The soldier who fought for two countries

As Pakistan launched its offensive in the Chhamb sector in the north, Aurora and Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw moved into combat operations in the East in one of the world’s deadliest and swiftest armed operations which brought on Pakistan’s final surrender.

The crossing of the river Meghna, its bridge blown to halt the Indian advance, has passed into folklore. It was Aurora who accepted the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops, famously remarking to Manekshaw to save him a ‘‘bottle of whisky’’.

Decorated with a PVSM and a Padma Bhushan, Aurora was an Akali Dal Rajya Sabha MP in 1986, a critic of the storming of the Golden Temple and an activist for the victims of the 1984 Delhi riots. He consistently maintained that it would be a mistake to think that Pakistan’s ISI wasn’t active on the Indian border, and he was a leader of his men to the end, reminding his junior officers, that ‘‘you are the brains behind my moustache.’’