Part V: Conclusion
Further Reading
That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.
– ALDOUS HUXLEY
This book merely scratches the surface of what has been a fascinating period of modern Indian history. Military history cannot be read in isolation; it has to be complemented with a reasonably sound understanding of social and political history of the time. Ramachandra Guha’s India after Gandhi provides just the right base before embarking on a detailed study of modern India’s military history. It is by far the most definitive, objective and well-researched book on India’s post-Independence history.
DNA OF INDIA’S ARMED FORCES
My favourite books on Shivaji and the rise of the Maratha Empire are three volumes of the History of the Mahrattas by James Grant Duff, an eminent soldier-historian who served in India for much of his life in the eighteenth century. The second is an exhaustively researched book from the heartland of the erstwhile Maratha Empire, Pune, called Solstice at Panipat: 14 January 1761 by a dentist-turned-military history buff, Uday S. Kulkarni. Khushwant Singh’s two-volume History of the Sikhs and a definitive work exclusively on Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s empire, The Empire of the Sikhs, by Jyoti Rai and Patwant Singh offer deep insights into the rise of the martial Sikh community and its contribution to India’s recent military history. Jyoti Rai is also the daughter and biographer of Air Chief Marshal Moolgavkar, one of the pioneers of the IAF.
Four books on the colonial legacy and early years of the Indian Army are on my list of ‘must reads’. These are Philip Mason’s A Matter of Honour: An Account of the Indian Army, Its Officers and Men; Dr Anirudh Deshpande’s The British Raj and Its Indian Armed Forces; Daniel Marston’s The Indian Army and the End of the Raj and Stephen P. Cohen’s The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation. Prof. Steven Wilkinson of Yale University complements the above books with a recent offering – Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy. The book offers a deep structural insight into the reasons for the apolitical nature of India’s armed forces in the post-Independence years.
The biographies of Field Marshals Wavell and Auchinleck by John Connell provide illuminating perspectives into the growth of the Indian Army in the years preceding Independence – they remain among the best military biographies of the last century. Complementing the widespread colonial narrative of India’s armed forces is His Majesty’s Opponent, an intensely nationalistic biography of Subhas Chandra Bose by his nephew, Harvard professor Sugata Bose. The growth, travails and effect of the INA on Britain’s decision to leave India are brilliantly chronicled by Prof. Bose.
Of the three colonial arms of British India’s armed forces, the Royal Indian Navy at the time of Independence was the smallest in terms of size and manning. Its historical legacy was tracked best in Bisheshwar Prasad (editor), The Royal Indian Navy, published by the Agra University Press. This book was published as part of the ‘Official History of The Indian Armed Forces in the Second World War 1939–45’. Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh’s Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50, provides an Indian overview of the transition of the Indian Navy, while an Australian naval officer, James Goldrick’s No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka 1945–1996 offers a Western perspective of pre and post-colonial happenings in the Indian Navy. Vice Admiral Mihir Roy’s War in the Indian Ocean and Vice Admiral Hiranandani’s Transition to Triumph are comprehensive accounts of not only the early years of the growth of the Indian Navy and its moment of glory in the 1971 war with Pakistan, but also give a crisp overview of the subsequent growth and development of India as a maritime power.
The early years of Indian military aviation provide for fascinating reading and have been best chronicled by Rana Chinna in his book Eagle Strikes: The Royal Indian Air Force 1932–1950. Inspiring personal perspectives on the Burma campaign and the growth of the IAF are offered by Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal in his autobiography, My Years with the IAF, and by Air Commander Jasjit Singh in his biography of the Marshal of the IAF, Arjan Singh, The Icon. Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary provides a fighter pilot’s aggressive perspective on the exploits of the IAF in battle since its inception in his detailed account called The Indian Air Force in Wars.
THE FIRST INDIA–PAKISTAN WAR OF 1947–48
Sumit Ganguly and Chidananda Dasgupta offer compelling geopolitical perspectives with a liberal dosage of military operations in their books titled The Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pak Wars since 1947 and War and Diplomacy in Kashmir: 1947–48 respectively. Alistair Lamb highlights a well-researched but jaundiced Pakistani perspective in his books Danger over Kashmir and Birth of a Tragedy: Kashmir 1947. Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, who as a brigadier commanded 161 Brigade that saved Srinagar, vividly describes operations in the Kashmir Valley in his slim volume called Slender Was the Thread, while Lieutenant General Eric Vaas has penned down a detailed recollection of operations in the Jammu and Poonch sectors titled Without Baggage: A Personal Account of the Jammu & Kashmir Operations 1947–49. Rounding off the list are Air Marshal Bharat Kumar’s The Incredible War: Indian Air Force in Kashmir War 1947–48 and the Official History of the 1947–48 War with Pakistan, an offering from the Historical Division of India’s Ministry of Defence. Akbar Khan, the architect of the audacious infiltration plan, has penned down his version of the conflict in Raiders in Kashmir. It is a fascinating insight into the emergence of early jihadi perspectives in Kashmir; the book, however, is extremely hard to source.
THE 1962 CONFLICT WITH CHINA
An understanding of the wild and uncharted northern and eastern frontiers of colonial India is essential to grapple with events that finally led to the India–China war of 1962. Though known to be an India baiter, Alistair Lamb’s Chatham House essay titled The China-India Border: The Origins of the Disputed Boundaries, published by Oxford University Press in 1964, is a superbly researched and well-illustrated little book with excellent maps. The India-China Boundary Problem: 1846–1947 by A. G. Noorani, an eminent Indian lawyer and historian, remains the most well-researched offering by an Indian author.
Numerous books have been written on the India–China war of 1962 from a strategic and operational perspective. Despite its distinct anti-India flavour and the markedly leftist leanings of its author, India’s China War by Neville Maxwell remains an enduring read. John Garver is a China expert and professor at a leading US university. His chapter ‘China’s Decision for War with India in 1962,’ in New Approaches to the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy by Robert S. Ross and Alastair Iain Johnston, remains the most objective Western perspective on the war. Of all the books written by Indian authors, Major General D.K. Palit’s War in the High Himalayas is a reasonably objective and lucid offering, albeit concentrating mainly on the eastern theatre. For those who want to study the battles in Ladakh, Major General S.V. Thapliyal, who commanded a division in Ladakh, has written an excellent article in the United Services Institution of India Journal titled ‘Battle of Eastern Ladakh: 1962 Sino- Indian Conflict’. Rounding off the list is an excellent monograph from the US Army War College, The Lessons of History: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army at 75, co-authored by Laurie Burkitt, Andrew Scobell and Larry M. Wortzel.
THE 1965 INDIA–PAKISTAN WAR
Stephen P. Cohen’s The Idea of Pakistan and Sumit Ganguly’s Conflict Unending: India Pakistan Tensions since 1947 are my picks to understanding the strategic nuances of the 1965 war. However, my favourite book remains Sumit Ganguly’s first offering on India–Pakistan conflicts, Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pakistan Conflicts since 1947. Shuja Nawaz’s magisterial Crossed Swords offers a sweeping narrative of the Pakistan Army through all its triumphs and tribulations. It is by far the best read on the modern Pakistan Army by a Pakistani, though Cohen’s The Pakistan Army, is an equally ‘must’ read.
