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Journalism of Courage
I witnessed both the wars against Pakistan 8212; in 1965 as a child and in 1971 as a teenager. Pakistan may have had advanced weaponry but lacked operational knowledge. For instance, the town of Batala near Dera Baba Nanak was bombed a number of times, but none of the bombs exploded.
I used to hear Radio Pakistan, which would often broadcast misleading news. One day it was announced that 8216;8216;our soldiers have crossed Ravi, captured Dera Baba Nanak town and are now marching towards Batala.8217;8217; A few hour later, 8216;8216;Our forces have captured Batala and are camping at Dessura ground.8217;8217; And all the while, we were living right there in Dera Baba Nanak, with no sign of the Pakistani forces.
Hence, I am suspicious of Gauhar Ayub Khan8217;s claims that Pakistan had bought India8217;s military secrets.
8212; Anil Sood
1971, not 1965
While talking about the gains made by Pakistan, you refer to the 8216;8216;Hussainiwala enclave across the Satluj8230;8217;8217; My father, then a Major and company commander, was defending this position along with his battalion, the 2nd Maratha Light Infantry in 1965. And they beat off all attempts to take possesion of the enclave, losing their CO in the process. The Pakistanis left behind a Sherman tank. Officials from our side confirmed at least over 60 casualties were evacuated by the Pakistanis. My father was injured, but had the satisfaction of capturing the sniper who put the bullet in his leg.
By all accounts, it was a heroic action. The importance of the success can be attested to by the photographs in our family album, with General Chowdhary and the Maharaja of Patiala reaching the enclave to congratulate the battalion. General Chowdhary, in particular, was a much relieved man, for reasons you have correctly pointed out. The last thing he wanted was Ferzepur ending up in Pakistani hands.
Later, the Hussainiwala enclave did indeed fall. But that was in the 1971 war 8212; one of the few successes that the Pakistanis could boast of in that war. That time, the position was being defended by the Sikhs regiment.
8212; Rajiv Singh
Aug 9, 1965
I read your article with great interest. It appears most historians and commentators have missed the real turning point in 1965 8212; Gauhar8217;s criticism of Kashmiri leaders for having misled the Pakistani leadership about mass uprising by Kashmiris.
I was in Srinagar in the later half of 1965. There was no open pro-Pak outfit at that time in Kashmir. One mistake Pakistan made was choosing August 9, which turned out to be a full-moon night. The first encounter with infiltrators took place at Bemina near Medical College Hostel. A stray bullet came into our compound in Karan Nagar.
Those days, Radio Azad Kashmir used to broadcast the exploits of the Mujahideens. The bulletins would inform how a bridge had been blown up by some Mujahideens or a certain locality has been captured by them.
A master stroke was the burning of Batmaloo. The Army said it was an act by the Mujahideens whereas the common belief was that it was done by the Army to flush out Mujahideens. The rumour was that locals were told to get rid of the Mujahideens or else they would also meet the fate of Batmaloo. Rumour or fact, the Mujahideens did vacate the city quietly.
Had the Mujahideens achieved their objectives, the history of the subcontinent would have been different.
8212; Prof Suresh Chander
