How Team India won the 1971 war

The stage was set in 1971 to achieve just such a victory with the best politico-military combination in place. Indira Gandhi, Jagjivan Ram, Swaran Singh, Sam Maneckshaw, PC Lal, SM Nanda, JS Aurora, Sagat Singh, RN Kao are just some of the names of those who gave us victory. Indira Gandhi’s directives at the highest level of leadership were firm, decisive and based on the best inputs many of them gained from interactions with middle-level commanders of the armed forces during her frequent tours and inspections. Defence minister Jagjivan Ram quietly, efficiently made sure the military had all the resources they needed. Swaran Singh as foreign minister ensured the world’s support for our liberation of Bangladesh. The Opposition was fully on board too.

Some instances stand out as reflective of the national mood and determination. Swaran Singh Boparai was the young Deputy Commissioner of the border district, Firozpur. At the outbreak of war, he found himself at Fazilka where the Pakistanis fought hard to establish a bridgehead through which their Army Reserve South could be launched to capture Bathinda and exploit towards Ludhiana. Foxtrot Sector operating in the area was an ad hoc formation with some infantry brigades and an improvised armoured force but lacked the normal complement of administrative services, including medical cover. All casualties including the formation commander were treated in the Civil Hospital which Boparai ensured kept functioning even though the town had been evacuated. He rose admirably to the occasion judging that he was most needed at Fazilka, the scene of the Pakistani Schwerpunkt or point on which the main effort was concentrated. The young administrator ignored the orders of the Chief Secretary of the Punjab Government and the Adviser to the Governor to move back to Firozpur. This was only one of the many services rendered to the war effort by Boparai which were recognised by the award of the Padma Shri. Before the war, he had motivated border villagers to contribute voluntary labour to complete the defensive ditch-cum-embankment when government agencies ran out of resources. His counterpart in Amritsar, Sukhbir Singh Bedi was similarly honoured for the sterling work he put in towards the war effort.

After victory in East Pakistan, some formations were transferred to the Western Theatre to launch fresh offensives. The Railways made massive efforts to transport these troops in the quickest possible time. Officers were surprised to see a number of railways employees from General Managers to Class IV workers thronging stations to help the Army load their equipment on board trains. 340 (Independent) Mountain Brigade Group were to move to Kutchh after their triumph in North-West Bangladesh. Moving on the highest railway priority, white-hot which precluded stopping anywhere the troops were surprised to find that the Railways had through their catering organisation arranged hot meals for them everywhere as they travelled at high speed across the breadth of India. No one wanted their Jawans to go hungry. It wasn’t just devotion to duty but true patriotism.

The section of Indian society that thirsted the most for a decisive victory were of course the armed forces. Deprived of such a victory for a quarter century after Independence for various they were most eager to come to grips with the country’s enemies and rout them. I’ve written earlier about 36 (Maratha) Light Regiment and the superhuman efforts they made to convert to a new weapon system in a fraction of the time allotted to them. Captain Tajinder Shergill, then serving as Adjutant of the President’s Bodyguard made strenuous efforts to persuade Army HQ to deploy his unit’s Humber armoured cars in the Eastern Theatre. That proposal having been turned down because of the vehicles’ age he changed tack. A fresh offer was made to send the unit personnel to war with 10 Para Commandos in the desert since the former were trained in many of the same skills. Military bureaucracy put paid to that. Shergill immediately put in an application to be sent back to his parent regiment, Deccan Horse facing the brunt of the enemy offensive in Chhamb. In this he was successful and fought the war as a tank squadron commander. Why such efforts to go to war? He says that as a combat soldier it was his duty to be at the front rather than merely performing ceremonial duties in Delhi. No wonder he finished up as a highly regarded Lieutenant General.

This writer was witness to hundreds of Punjabi civilians who entered occupied territory in Shakargarh where his father’s artillery brigade was deployed, bearing gifts and foodstuff for the Jawans. It was a great moral booster. The people of Sirsa city got so emotional that they were offering an Ambassador car for every Pakistani Starfighter fighter shot down. I’m glad to tell you that three Indian Air Force fighter pilots became proud owners of brand-new cars after the war!

As young students travelling to Delhi from Ajmer on the outbreak of war, those of us who had fathers fighting at the front were given sweets by the wives of Railways officers. They gathered us together to say a silent prayer for our fathers’ safety and the country’s victory. I get goosebumps even now remembering that moment. The people of the nation stood by soldiers and their families.

I experienced first-hand the tremendous joy of victory on 16th December. The real birth of the Indian renaissance took place in 1971. We were able to hold our heads high thereafter. It was a great national endeavour. The spirit of 1971 surmounted everything else.

Please contact the writer with your military story on msbajwa@gmail.com or 093161-35343