Panchkula school students’ date with 1971 war veteran

Air Commodore Jawahar Lal Bhargava (retd), during his recent visit to The Gurukul, his story from the 1971 Indo Pak war with the students. He recalled an ordeal when he was captured by Pakistani forces and faced a test of his faith.

A young Flight Lieutenant, he embarked on his first sortie beyond enemy lines. Taking off from Barmer Air Force Station in Rajasthan, he piloted an HF-24 Marut aircraft on a mission to launch an attack. However, his plane was hit by ground fire, forcing him to eject. Bhargava’s parachute had barely opened when his aircraft crashed into a sand dune on the Pakistani side of the border. Bhargava quickly retrieved essential items from his survival pack, buried his G-suit, and set his watch to Pakistan Standard Time. He then began marching away from the crash site, adopting the persona of Pilot Mansoor Ali of the Pakistan Air Force.

Bhargava spent nearly a year in Pakistani captivity before being repatriated to India on December 1, 1972. He along with other prisoners of the war were welcomed at the Attari-Wagah border by the then Punjab Chief Minister, Giani Zail Singh.

Sanjay Thareja, Director, The Gurukul chain of schools, stated that facilitating interactions of young, impressionable students with such awe-inspiring personalities.

Chandigarh