Bangladesh Liberation @50 Years ‘Bijoy’ with Synergy India-Pakistan War 1971
Contents: Foreword. Preface. Introduction. Section I: Defence of the East Lies in the West: Dynamic Leadership at Play. 1. Historical Perspective and Geo-Strategy: ‘Defence of the East Lies in the West’/VK Ahluwalia and Narjit Singh. 2. As India Decided, Pakistan Initiated the 1971 War/JS Cheema. 3. Leadership@1971: An Amateur’s View/Shreya Das Barman. 4. SAM: Our Chief during ’71 Operations/Behram M Panthaki. Section II: Eastern Sector: Acts of Valour. 5. The War I Experienced: Armour and Air Battle/Ajit Apte. 6. The Battle for Sylhet/Ian Cardozo. 7. A Rescue to Remember: First Family/Ashok Kumar Tara. 8. The Battle of Garibpur/Vijay Gidh. 9. Manoeuvre Warfare: Battle of Govindganj/JBS Yadava. 10. The First Amphibious Assault by the Indian Army/ARK Reddy. 11. Battle of Chatlapore: Reminiscences of a Subaltern/BM Daniels. 12. Discard Pamphlet Teaching in War/Biren Borgohain. 13. The Belated Battle Honour: Raghupratap at Shyamganj/Ghanshyam Singh Katoch. 14. First Artillery Unit of Bangladesh/OS Goraya. 15. Scintillating Saga of Sagat Singh/Probal Das Gupta. Section III: Power of the Muktijoddhas and the Local Populace. 16. Attack: Kalachara Tea Garden/M Harun-Ar-Rashid. 17. Calculated Brutality: The Ordeal Shamsher M Chowdhury. 18. Operation Kilo Flight/Shamsul Alam. 19. My Brother Naseem Mohsin: A Freedom Fighter/Selina Mohsin. 20. An Overview of Bangladesh Liberation War/IshfaqIlahi Choudhury. 21. Unheard Voices: Revelations by Bangladesh Citizens (Excerpts from Personal Interviews)/Jyoti M Pathania. Section IV: Pakistan’s Miscalculations in the Western Sector: Most Befitting Response. 22. The 1971 India-Pakistan War: Through a Captain’s Eyes/Zameer Uddin Shah. 23. 1 Corps Operations: A Critical Appraisal/PJS Sandhu. 24. Battle of Chhamb/AJS Sandhu. 25. Capture of Lipa Valley (POK)/RS Sujlana. 26. Battle of Dera Baba Nanak/JKV Singh. 27. Saga of Capture of Parbat Ali (Nayachor)/DC Berry. 28. Strange Gift for a Regimental Medical Officer/David Muthumani. 29. Unheard Voices of the Indian Armed Forces (Excerpts from Personal Interviews)/Jyoti M Pathania. Section V: Fire and Fury of the Sister Services: The Synergy Operations by the Indian Navy. 30. Geopolitics of Cold War: How it Impacted the India-Pakistan 1971 Maritime Operations/SCS Bangara. 31. Commissioning with Five Medals/Mani Singh Mamik. 32. Indian Navy’s Biggest Bonfire in the Arabian Sea/Soumya Nair. Section VI: Operations by the Indian Air Force. 33. Spectacular Joint Operations in the Eastern Theatre/Arjun Subramaniam. 34. Radar Orbat of Pakistan 1971: Reminiscences/AG Bewoor. 35. The Attack on Governor’s House: My Memories as a Flying Officer/Harish Masand. 36. Personal Accounts: The Untold Stories on the Eastern Sector/Ashminder Singh Bahal. 37. My Husband: Squadron Leader Anil Bhalla/Sita Bhalla. Section VII: Subalterns: Baptised by Fire. 38. Write to my Parents, I fought Well/Arun Patole. 39. Probationer Paratrooper/LJS ‘Lali’ Gill. 40. Battles of Nainakot and Bisso Buzurg/Rajiv Williams. 41. Battle along Akhaura-Ashuganj-Dhaka Axis/Balraj Kapur. 42. When Time Stood Still/GG Dwivedi. Section VIII: 50 Years of Liberation War: We look Beyond. 43. Major Takeaways: Liberation War/Ajinkya Jadhav and Narjit Singh. 44. Regional Dynamics: Beyond the Liberation War/VK Ahluwalia. 45. India-Bangladesh Relations: Expectations for the Next 50 Years ANM Muniruzzaman. 46. India-Bangladesh Relation and Way Forward/AN Jha. Index.
The Liberation War of 1971 was a culmination of months of suffering being subjected by Pakistan on their Eastern Wing —Bangladesh. India, on the other hand, was forced to go to war with Pakistan after it carried out air attacks against several Indian Airfields on December 3, 1971. Pakistan’s strategy of ‘The Defence of the East lies in the West’ was badly shaken with India-Bangladesh ferocity. The Liberation War was also first of its kind as it established a strong relationship between India and Bangladesh. I am highly impressed by the number of authors who have shared their experiences of the war. This book is a tribute to the local populace of both India and Bangladesh, as also to the armed forces of both the countries. Written in a lucid language, this book would be of interest to all—military, civilians, academicians and policy makers alike as it gives a vivid account of the war.
General NC Vij, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM (Retd), Former Chief of the Army Staff
The book gives an excellent account of the synergised operations fought by the Army, Navy and the Air Force in the Eastern and Western sectors during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. In a well calibrated air campaign, while IAF acted as a spearhead in Indian Military’s blitzkrieg in the East; in the West, it stood as a wall to thwart any offensive design of the Pakistan Army to violate India’s territorial integrity.
IAF achieved unique distinction by conducting precision strikes against selected targets in both wings of Pakistan. Not only did it destroy the Karachi oil storage tanks and refineries, severely degrading their war fighting capabilities in the West; the bombing of the Governor’s House in Dhaka acted as a psychological blow, resulting in Pak Army’s unconditional surrender in the East. The anecdotes given by the veterans and their families have added immense value to the book.
Air Marshal VK Bhatia, PVSM, AVSM, Vr C & Bar (Retd), Former Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western, South-Western and Central Air Commands
