DK Dist Ex-Servicemen to host ‘ Vijay Diwas’ to mark India’s Victory in Indo-Pak War ’71
DK District Ex-Servicemen’s Association to host ‘ Vijay Diwas’ to mark India’s Victory in Indo-Pak War 1971
Mangaluru: Addressing the media persons during a press meet held at Mangalore Press Club, Col N S Bhandary “To commemorate India’s victory in the Indo-Pak War 1971, “Vijay Diwas” will be celebrated, under the joint aegis of DK District Ex-Servicemen’s Association, Lions District 317 D, Rotary District 3181, Nitte Education Trust, and Shri Shasthavu Bhoothanatheshwara Temple Trust on Friday, 16 Dec 2018 at the War Memorial, Kadri hills, (opposite Kadri Police Station), Mangaluru at 9.00 AM, to pay our respects to those intrepid soldiers who fought for the country and laid down their lives in the line of duty. Flowers and wreaths will be laid as respect to these soldiers by various dignitaries”
“Pakistan Armed Forces, police and civilians, numbering about 93,000, under the Command of Pakistani Lt Gen AAK Niazi, surrendered to Lt Gen J S Arora of Indian Army at Ramna Race Course, Dhaka, Capital of erstwhile East Pakistan, on 16 Dec 1971, after a short war of 13 days ( 03 Dec to 16 Dec 1971 ). This historic event paved the way to the formation of the Independent country of Bangladesh. Sri Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, became the founder Prime Minister of Bangladesh” added Col. Bhandary.
He further said, “East Pakistan was a province of Pakistan since independence. In response to Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s call for independent Bangladesh, after electoral victory, Pakistan, launched ‘Operation Search Light’, on 26th March, 1971 with a view to crush the freedom movement. This led to influx of refugees and border tensions. Pakistan, in effort to release the Indian pressure on East Pakistan, opened a new front as a diversionary tactic on the Indian Western borders, by a preemptive attack on India on 3rd December 1971 under the code name “Operation Chenghiz Khan”. In these operations, India had made substantial gains on Pakistan by capturing nearly 14,000 Sq Km of their territory, in the western theatre.”
“In July 1972, after talks between our then Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi and Pakistan Prime Minister Sri Z A Bhutto, the Shimla Pact was formalized as an agreement under which the captured territory of 13,000 Sq Km and Prisoners Of War were returned to Pakistan. Some territories notably Kargil, were retained for strategic purposes. Force Level : India – 3 X Corps, Mukti Bahini – 3 X Brigades, Pakistan – 3 X Divisions; Casualties : India – 1,426 killed and 3,611 wounded; Pakistan – 8,000 killed and 10,000 wounded ( Estimated ); Surrender : 56,694 Armed Forces, 12,192 Police, 24,114 Civilians ( Total – 93,000 ). Gallantry Awards : Param Vir Chakra – 4 ( Mahavir Chakra – 54 ), L/Nk Albert Ekka, 14 Guards –Posthumus; 2/Lt Arun Khetrapal, 14 Poona Horse– Posthumous; Flg Offr Nirmal Sekhon, 18 Squadron, IAF– Posthumous Maj Hoshiar Singh, 3 Grenadiers — Living ” added Col Bhandary
Some of the dignitaries to grace the occasion will be – J Arun Chakravarthy-IGP, Western Range; Surendar Singh Dasila- Commander, Indian Coast Guard-Panambur; T R Suresh-Police Commissioner; S Sasikanth Senthil- Deputy Commissioner; Col Anil Nautyal- Group Commander-NCC; Dr B R Ravikanthe Gowda- SP-DK Dist; Dr Selvamani- CEO-Zilla Panchayat; Mohammed Nazeer- MCC Commissioner, among others.
Raghavendra Bhat, Col Balakrishna, Capt Deepak Adyanthya and Ln S M Airan were also present during the press meet.
About Kargil Vijay Diwas:
Kargil Vijay Diwas, named after the success of Operation Vijay. On this day, 26 July 1999, India successfully took command of the high outposts which had been lost to Pakistani intruders. The Kargil war was fought for more than 60 days, ended on 26 July and resulted in the loss of life on both sides, India and Pakistan and with the India regain possessions of Kargil. Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on 26 July every year in honour of the Kargil War’s Heroes. This day is celebrated in the Kargil – Dras sector and the national capital New Delhi, where the Prime Minister of India, pays homage to the soldiers at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate every year. Functions are also organized all over the country to commemorate the contribution of the Armed forces.
After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, there had been a long period with relatively few direct armed conflicts involving the military forces of the two neighbors – notwithstanding the efforts of both nations to control the Siachen Glacier by establishing military outposts on the surrounding mountains ridges and the resulting military skirmishes in the 1980’s. During the 1990’s, however, escalating tensions and conflict due to separatist activities in Kashmir, some of which were supported by Pakistan, as well as the conducting of nuclear tests by both countries in 1998, led to an increasingly belligerent atmosphere.
In an attempt to defuse the situation, both countries signed the Lahore Declaration in February 1999, promising to provide a peaceful and bilateral solution to the Kashmir conflict. During the winter of 1998 -1999, some elements of the Pakistani Armed Forces were covertly training and sending Pakistani troops and paramilitary forces, some allegedly in the guise of mujahideen, into territory on the Indian side of the line of control (LOC). The infiltration was code named “Operation Badr.” The aim of the Pakistani incursion was to sever the link between Kashmir and Ladakh and cause Indian forces to withdraw from the Siachen Glacier, thus forcing India to negotiate a settlement of the broader Kashmir dispute. Pakistan also believed that any tension in the region would internationalize the Kashmir issue, helping it to secure a speedy resolution. Yet another goal may have been to boost the morale of the decade-long rebellion in Indian Administered Kashmir by taking a proactive role.
Initially, with little knowledge of the nature or extent of the infiltration, the Indian troops in the area assumed that the infiltrators were jihadis and claimed that they would evict them within a few days. Subsequent discovery of infiltration elsewhere along the LOC, and the difference in tactics employed by the infiltrators, caused the Indian army to realize that the plan of attack was on a much bigger scale. The total area seized by the ingress is generally accepted to between 130 km– 200 km. The Government of India responded with Operation Vijay, a mobilisation of 200,000 Indian troops. Finally war came to an official end on July 26, 1999, thus making it the Vijay Diwas. 527 soldiers from Indian Armed Forces sacrificed their lives during the war.
