Air Force’s ops in Mizoram: How Operation Jericho was quelled

What was happening in Mizoram in 1966?

In the first two months of 1966, a separatist movement led by Mizo National Front (MNF) was gathering steam in the area now known as Mizoram, and then referred to as the Mizo Hills. The Centre had decided to station another Assam Rifles battalion in the Hills, in addition to the one Assam Rifles battalion and a few BSF companies already present. Incensed at this, the MNF leadership decided to launch ‘Operation Jericho’ to take control of Aizawl, the biggest town in the region, and then the entire Mizo hills. They overran Aizawl in a few days’ time in late February.

In an article on the Mizo Rebellion published in a journal of Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), Ali Ahmad, research fellow at Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), said that Operation Jericho had been described by a military writer as a “masterstroke” with “near complete military preparation”, amounting to an “expression of confidence and clinical planning not witnessed hitherto fore in the Indian subcontinent.”

It has been explained that “the military precision was a result of the fact that a large number of volunteers who joined in the armed struggle were either ex-servicemen or personnel of the Assam Regiment battalions dismissed for lack of discipline.”

What was the government’s response?

The Army operations on the ground to clear rebel-held positions was led by Brig (later Maj Gen) Rustom Zal Kabraji, who was commanding the 61 Mountain Brigade, located at Agartala.

Maj Gen Kabraji, an officer of the Corps of Signals, was the first Signals officer to command a mountain brigade. His brigade was moved to Mizo Hills at a time when the rebels had entered Aizawl.

The Mizo rebels had besieged the HQs of 1 Assam Rifles, where the Deputy Commissioner had taken refuge, and released all prisoners from the local jail. There was widespread looting of arms and cash from the government treasury. Proclamations of “independence” were made and a demand raised for the Assam Rifles to surrender.
In response, attempts were made to re-supply the Assam Rifles battalion with helicopters, but these were shot at by the Mizo rebels.

Brig Kabraji led the operations on the ground in the face of stiff resistance from the rebels, taking several days to reach Aizawl. Other battalions advanced on other axes of operations.

How was the IAF involved?

As the Army struggled to dislodge the rebels, the Air Force was called in. The air attack helped the Army regain control of vast areas that had been declared “independent”. By the end of the month, aided by the air operations, Brig Kabraji’s Brigade had regained control of Mizoram.

Anchit Gupta, who specialises in research on IAF operations, put out a series of posts about the Mizo hills operations.

He said that two IAF Squadrons, 29 Squadron and 14 Squadron, were primarily involved in the air ops. The 29 Squadron flew the Toofani (French origin Dassault Ouragan) based at Bagdogra, while the 14 Squadron flew Hunters out of Jorhat.

According to Gupta, on March 2, 1966, as the MNF reached Assam Rifles HQ, it captured Army installations at Launglei and Chanphai. The IAF’s initial role was to re-supply the army installations, for which Dakotas and Caribou transport aircraft were pressed in from Guwahati and Jorhat.

In one such mission, flown by the AOC-in-C Eastern Air Command, Air Vice Marshal YV Malse, the Dakota received 21 bullet holes before it landed at Kumbhigram airbase near Silchar. According to Gupta, this was the event that necessitated the offensive air operations.

The actual missions started on March 5, with 30 mm cannons and T-10 rockets used against targets provided by the Army.

Gupta further said that by March 7, the rebels had started to burn forests, making it difficult to spot targets. But the Toofani aircraft continued their offensive action. On March 8, the Mizo supply line at Demagiri was destroyed, much to the help of the Assam Rifles unit in the region. By March 11, the Army came up with a better marking system of lobbing smoke grenades at the targets, which the pilots then destroyed. Gupta says that March 12 was the last mission against Dimagiri, and on March 17, the squadron was ordered to return to base.

Flt lt ( later Air Chief Marshal) SK Sareen later received a Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry in 1970, with his citation including a reference to the Mizo ops. Group Captain (later Air Vice Marshal) Jasper Bouche, senior staff officer in the Eastern Air Command responsible for planning the operations, received an Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), with his citation also referring to his role in the Mizo ops. Flight lieutenant (later Air Commodore) Rajendra Narain Pande received a Shaurya Chakra foor flying helicopters under fire in the Mizo operations.