of the IAF’s aircraft was rendered unusable.
By the 3rd of Dec, 21 Rajput had captured Boda, Birganj & Thakurgaon. With total air superiority in East Bangladesh, our troops were were moving very fast, capturing our targets almost as planned. On 4th Dec, we cleared Birganj of the last of the Pakistani resistance. The 71 Mn Bde was then asked to capture Saidpur - the Head-Quarters of the 23 Pak Infantry Brigade.
Major resistance from Pakistan Army was expected at Saidpur.
The road to Saidpur passed through a village called Khansama. The Pakistanis were putting up a very good fight there. The task given to 21 Rajput was to capture Khansama on or before 14th Dec. The last battle was a bloody fight for almost 10 hours in broad daylight. There was hand to hand combat, and we were being pounded by enemy artillery. In the end though, we prevailed. Khansama was captured on the evening of the 13th of December. One full day ahead of schedule. The Pakistanis counter attacked on the 14th, but were beaten back by a combination of artillery file from the ground, and the IAF from the skies. The 21 Rajput had cleared the route to Saidpur.
We were awarded a Battle Honour for Khansama. The battalion is now known as 21 Rajput (Khansama). On the 15th of Dec, we regrouped & continued our march towards Saidpur. We reached outskirts of Saidpur town by early morning of 16 Dec 1971. We knew what to expect – an intense firefight. But what happened on that day elsewhere changed the course of the history and I feel proud that I was witness to it.
Major RDS Chauhan, company commander ‘A’ Coy, was leading the Battalion that day. We were deployed across the road, awaiting further instructions. It was a very cold morning and we were shivering, but alert in our makeshift defences. Around 8 in the morning, the forward scouts informed us that one person was running towards our location with a white cloth.
Maj Chauhan instructed us not to open fire & allow the individual to come in. He was a Dhobi (washerman) of 48 Punjab ( Pak ) Regt. - very scared & sweating. He was given water & a cup of tea. He informed that his Commanding Officer Lt Col Ahmad wanted to surrender. It came as a shock and a surprise to us. We never expected to give them up so soon. And we never expected an Army to surrender by sending a non combatant washerman. There was no honour in that !
By then our Commanding Officer, Lt Col. Aman Singh Ahlawat, also had reached the forward location. The news was conveyed to the Brigade Commander, Brig P N Kathpalia. On his instructions, we sent the dhobi back to inform his CO to march to our location with all his Officers without any weapons. The poor, relieved dhobi ran back to his unit. Around 9 am, we saw 18 extremely well dressed officers of 48 Punjab Regt coming to our location.
We all met each other, very odd situation indeed !! A few hours previously, we were fighting each other & now we are sharing a hot cup of tea with them. It was a surreal situation – so hard to describe.
Our troops moved in to confiscate their weapons & other war material. Lt Col Ahmed informed Brig Kathpalia, that Brig Shafee, Brigade Commander - 23 Pak Infantry, would meet him at 12.30 pm. During that meeting, Brig Shafee requested time till 17 Dec to get all his troops in Saidpur to formally surrender. The surrender ceremony was fixed on 17 Dec 71 at 3.45 pm at Zamzama Airport.
On 17 Dec 1971, all our available troops were present at the Airport. 5000 disarmed Pakistani Troops were also present. Brig Shafee handed over his personal weapon to Brig Kathpalia at 3.45 pm. I was witness to the surrender of the 23rd Pakistan Infantry Brigade to the 71 Mountain Brigade. Our job after that was to protect the Pakistanis from reprisals from a hostile population and take them to PoW camps in India.
We had won. It was still sinking in. We were conquerors. We were liberators. We were soldiers. The start of my long career in uniform began with the creation of a new nation Bangladesh. Even today, when I close my eyes, I can see that moment so clearly. A lifetime of memories that I had made in a few short months. Friendships that I forged which last even today, and the joy I still get when I look back at what we achieved.
A post card from the Battalion describing our progress during the war
The first flag of Bangladesh, given to us by the wonderful people of Bangladesh.