The official history of the war as chronicled by the Indian Ministry of Defence and edited by Dr S.N. Prasad and Dr U.P. Thapliyal, The India-Pakistan War of 1965, is a rather voluminous, conservative and chronological account of the conflict from an Indian perspective. It is embellished with excellent maps and is a ‘must refer’ book. Of all the accounts written by the participants of the war, two accounts stand out as interesting ones. The first one is a ringside view of action on the western front as seen by Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of India’s Western Army Command. Titled War Despatches it is a hard-hitting account by a battle-hardened soldier. Unsparing of his colleagues and critical of higher military strategy, Harbaksh feels that India could have done better with greater overall aggression. General Mohammed Musa, the chief of the Pakistan Army, offers an interesting but rather apologetic recollection of events in My Version: India-Pakistan War 1965. Finally, two books on the air battles during 1965 make worthy reading. The first is a fascinating autobiography of a Pakistani fighter pilot, S. Sajad Haider, called Flight of the Falcon. The book is not only an excellent recollection of aerial battles of 1965 and 1971 as narrated by an active participant, but also one of the best books coming out of the subcontinent on the adrenalin-high career of a fighter pilot. A better researched version of the air war comes from two Indian civilian air power enthusiasts, P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra. Their book, The Air War in 1965, is a detailed account in terms of the opposing forces, aerial strategies, and operational philosophies of both forces and a chronological progression of the air war with fairly accurate and candid analysis. Of all the analysts and commentators who are prolific on the Internet, I found the analysis of Major (retd) Agha Humayun Amin, a Pakistani analyst, to be the most interesting.
THE 1971 WAR
Srinath Raghavan (A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh), J.N. Dixit (India-Pakistan in War and Peace), Sumit Ganguly (Conflict Unending), Shuja Nawaz (Crossed Swords) and Sisson and Rose (War and Secession: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) provide the best strategic and geopolitical perspectives of events that led to the 1971 war. P.C. Lal (My Years with the IAF), Lieutenant General A.A.K Niazi (The Betrayal of East Pakistan) and Lieutenant General K.P. Candeth (The Western Front: India Pakistan War of 1971) offer a participative operational account of the two-front war. John Gill, a professor at the National Defence University, Washington DC, has written the most objective military account of the war in the form of a monograph embellished with wonderfully crafted maps titled An Atlas of the 1971 India-Pakistan War. The official history of the 1971 war as chronicled by the Indian Ministry of Defence was released in 2014 – see S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal (The India-Pakistan War of 1971). The Indian Navy opened its writing score after this war with commanders of both the Western and Eastern Naval Command penning down their highly personalised memoirs of the war. See Admiral S.N. Kohli (We Dared) and Vice Admiral Krishnan (A Sailor’s Story). Transition to Triumph is a painstakingly researched book on the operational evolution of the Indian Navy in the 1960s and 1970s written by Vice Admiral Hiranandani. The duo of P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra has written an excellent account of the rather lopsided air campaign in Bangladesh (Eagles over Bangladesh). The Bangladesh narrative has generally been silent on the Bengali backlash and the targeting of Pakistani sympathizers in East Pakistan during and after the conflict. Treading on delicate turf, an Oxford historian of Bengali origin, Sarmila Bose, precisely does that in her richly researched narrative, Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War. She asks uncomfortable questions based on extensive interviews. The book is a must read to understand the many horrors of war that are hidden in the shadows of victory and defeat. Of all the international journalists who covered the birth of Bangladesh, Sydney Schanberg of The New York Times was the best; all his articles are available in the archives of The New York Times.
The best collection of Internet material on the 1971 air and ground war comes from Major Agha Humayun Amin and another accomplished Pakistani fighter pilot, Kaiser Tufail, who blogs under the name of aeronaut. Finally, the Indian website www.bharat-rakshak.com has an excellent repository of material of all kinds on India’s wars after Independence and about the Indian armed forces – it is a must visit. By no means is the suggested reading list all-encompassing. Any omissions are unintentional and solely reflect the limitations of the author.
Happy Reading!
NOTES
CHAPTER 1: SIGHTER BURST
1. Lawrence Freedman, Strategy: A History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), p. xvi.
2. Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, ‘Jointmanship in the Military’, Indian Defence Review Vol. 26, No. 2 (April–June 2011), available at
3. Swami Vivekananda was a nineteenth-century monk and philosopher who first introduced Vedanta philosophy and yoga to the Western world.
CHAPTER 2: A PERSONAL QUEST
1. This thread emerged from a stimulating and rewarding exchange of ideas over email in March 2015 between the author and Prof. Rana Mitter, an eminent Oxford historian.
2. Arjun Subramaniam, ‘Kargil Revisited: Air Operations in a High Altitude Conflict,’ CLAWS Journal, Summer 2008, p. 183–95 at
3. Benjamin Lambeth, ‘Airpower at 18,000: The Indian Air Force in the Kargil War,’ a monograph published by the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, available at
CHAPTER 3: WHITHER MILITARY HISTORY AND UNDERSTANDING THE MILITARY
1. From a talk delivered by the author at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library titled ‘The Neglect of Modern Indian Military History and its Impact on India’s Strategic Culture’ on 16 July 2015.
2. He represents the Aam Aadmi Party, having won a legislative election in Delhi during the 2013 state elections.
3. Steven Wilkinson, Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2015), from the Kindle edition, Introduction: The Question.
4. Ibid., p. 9.
5. Tami Davis Biddle and Robert M. Citino, ‘The Role of Military History in the Contemporary Academy,’ A Society for Military History White Paper, 30 November 2014, available at
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
CHAPTER 4: THE INDIAN ARMY: INDIAN OR COLONIAL?
1. An Indian Army publicity hoarding from recent times.
2. Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 50–54. For an operational and tactical analysis of Shivaji the warrior, also see Colonel R.D. Palsokar, Shivaji: The Great Guerrilla (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2003).
3. Patwant Singh and Jyoti Rai, The Empire of the Sikhs (New Delhi: Hay House India, 2008), p. 171–73.
4. For a painstakingly researched book on Maratha power after Shivaji, see Uday S. Kulkarni, Solstice at Panipat: 14 January 1761 (Pune: Mulla Mutha Publishers, 2012).
5. James Grant Duff, History of the Mahrattas, Vols I, II & III (New Delhi: Low Price Publications, 1990, first published in 1863), p. 215.
6. Stephen P. Cohen, The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 45.
7. Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 50
8. Bipin Chandra, History of Modern India (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2009), p. 41.
9. Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 133–34.
10. Bipin Chandra, History of Modern India (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2009), p. 27.
11. Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Vol. I: 1469–1839 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 73–94. The book is a highly readable and extensively researched narrative of Sikh history by one of India’s most popular and prolific authors and columnists.
12. Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 353–54. Also see Bipin Chandra, History of Modern India (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2009), p. 33.
13. Patwant Singh and Jyoti Rai, The Empire of the Sikhs (New Delhi: Hay House India, 2008), p. 63–66. Also see Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 259.
14. Ibid., p. 63. Also see Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Vol. I: 1469–1839 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 81.
15. Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Vol. I: 1469–1839 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 199–200. Prior to Maharaja Ranjit Singh assuming power, the armies of the Sikh chieftains were dominated by the cavalry, and foot soldiers were generally looked down upon.
16. For a detailed review of the Lahore Treaty of 1809, see Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Vol. I: 1469–1839 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 362.
17. William Dalrymple, Return of a King (London: Bloomsbury, 2013), p. 11.
18. ‘The 12 Misls of Ranjit Singh’s Era,’
19. Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs – Vol. II: 1839–2004 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 80–81.
20. Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs – Vol. II: 1839–2004 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 1.
21. Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 307–308.
22. Ian Cardozo, ed., The Indian Army: A Brief History (New Delhi: Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, 2005), p. 66.
