Blackouts, night patrols in 1971 war

MEMORIES of the 1971 India-Pakistan war, particularly the blackouts, still haunt me. The battleground was far away, but the fear of air attacks gripped us. NCC cadets of the junior division in my school at Charkhi Dadri (Haryana) were drafted for night patrolling. The patrolling and exemption from classes were a welcome change. The cadets were tasked with enforcing a complete blackout in the night in a bid to escape bombardment by enemy aircraft.

All cadets assembled in the school compound, where our principal delivered a rousing speech hailing the valour of our defence forces. He told us, “You can also fire a shot from here by contributing a rupee.” We went door to door collecting money, besides contributing our pocket money to the National Defence Fund. We were doing our bit to save the honour of our motherland.

The Indian armed forces, with the help of Mukti Bahini, a guerrilla resistance movement, were advancing towards Dhaka. My maternal uncle was part of one of the platoons. We eagerly awaited victory with the fall of Dhaka. My maternal grandfather, an ex-serviceman himself, was not worried about his son’s safety.

A bomb dropped by a Pak fighter jet exploded near Hansi, damaging the potato crop. Later, our principal spoke during the morning assembly about this misadventure by the enemy. He recalled how our soldiers had destroyed Pak Patton tanks, making the battleground a graveyard for the mighty military machines in the 1965 war.

All India Radio kept people informed of the happenings on the battlefield. The newsreaders became heroes. They included Devki Nandan Pandey, Rajindra Chugh and Barun Haldar. Mark Tully of the BBC proved to be the most trusted source of news and information. A forceful speech was delivered by the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She said, “We will fight till our last breath and the last drop of our blood. If our legs are broken, we will fight walking on our knees; if our knees are broken, we will fight crawling.”

Finally, on December 16, 1971, our principal called a special assembly. A loudspeaker was installed and a microphone was placed in front of a radio so that all of us could hear the broadcast. He announced that the PM would address the nation. The war ended with the declaration that India had emerged victorious and an independent nation, Bangladesh, had been created. Pakistan Army Commander Lt Gen AAK Niazi surrendered along with around 93,000 soldiers. He also handed over his revolver to Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of India’s Eastern Command.

Musings