23. Bipin Chandra, History of Modern India (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2009), p. 30–31.
24. Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 246–68.
25. Stephen P. Cohen, The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 22–27.
26. Ibid., p. 40–41.
27. Lord Roberts, quoted in Stephen P. Cohen, The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 46.
28. Bipin Chandra, History of Modern India (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2009), p. 164.
29. Discussion with Ramachandra Guha on email, 19 November 2014.
30. Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 347–48.
31. William Dalrymple, Return of a King (London: Bloomsbury, 2013), p. 6–8.
32. For a detailed overview of the Anglo-Gorkha Wars see:
33. Bipin Chandra, History of Modern India (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2009), p. 164.
34. John Gaylor, Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies, 1901–1991 (Turnbridge Wells: Para Press Ltd, 1992), p. 5.
35. John Connell, Auchinleck: A Biography of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (London: Cassell, 1959), p. 767.
36. Stephen P. Rosen, India and Its Armies (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 196.
37. Michael Howard, War in European History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 121.
38. Ibid.
39. Kaushik Roy, ‘The Armed Expansion of the East India Company: 1740s-1849,’ in Daniel P. Marston and Chander S. Sundaram, ed., A Military History of India and South Asia, (New Delhi: Pentagon, 2007), p. 2.
40. Ibid., p. 6.
41. Stephen P. Cohen, The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 60.
42. John Gaylor, Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies, 1901–1991 (Turnbridge Wells: Para Press Ltd, 1992), p. 4.
43. The exact figure according to Phillip Mason was 13,02,394. See Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 411.
CHAPTER 5: THE INDIAN ARMY: COMING OF AGE
1. Inscription at Chetwode Hall, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.
2. Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper, Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia, 1941–1945 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknapp Press of Harvard University, 2004), p. xxxi.
3. David Omissi, Indian Voices of the Great War (New Delhi: Penguin/Viking, 2014), p. 3.
4. Ian Cardozo, ed., The Indian Army: A Brief History (New Delhi: Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, 2005), p. 27–28.
5. Ibid., p. 28.
6. From the Honours and Awards Gallery section at the Bombay Sappers Regimental Centre at Kirkee, Pune.
7. For an excellent article on Hodson’s Horse and the exploits of the Indian Army in WW I, see the official magazine of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, India Perspectives, Vol. 29, No. 4 (July–August 2015), p. 60–64.
8. Mandeep Singh Bajwa, ‘Indian Cavalry on Western Front, 1914–1919,’ Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, 24 August 2014, available at
9. Ian Cardozo, ed., The Indian Army: A Brief History (New Delhi: Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, 2005), p. 29–30. Though Cardozo puts the number of Victoria Crosses at sixteen, a more recent brochure brought out by the Commonwealth Graves Association puts the figure at eleven.
10. Stephen P. Cohen, The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 68.
11. Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 443.
12. Ibid.
13. John Gaylor, Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies, 1901–1991 (Turnbridge Wells: Para Press Ltd, 1992), p. 315.
14. The Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College was later renamed as the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) after Independence. It boasts amongst its alumni four army chiefs and one air force chief from independent India’s armed forces. Major Somnath Sharma, an old boy of the school, was the first Param Vir Chakra winner in independent India.
15. John Gaylor, Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies, 1901–1991 (Turnbridge Wells: Para Press Ltd, 1992), p. 22–24.
16. John Keay, India: A History (London: Harper Press, 2000), p. 475–77.
17. Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper, Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia, 1941–1945 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknapp Press of Harvard University, 2004), p. 74.
18. Air Marshal K.C. Cariappa, Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa (New Delhi: Niyogi Books, 2007), p. 40–41.
19. Ian Cardozo, ed., The Indian Army: A Brief History (New Delhi: Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, 2005), p. 42.
20. Daniel P. Marston, ‘A Force Transformed: The Indian Army and the Second World War,’ in P. Marston and Chandar S. Sundaram, ed., A Military History of India and South Asia, (New Delhi: Pentagon, 2007), p. 103.
21. Ibid.
22. Excerpts from GHQ letter No. 66805/E.I.B dated 17 September 1941, from the Bombay Engineering Group (Bombay Sappers) Regimental Centre, Kirkee, Pune.
23. Daniel P. Marston, ‘A Force Transformed: The Indian Army and the Second World War,’ in P. Marston and Chandar S. Sundaram, ed., A Military History of India and South Asia, (New Delhi: Pentagon, 2007), p. 108. For a more detailed analysis of the Indian Army in the North Africa Desert, see Kaushik Roy, ed., The Indian Army in the Two World Wars (Leiden: Brill, 2011).
24. Extracts from the unpublished memoirs of Lieutenant Colonel Chanan Singh Dhillon, courtesy his son Gurbinder Dhillon.
25. Extracted from an email written by Captain (retd) Raj Mohindra, Indian Navy, who was on the INS Brahmaputra in 1967. For a detailed write-up on the Taranto landings by the 8th Indian Division, see Daniel P. Marston, The Indian Army and the End of the Raj (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2014), p. 59.
26. Ian Cardozo, ed., The Indian Army: A Brief History (New Delhi: Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, 2005), p. 49.
27. Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper, Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia, 1941–1945 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknapp Press of Harvard University, 2004), p. 294.
28. John Connell, Auchinleck: A Biography of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (London: Cassell, 1959), p. 757.
29. ‘Victory over Japanese at Kohima Is Britain’s Greatest Battle,’ Reuters report from London in The Indian Express, New Delhi, 22 April 2013.
30. Raghu Karnad, Everybody’s Friend (London: Ebook from Vintage Digital, Random House, 2013).
31. C.B. Khanduri, Thimayya: An Amazing Life (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2006), p. 83.
32. D.R. Mankekar, Leaves from a War Reporter’s Diary (New Delhi: Vikas Publishers, 1977), p. 120.
33. From the archives of Kumaon Regimental Centre, Ranikhet.
34. D.R. Mankekar, Leaves from a War Reporter’s Diary (New Delhi: Vikas Publishers, 1977), p. 121.
35. C.B. Khanduri, Thimayya: An Amazing Life (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2006), p. 97.
36. John Gaylor, Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies, 1901–1991 (Turnbridge Wells: Para Press Ltd, 1992), p. 316.
37. Ian Cardozo, ed., The Indian Army: A Brief History (New Delhi: Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, 2005), p. 48. Also see ‘Tiger Triumphs,’ India Defence Department, Director of Public Relations, London, 1946.
38. Latest figures from the Commonwealth Graves Commission brochure issued during the centenary commemoration of WW I in early 2015.
39. Address to Kashmir National Conference, Srinagar, 19 August 1945. It was featured in The Tribune of 20 August 1945. S. Gopal, ed., Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vol. 14 (New Delhi: Orient Longman).
40. Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper, Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia, 1941–1945 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknapp Press of Harvard University, 2004), p. xxxii.
41. Interview with Lieutenant General (retd) W.A.G. Pinto, 23 October 2014.
42. Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, In the Line of Duty (New Delhi: Lancer, 2000), p. 130–36.
43. Stephen P. Cohen, The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 99–102 and 150–62.
44. Sugata Bose, His Majesty’s Opponent (New Delhi: Penguin, 2011), p. 266–79.
45. Ibid., p. 265–66.
46. Ibid.
47. Raghu Karnad, Everybody’s Friend (London: Ebook from Vintage Digital, Random House, 2013).
48. Philip Mason, A Matter of Honour (London: EBD Education in arrangement with Jonathan Cape, 1988), p. 516–18.
49. S. Gopal, ed., ‘Letters from Nehru to V.K. Krishna Menon,’ Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vol. 14 (New Delhi: Orient Longman).
50. Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper, Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia, 1941–1945 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknapp Press of Harvard University, 2004), p. 428. For a detailed description of the rearguard battles fought by the INA in 1944–45, see Eric A. Vas, Subhas Chandra Bose: The Man and His Times (New Delhi: Lancer, 2005), p. 199–200.
51. John Connell, Auchinleck: A Biography of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (London: Cassell, 1959), p. 797.
52. Ibid., p. 368.
53. Interview with Lord Mountbatten by B.R. Nanda, Oral History Project, NMML, 26 July 1967.
54. John Connell, Auchinleck: A Biography of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (London: Cassell, 1959), p. 802–07.
55. Ibid.
56. John Connell, Auchinleck: A Biography of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (London: Cassell, 1959), p. 806. Of all the British field commanders of the twentieth century who commanded Indian officers and troops during their service careers, Field Marshal Auchinleck understood them the best. His sagacity, empathy and apolitical approach in deciding the future of the Indian Army in a post-colonial dispensation shaped the thinking of many Indian commanders like Cariappa and Thimayya. It is only fair to attribute much of the leniency shown towards the high-profile INA prisoners to the wisdom of Auchinleck.
57. S. Gopal, ed., Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vol. 14, from speech at Murree on 21 August 1945. Also see, Vol. 15, p. 90, letter to Claude Auchinleck and advice from Wavell, p. 95.
58. Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 18–19.
59. Sugata Bose, His Majesty’s Opponent (New Delhi: Penguin, 2011), p. 294.
60. Bipin Chandra, History of Modern India (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2009), p. 325.
61. Sugata Bose, His Majesty’s Opponent (New Delhi: Penguin, 2011), p. 295.
62. Brigadier R.R. Palsokar (retd), ‘Whom We Serve,’ a prize-winning essay submitted in 2013 to Defence Watch, a monthly journal of defence and security affairs published from Dehradun.
63.
64. Narendra Singh Sarila, The Shadow of the Great Game (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2009), p. 189.
65. Daniel P. Marston and Chander S. Sundaram, ed., A Military History of India and South Asia, (New Delhi: Pentagon, 2007), p. 131–33.
66. Ibid.
67. Michael Howard, War in European History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 138.
68. Ibid.
69. John Gaylor, Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies, 1901–1991 (Turnbridge Wells: Para Press Ltd, 1992), p. 278–85.
70. This argument is repeatedly reinforced by Steven Wilkinson, Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2015).
71. For a detailed analysis see Stephen P. Cohen, The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990).
72. Major General V.K. Singh, Contribution of the Armed Forces to the Freedom Movement in India (New Delhi, KW Publishers, 2009), p. xii.
73. Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper, Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia, 1941–1945 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknapp Press of Harvard University, 2004), p. xxix.
74. Ibid. p. 191
75. John Gaylor, Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies, 1901–1991 (Turnbridge Wells: Para Press Ltd, 1992), p. 258.
76. Stephen P. Rosen, India and Its Armies (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 211.
77. Narendra Singh Sarila, The Shadow of the Great Game (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2009), p. 175.
78. Ibid.
79. General K.S. Thimmaya, Selig Harrison, Thimayya Papers No. 16, NMML, New Delhi.
80. Stephen P. Rosen, India and Its Armies (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 197–98.
81. General K. Sundarji, Of Some Consequences: A Soldier Remembers (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2000), p. 112.
CHAPTER 6: THE INDIAN NAVY
1. Admiral Arun Prakash, ‘At Sea about Naval History’, 7 October 2006, available at www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/History/Maritime-Heritage/17-At-Sea-With-Naval-History.html (accessed 10 May 2013).
2. Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. xiv.
3. Ibid.
4. ‘Indian Navy, A Historical Overview’, available at www.bharat-rakshak.com (accessed 15 April 2013).
5. Also see Bisheshwar Prasad, ed., The Royal Indian Navy (Agra: Agra University Press, 1964), p. 1–3.
6. Ibid., p. 3.
7. Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50 (New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing, 1986), p. 9.
8. Rajiv Theodore, ‘India’s First Naval Heroes – Unsung and Unwept – Kunjali Marakkars,’ available at www.americanbazaar.com/2014/09/11/India’s-first-naval-heroes-unsung-unwept-kunjali-marakkars/ (accessed 12 September 2014). For a detailed history of the Zamorins also see K.V. Krishna Aiyyar, The Zamorins of Calicut (Calicut: Norman Printing Bureau, 1938). The book was referred to from a digital library collection at calicutheritage.com/Digital\_Library.aspx (accessed on 12 September 2014).
9. Ibid.
10. Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50 (New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing, 1986), p. 13.
11. ‘Kanhoji Angre’, available at
12. ‘The Genesis of the Indian Navy,’ available at www.bharat-rakshak.com/History/Maritime-Heritage/28-Genesis.html?tmpl=co. (accessed 8 April 2013).
13. Bisheshwar Prasad, ed., The Royal Indian Navy (Agra: Agra University Press, 1964), p. 6.
14. James Goldrick, No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka 1945–1996 (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1997), p. 3.
15. Bisheshwar Prasad, ed., The Royal Indian Navy (Agra: Agra University Press, 1964), p. 6.
16. James Goldrick, No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka 1945–1996 (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1997), p. 4.
17. Bisheshwar Prasad, ed., The Royal Indian Navy (Agra: Agra University Press, 1964), p. 8. Also see James Goldrick, No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka 1945–1996 (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1997), p. 5.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid., p. 8.
20. ‘The Genesis of the Indian Navy,’ available at www.bharat-rakshak.com/History/Maritime-Heritage/28-Genesis.html?tmpl=co. (accessed 8 April 2013).
21. Bisheshwar Prasad, ed., The Royal Indian Navy (Agra: Agra University Press, 1964), Appendix II, ‘Composition of Naval Headquarters at Bombay as of 1941.’ Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh has put the figure at 114 officers, 1,732 ratings and sixteen officers manning the Naval HQ at Bombay.
22. James Goldrick, No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka 1945–1996 (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1997), p. 5–7.
23. Bisheshwar Prasad, ed., The Royal Indian Navy (Agra: Agra University Press, 1964), p. 36.
24. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red\_Sea\_Flotilla (accessed 6 June 2013).
25. Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50 (New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing, 1986), p. 25.
26. Bisheshwar Prasad, ed., The Royal Indian Navy (Agra: Agra University Press, 1964), p. 86
27. Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50 (New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing, 1986), p. 25.
28. File no. MOD 601/10450/H, Ministry of Defence, Historical Division, New Delhi.
29. Bisheshwar Prasad, ed., The Royal Indian Navy (Agra: Agra University Press, 1964), p. 95
30. Ibid., p. 255
31. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal\_Forces\_of\_the\_Royal\_Navy, also see
32. Bisheshwar Prasad, ed., The Royal Indian Navy (Agra: Agra University Press, 1964), p. 256.
33. Ibid., p. 311–15.
34. Ibid., p. 313–314.
35. James Goldrick, No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka 1945–1996 (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1997), p. 6.
36. Bisheshwar Prasad, ed., The Royal Indian Navy (Agra: Agra University Press, 1964), p. 360–65.
37. Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50 (New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing, 1986), p. 28.
38. James Goldrick, No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka 1945–1996 (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1997), p. 7.
39. Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50 (New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing, 1986), p. 32.
40. Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. 46.
41. Bishwanath Bose, RIN Mutiny, 1946: Reference and Guide for All (New Delhi, Northern Book Centre, 1988).
42. Narendra Singh Sarila, The Shadow of the Great Game (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2009), p. 172.
43. http://ajitvadakayil.blogspot.in/2013/02/the-indian-navy-mutiny-of-1946-only-war.html (accessed 15 May 2013).
44. Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50 (New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing, 1986), p. 54.
45. Brigadier R.R. Palsokar (retd), ‘Whom We Serve,’ extracts from a prize-winning essay submitted in 2013 to Defence Watch, a monthly journal of defence and security affairs published out of Dehradun.
46. Bombay Chronicle, 29 May 1946, p. 1.
47. Ibid., 30 May 1946, p. 5.
48. S. Gopal, ed., Speech at Bombay – 26 February 1946, The Hindu, 27 February 1946, Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vol. 15 (New Delhi: Orient Longman), p. 22–25.
49. Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50 (New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing, 1986), p. 90.
50. Interview with Admiral Jayant Nadkarni on 3 December 2014. The eighty-two-year-old admiral was happy to share his experiences during the fledgling years of the Indian Navy.
51. Also see, Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. 54–55.
52. From a personal discussion with Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan on the importance of military history on 12 August 2015.
53. James Goldrick, No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka 1945–1996 (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1997), p. 12. Also see Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50 (New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing, 1986), ‘Division of the RIN’ (behind the Contents page). The figures in his book are at slight variance to the ones mentioned above. While there is no difference between Goldrick and Satyindra Singh on the division of major vessels, there are minor variations with respect to smaller vessels like harbour defence motor launches (HDML).
54. ‘Delhi becomes Flagship,’ Bombay Chronicle, 15 September 1948, p. 7.
55. This disdain comes out clearly in Chapter 8.
56. ‘India determined to protect peace,’ Bombay Chronicle, 16 September 1948, p. 10.
57. Interview with Admiral Nadkarni.
58. ‘US Warships on 5 Day Goodwill Visit to City Harbour,’ Bombay Chronicle, 24 August 1948, p. 1.
59. Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. 57.
60. For a detailed reading of an Indian perspective on modern maritime strategy, see Rear Admiral Raja Menon, Maritime Strategy and Continental Wars (London: Frank Cass, 1998), p. 55–61.
61. In Indian mythology, Lord Varuna is the all-powerful lord of the oceans.
CHAPTER 7: THE INDIAN AIR FORCE
1. Rana Chhina, The Eagle Strikes: The Royal Indian Air Force, 1932–1950 (New Delhi: Ambi Knowledge Resources), p. 317.
2. Somnath Sapru, Armed Pegasus: The Early Years (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2011), p. 66–69.
3.
4.
5. David E. Ommissi, Air Power and Colonial Control (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990), p. viii.
6. Somnath Sapru, Armed Pegasus: The Early Years (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2011), p. 100–02.
7. Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Roe, ‘Good God Sir, Are you Hurt? The Realities and Perils of Operating in India’s Troubled North-West Frontier,’ Air Power Review, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Autumn/Winter 2011), p. 61–82.
8. Somnath Sapru, Armed Pegasus: The Early Years (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2011), p. 102–05.
9. S.C. Gupta, History of the Indian Air Force: 1933–45 (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1961), p. xviii. Though the book is one of the few authentic and rigorously researched official accounts of the early years of the IAF, it was extremely surprising to see that not a single senior RAF or IAF officer, serving or retired, was on the advisory committee of the book. It included eminent army generals like Lieutenant Generals K.S. Thimayya, S.P. Thorat and Dudley Russell.
10. David E. Ommissi, Air Power and Colonial Control (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990), p. 48.
11. Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Roe, ‘Good God Sir, Are you Hurt? The Realities and Perils of Operating in India’s Troubled North-West Frontier,’ Air Power Review, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Autumn/Winter 2011), p. 63.
12.
13. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 12.
14. B.K. Nigam, Challenge in the Sky (New Delhi: R.K. Books, 1985), p. 5.
15. S.C. Gupta, History of the Indian Air Force: 1933–45 (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1961), p. xix.
16. The Bannu Brigade was formed as part of the Northern Army of the Indian Army in the first decade of the twentieth century and was deployed in the North Western Province. It continued there till WW II and gained significant operational experience in the Third Afghan War and the ensuing war against tribals in Waziristan. The brigade was one of the first units of the Indian Army to operate closely with units of the RAF and the newly formed IAF during operations against the Faqir of Ipi between 1936 and 1941.
17. B.K. Nigam, Challenge in the Sky (New Delhi: R.K. Books, 1985), p. 11.
18. Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, ‘The Indian Air Force in Wars,’ Air Power Review, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Autumn/Winter 2011), p. 84.
19. Literally translated Hawai Sepoys as Air Warriors; almost seventy years later, all personnel of the IAF irrespective of rank or branch were called air warriors.
20. Air Commodore G.H. Vasse, deputy SASO, Air Command, SE Asia, from a paper entitled ‘The Modernisation of the Air Forces in India,’ September 1939, taken from the Historical Division of the Ministry of Defence, New Delhi.
21. Rana Chhina, The Eagle Strikes: The Royal Indian Air Force, 1932–1950 (New Delhi: Ambi Knowledge Resources), p. 49–54.
22. Ibid., p. 51.
23. During an impromptu dinner speech on 14 February 2014 at the Air Force Officers Mess, Gwalior.
24.
25. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 13.
26. Ibid., p. 16.
27. S.C. Gupta, History of the Indian Air Force: 1933–45 (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1961), p. 36.
28. Ibid., p. 4.
29.
30. Interview with Air Chief Marshal Moolgavkar on 14 January 2013. Also see, Jyoti Rai, Leading from the Cockpit (New Delhi: The Society for Aerospace Studies, 2010), p. 16–20. Also see, ‘IAF in the First Burma Campaign,’ IAF Historical and Warrior Studies Cell, College of Air Warfare, Secunderabad (2005): p. 20–21.
31. For a well-written obituary, see Shoumit Banerjee, ‘Former IAF Chief Moolgavkar Dead,’ The Hindu, 11 April 2015, available at
32. B.K. Nigam, Challenge in the Sky (New Delhi: R.K. Books, 1985), p. 15. For a most comprehensive description of the contribution of the IAF during the early days of the Burma campaign, see Rana Chhina, The Eagle Strikes: The Royal Indian Air Force, 1932–1950 (New Delhi: Ambi Knowledge Resources), p. 56–72. Also, for a consolidated squadron-wise breakdown of flying in the Burma campaign, see Appendix D, p. 315–16.
33. I am grateful to No. 1 Squadron for allowing me full access to their wonderfully preserved museum; it remains the best squadron museum in the IAF.
34. ‘IAF in the First Burma Campaign,’ IAF Historical and Warrior Studies Cell, College of Air Warfare, Secunderabad (2005): p. 33.
35. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 45. Also see Rana Chhina, The Indian Air Force Memorial Book (New Delhi: Air Headquarters Press, 1996), p. 104.
36. Jasjit Singh, The Icon: An Authorised Biography (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2009), p. 36–45.
37. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 33–36.
38. Ibid., p. 38.
39. Field Marshal Viscount Slim, Defeat into Victory (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 232.
40. Air Commodore G.H. Vasse, deputy SASO, Air Command, SE Asia, from a paper entitled ‘The Modernisation of the Air Forces in India,’ September 1939, p. 31, taken from the Historical Division of the Ministry of Defence, New Delhi.
41. ‘IAFVR Pilots in UK’, available at
42. See ‘Gravesend unveils statue of fighter pilot Mahender Singh Puji,’ 28 November 2014, available at
43. B.K. Nigam, Challenge in the Sky (New Delhi: R.K. Books, 1985), p. 18–19.
44. ‘An Asian Hero,’
45. ‘Air Forces in India,’ Air HQ, India, File no. GOI/10975/H/Air HQ (I) 017554/Air, Ministry of Defence, Historical Division, New Delhi.
46. Jasjit Singh, The Icon: An Authorised Biography (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2009), p. 84.
47. Two of the DSOs were won by British officers who were commanding No. 4 and No. 10 Squadrons of the IAF in Burma, while Squadron Leader Mehar Singh was the lone Indian among the three.
48.
49. Air Commodore G.H. Vasse, deputy SASO, Air Command, SE Asia, from a paper entitled ‘The Modernisation of the Air Forces in India,’ September 1939, p. 3, taken from the Historical Division of the Ministry of Defence, New Delhi.
50. Annexure IV-A of Recommendations of Armed Forces Nationalization Committee, ‘Thimayya Papers,’ File No. 1, NMML, New Delhi.
51. Narendra Singh Sarila, The Shadow of the Great Game (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2009), p. 173.
52. Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, ‘The Indian Air Force in Wars,’ Air Power Review, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Autumn/Winter 2011), p. 84. Air Chief Marshal Lal’s figures are marginally different. He has mentioned in his book that of the ten squadrons, India was left with seven.
53. Somnath Sapru, Armed Pegasus: The Early Years (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2011), p. xviii.
54. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 555.
55. Directorate of Public Relations, Air Headquarters, Air House, New Delhi, 2011.
56. Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 4–5.
57. Operational Record Book of No. 8 Squadron, January 1947–December 1954, Ministry of Defence, Historical Division, New Delhi.
58. GOI/10975/H, Historical Division, Archives, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi.
CHAPTER 8: HOLDING ON TO KASHMIR
1. Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 21.
2. Lieutenant General S.K. Sinha, A Soldier Recalls (New Delhi: Lancer, 1992), p. 96.
3. Ibid.
4. John Connell, Auchinleck: A Biography of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (London: Cassell, 1959), p. 790–91.
5. For an absolutely riveting narrative of Wavell’s machinations to covertly ensure the partition of India, see the chapter, ‘Wavell Plays the Great Game,’ in Narendra Singh Sarila, The Shadow of the Great Game (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2009), p. 167–98.
6. Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi (London: Pan Macmillan, 2007), p. 36.
7. ‘There was enough evidence of a tribal raid,’ from
8. C. Dasgupta, War and Diplomacy in Kashmir: 1947–48 (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2002), p. 52.
9.
10. For a detailed analysis of Indian strategic thought at the time of partition, see Jaswant Singh, Defending India (Bangalore: Macmillan, 1999), p. 1–60.
11. D.K. Palit, Major General Rudra: His Service in Three Armies and Two World Wars (New Delhi: Reliance Publishing, 1997), p. 67.
12. V.P. Malhotra, Defence Related Treaties of India (New Delhi: ICC India Pvt. Ltd., 2002), p. 5.
13. C. Dasgupta, War and Diplomacy in Kashmir: 1947–48 (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2002), p. 35–38. Also see Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi (London: Pan Macmillan, 2007), p. 59–63.
14. Narendra Singh Sarila, The Shadow of the Great Game (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2009), p. 406.
15. Robert D. Kaplan, The Revenge of Geography (New York: Random House, 2012), p. xix–xii. The book is a masterly exposition of geography and its impact on strategic outcomes of interstate relations.
16. For a comprehensive description of the demographic distribution in Jammu and Kashmir, see Victoria Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War (New York: I.B. Tauris, 2000), p. xiii, 8.
17. Joseph Korbel, Danger over Kashmir (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966), p. 8. The book mainly articulates a Pakistani viewpoint of the whole crisis and sensationalizes the persecution of Muslims by Hindus without sufficient evidence of first-hand narratives or eyewitness accounts. The pro-Pakistan tilt interspersed with impeccable research can be attributed to geopolitics at the time the book was written (1966) considering that the US was wooing Pakistan as a front-line ally against the Soviet Union. However, for the sake of objectivity, many well-made arguments and facts have been used from the book.
18. John Connell, Auchinleck: A Biography of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (London: Cassell, 1959), p. 789.
19. Sufism is a moderate form of Islam that is closest to secular in form. It spread in Kashmir in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
20. Sheikh Abdullah represented the secular and moderate voice of the Kashmiri Muslim population and would go on to be the first chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir after the war.
21. ‘Kashmir in Charge of Blimps – High Handedness of the Kashmir State Forces,’ Bombay Chronicle, 29 May 1946, p. 1. Also see Bombay Chronicle, 30 May 1946, p. 8 (accessed Nehru Memorial Museum and Library on 1 June 2013).
22. Ibid.
23. An excellent Pakistani perspective on the role of Poonch Muslims is offered by Shuja Nawaz. See Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 44.
24. John Connell, Auchinleck: A Biography of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (London: Cassell, 1959), p. 930.
25. A moving account of the Partition reinforced by a treasure trove of archival sources is available in Ramachandra Guha’s book, India after Gandhi.
26. C.B. Khanduri, Thimayya: An Amazing Life (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2006), p. 105–113.
27. Ibid.
28. War Diaries of No. 7 Squadron, RIAF, Ministry of Defence, Historical Division, New Delhi.
29. Lieutenant General S.K. Sinha, A Soldier Recalls (New Delhi: Lancer, 1992), p. 102.
30. Papers of Lieutenant General S.P. Thorat, NMML, New Delhi.
31. Narendra Singh Sarila, The Shadow of the Great Game (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2009), p. 350–51. For a jihadi perspective of the tribal invasion, a must read is Major General Akbar Khan’s book Raiders over Kashmir (Karachi: Army Press, 1992).
32. Jaswant Singh, Defending India (Bangalore: Macmillan, 1999), p. 96–98.
33. After extensive research, the most authentic source of information came from the Historical Cell at the Directorate of Operations (Joint Planning), Air HQ, New Delhi. Also see the Operational Record Books of Nos 7, 8, 10 Squadrons, IAF, at the Ministry of Defence, Historical Division, New Delhi. Air Vice Marshal Tiwary puts the total strength of aircraft at sixty-eight Tempest fighters, thirteen Spitfires, thirty Dakotas with barely half a dozen serviceable and about sixty Harvard trainers. See Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 48.
34. Jaswant Singh, Defending India (Bangalore: Macmillan, 1999), p. 96–98.
35. History of the PAF, from
CHAPTER 9: SURPRISE AND RIPOSTE
1. Lieutenant General E.A. Vas, Without Baggage (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 1987), p. 13. This book was published by the author almost forty years after he had written it – it lay in cold storage through the officer’s entire career and was published after he retired.
2. Rohit Singh, ‘Operations in Jammu and Kashmir 1947–48,’ Scholar Warrior (Autumn 2012): p. 134.
3. Joseph Korbel, Danger over Kashmir (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966), p. 73.
4. Ibid., p. 67.
5. In his fairly objective analysis of the reasons for tribal angst on the eve of Partition, Sumit Ganguly in his book The Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pakistani Conflicts since 1947 liberally quotes Joseph Korbel from his book Danger in Kashmir.
6. Ibid.
7. Alastair Lamb, Birth of a Tragedy: Kashmir 1947 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994), p. 123.
8. Srinath Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India (Ranikhet: Permanent Black, 2010), p. 135.
9. Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, Slender Was the Thread (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1969), p. 34–36.
10. Ibid.
11. Rohit Singh, ‘Operations in Jammu and Kashmir 1947–48,’ Scholar Warrior (Autumn 2012): p. 136–38.
12. Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, Slender Was the Thread (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1969), p. 36–38. For the sake of objectivity and a differing viewpoint on the extent of Muslim support for the tribal invasion, Alastair Lamb offers a pro-Pakistan viewpoint in his book The Kashmir Problem. Similarly, Colonel Akbar Khan, the brain behind Operation Gulmarg, offers a fundamentalist and inflammatory opinion justifying the tribal invasion.
13. ‘Capture of Uri,’ The Hindu, 16 November 1947, p. 1. The special correspondent of the United Press of India reported that 30,000 civilians were believed to have been massacred as the raiders first captured Uri and then retreated as they were pushed back by the Indian Army. He went on to report that when the troops of the Union of India entered Uri, they found the town completely devastated and deserted by the raiders.
14. Ibid.
15. C. Dasgupta, War and Diplomacy in Kashmir: 1947–48 (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2002), p. 46.
16. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar (retd), An Incredible War (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2009), p. 355.
17. Ibid.
18. Lieutenant General S.K. Sinha, A Soldier Recalls (New Delhi: Lancer, 1992), p. 99.
19. After Independence, India’s air forces were called the Royal Indian Air Force till the ‘Royal’ prefix was dropped when India became a Republic on 26 January 1950.
20. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar (retd), An Incredible War (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2009), p. 338–39.
21. The Spitfires belonged to the Advanced Training Wing of the IAF at Air Force Station, Ambala. The wing was commanded by Group Captain Arjan Singh, later Marshal of the Air Force.
22. Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, Slender Was the Thread (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1969), p. 47–49.
23. Mandeep Singh Bajwa, ‘1947 Gallantry awaits recognition,’ Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, 19 June 2012,
24. ‘Paltan’ is Hindi for ‘platoon’. However, it does not indicate a number of troops as platoon does, but broadly indicates which regiment a soldier belongs to.
25. Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, In the Line of Duty (New Delhi: Lancer, 2000), p. 195–96. As deputy commander of 161 Brigade, Harbaksh was the aggressive face of the operation.
26. Telephonic conversation with Air Marshal Randhir Singh on 11 October 2013.
27. Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, Slender Was the Thread (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1969), p. 55–57.
28. S.N. Prasad and Dharam Pal, ed., Operations in Jammu and Kashmir 1947–48, an official history sponsored by India’s Ministry of Defence (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2005), p. 34–35.
29. From the School Chronicles of RIMC, Dehradun, the alma mater of Major Somnath Sharma.
30. Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, Slender Was the Thread (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1969), p. 72–75. Also see Rohit Singh, ‘Operations in Jammu and Kashmir 1947–48,’ Scholar Warrior (Autumn 2012): p. 138
31. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar (retd), An Incredible War (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2009), p. 311.
32. Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 43.
33. Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, Slender Was the Thread (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1969), p. 45.
34. Ibid., p. 78–100. While Sen in his book claims to have orchestrated the Battle of Shalateng, an interesting perspective on the Battle of Shalateng is offered by Major General Kuldeep Singh Bajwa in his book Jammu and Kashmir War, 1947–1948: Political and Military Perspective, published by Har Anand Publishers in 2003. Bajwa claims that Harbaksh Singh and not L.P. Sen actually controlled the battle and that the appearance of 7 Cavalry from the rear echelons of the raiders’ position was a result of Lieutenant David losing his way and then finding himself in an advantageous position to surprise them. See p. 130–33. Also see Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, In the Line of Duty (New Delhi: Lancer, 2000), p. 204. Harbaksh writes in his memoir that L.P. Sen came on the scene at the Battle of Shalateng only after the raiders were in full retreat.
35. Mandeep Singh Bajwa, ‘Tempests on the Attack in Kashmir,’ Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, 26 January 2014, available at
36. Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, Slender Was the Thread (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1969), p. 103. Also see Papers of S.P.P. Thorat, ‘Report on Kashmir Massacres,’ NMML, New Delhi. Conducted by Justice J.L. Kalam and Shri Bamzai, 289 Muslims were witness to a spate of massacres of Hindus in Muzaffarabad, Rajouri, Badgam, Teethwal and Handwara.
37. Mongol warlord Timur Lane invaded India in the fourteenth century, plundering and laying waste the city of Delhi before heading back to Central Asia. Nadir Shah was a Persian king who invaded India in 1738–39 and ruled for a year before reinstating Muhammad Shah as a weak Mughal emperor of India. His invasion more or less heralded the rapid decline of the mighty Mughal Empire.
38. These figures have been extrapolated from the squadron operational record books and figures given by Air Marshal Bharat Kumar in his book. See Air Marshal Bharat Kumar (retd), An Incredible War (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2009), p. 311, 332.
39. Major General Akbar Khan, Raiders over Kashmir (Karachi: Army Press, 1992), p. 68. From Narendra Singh Sarila, The Shadow of the Great Game (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2009), p. 352.
40. D.R. Mankekar, Leaves from a War Reporter’s Diary (New Delhi: Vikas Publishers, 1977), p. 152–53.
CHAPTER 10: THE WAR DRAGS ON
1. C. Dasgupta, War and Diplomacy in Kashmir: 1947–48 (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2002), p. 206.
2. For a detailed official record of the siege of Poonch, see Chapter XIII, ‘The Relief of Punch,’ in S.N. Prasad and Dharam Pal, ed., Operations in Jammu and Kashmir: 1947–48 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, Historical Division), p. 238–62.
3. Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, In the Line of Duty (New Delhi: Lancer, 2000), p. 213–17.
4. Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Cohen, Thunder over Kashmir (Bombay: Orient Longman, 1955), p. 19.
5. P.S. Chanana, ‘The Air Warrior Who Knew No Fear,’ The Tribune, Chandigarh, 25 May 2011.
6. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar (retd), An Incredible War (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2009), p. 340. There are conflicting claims that the airstrip was actually a mere 600 yards. See Rana Chhina, The Eagle Strikes: The Royal Indian Air Force, 1932–1950 (New Delhi: Ambi Knowledge Resources), p. 270. Also see Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 55.
7. The operational record book of the single transport squadron of the IAF (12 Squadron) between September 1947 and April 1948 reveals stupendous figures of 3,404 hours flown, three million pounds of supplies flown in or dropped, 4,000 troops transported, 10,000 refugees evacuated and over 1,000 casualties flown out. Also see Air Marshal Bharat Kumar (retd), An Incredible War (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2009), p. 345.
8. Rana Chhina, The Eagle Strikes: The Royal Indian Air Force, 1932–1950 (New Delhi: Ambi Knowledge Resources), p. 271–72.
9. Lieutenant General E.A. Vas, Without Baggage (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 1987), p. 80.
10. Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Cohen, Thunder over Kashmir (Bombay: Orient Longman, 1955), p. 11.
11. Ibid., p. 21. Also see Lieutenant General E.A. Vas, Without Baggage (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 1987), p. 76.
12. Ibid., p. 65.
13. Ibid.
14. Primarily offering a Pakistani perspective on the Kashmir conflict, Joseph Korbel highlights rumours of Dogra atrocities against Muslims in Kashmir as being one of the key precipitants of the tribal invasion of 1947. See Sumit Ganguly, The Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pakistan Conflicts Since 1947 (New Delhi: Vision Books, 1999), p. 42.
15. Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, Slender Was the Thread (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1969), p. 188–91.
16. Rohit Singh, ‘Operations in Jammu and Kashmir 1947–48,’ Scholar Warrior (Autumn 2012): p. 152.
17. Ibid., p. 148.
18. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 65.
19. Ibid.
20. Interview with Air Chief Marshal (retd) Moolgavkar.
21. From the 8 Squadron war diary, Ministry of Defence, Historical Division. Also at
22. Lieutenant General L.P. Sen, Slender Was the Thread (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1969), p. 194.
23. ‘The Relief of Leh,’ at
24. Ibid.
25. War diary of 2/8 Gorkha Rifles, January 1948–December 1960, Ministry of Defence, Historical Division, New Delhi.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. Rohit Singh, ‘Operations in Jammu and Kashmir 1947–48,’ Scholar Warrior (Autumn 2012): p. 148. For a fairly critical analysis of the Indian Army’s attempts to recapture Dras and Kargil and send reinforcements to Skardu in May 1948, see S.N. Prasad and Dharam Pal, ed., Operations in Jammu and Kashmir: 1947–48 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, Historical Division), p. 297–303.
29. ‘Mass Murder in Ladakh Valley – Invaders Swoop Down with Fire and Sword,’ Bombay Chronicle, 23 August 1948, p. 1.
30. Ibid.
31. C.B. Khanduri, Thimayya: An Amazing Life (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2006), p. 131.
32. Bombay Chronicle, 17 August 1948, p. 1.
33. Interview with Air Chief Marshal Moolgavkar, 1 February 2013.
34. C.B. Khanduri, Thimayya: An Amazing Life (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2006), p. 132.
35. In conversation with Jyoti Rai, 1 February 2013.
36. ‘Pakistan Dakota Chased by RIAF,’ The Hindu, API report, 11 November 1948, p. 4. From the NMML archives.
37. Ibid., 119–120.
38. Jyoti Rai, Leading from the Cockpit (New Delhi: The Society for Aerospace Studies, 2010), p. 71–72.
39. For a macro and strategic perspective on the reasons why the British were reluctant to allow India to recapture the whole of Kashmir, see Sumit Ganguly, The Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pakistan Conflicts Since 1947 (New Delhi: Vision Books, 1999), p. 41.
40. A Pakistani perspective in Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 66.
41. ‘Foreign Aid to Pak,’ Bombay Chronicle, 17 August 1948, p. 1.
42. Rohit Singh, ‘Brig Mohammed Usman, MVC, The Lion of Naushera,’ Soldier Scholar (Autumn 2010): p. 156.
43. Ibid., p, 156–161.
44. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar (retd), An Incredible War (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2009), p. 310–15.
45. Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Cohen, Thunder over Kashmir (Bombay: Orient Longman, 1955), p. 54–55.
46. Rohit Singh, ‘Brig Mohammed Usman, MVC, The Lion of Naushera,’ Soldier Scholar (Autumn 2010): p. 159.
47. 10 Squadron Operational Record Book (2010), Ministry of Defence, Historical Division, New Delhi.
48. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar (retd), An Incredible War (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2009), p. 321.
49. 7 Squadron Operational Record Book, October 1948, Ministry of Defence, Historical Division, New Delhi.
50. From the Madras Engineering Group Archives at the Regimental Centre in Bangalore.
51. C.B. Khanduri, Thimayya: An Amazing Life (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2006), p. 130–134. Also see S.N. Prasad and Dharam Pal, ed., Operations in Jammu and Kashmir: 1947–48 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, Historical Division), p. 356–358.
52. ‘New Offensive in Kashmir. Thrust through Zojila Pass: RIAF Support for Ground Forces,’ The Hindu, 17 November 1948, p. 3.
53. Ibid.
54. For a description of the Dakota-aided fighter strikes, see Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 64–66.
55. Also see Official History of the 1947–48 India-Pakistan Conflict (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence), p. 340–42.
56. Lieutenant General E.A. Vas, Without Baggage (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 1987), p. 163–166.
57. Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Cohen, Thunder over Kashmir (Bombay: Orient Longman, 1955), p. 110.
CHAPTER 11: GUNS FALL SILENT
1. Sumit Ganguly, The Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pakistan Conflicts since 1947 (New Delhi: Vision Books, 1999), p. 37.
2. Lieutenant General E.A. Vas, Without Baggage (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 1987), p. 111. For a review of the deployment of Pak regular forces in the autumn of 1948, see S.N. Prasad and Dharampal, ed., Operations in Jammu and Kashmir 1947–48, an official history sponsored by India’s Ministry of Defence (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2005), p. 367.
3. ‘High Ranking British Officers in Enemy Lines,’ Bombay Chronicle, API report, 6 September 1948, p. 1. Also see Bombay Chronicle, 30 August 1948, p. 1.
4. Major General Akbar Khan, Raiders over Kashmir (Karachi: Army Press, 1992), p. 12–16. Also see Sumit Ganguly, The Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pakistan Conflicts since 1947 (New Delhi: Vision Books, 1999), 39–42.
5. ‘Secret Military Preparations in NWFP,’ Bombay Chronicle, 3 September 1948, p. 1.
6. Bombay Chronicle, 20 September 1948, p. 7.
7. For an objective analysis of the various UN initiatives on Kashmir in 1948, see Srinath Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India (Ranikhet: Permanent Black, 2010). For a perspective sympathetic to Pakistan, see Joseph Korbel, Danger over Kashmir (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966).
8. ‘Invaders Plan Foiled in Kashmir: No Material Gain after 10 Months Operations in the Valley,’ Bombay Chronicle, 25 August 1948, p. 7.
9. ‘Misleading Reports in US Press,’ Bombay Chronicle, 1 December 1948, p. 4.
10. ‘Resolve to Stand by India,’ Bombay Chronicle, 16 August 1948, p. 2.
11. Srinath Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India (Ranikhet: Permanent Black, 2010), p. 147.
12. Steven Wilkinson, Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2015), p. 204.
13. Interaction with Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar at his residence on 30 July 2015.
14. Interview with Lord Mountbatten by B.R. Nanda on 26 July 1967, NMML Oral History Project.
15. Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 52.
16. ‘DEP Redesignated as Western Command,’ Bombay Chronicle, 6 November 1948, p. 1.
17. IAF Historical Cell, Air HQ.
18. ‘First Year of Freedom: India through Western Eyes,’ Bombay Chronicle, 24 August 1948, p. 8.
19. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 379–80, an official history of the ministry of defence.
20. Ibid.
CHAPTER 12: LIBERATING HYDERABAD
1. After signing the Standstill Agreement with the Nizam of Hyderabad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel met with Qasim Razvi, the militant leader of the Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, and reacted strongly when Rizvi indicated that Hyderabad would fight tooth and nail if attacked by Indian forces. From K.M. Munshi, The End of an Era (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1957), p. 72.
2. Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi (London: Pan Macmillan, 2007), p. 45.
3. Ibid., p. 46.
4. Ibid., p. 49.
5. Rajmohan Gandhi, Patel: A Life (New Delhi: Navajivan, 1991), p. 292.
6. Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945–50 (New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing, 1986), p. 98
7. Ibid.
8. Operational Record Book of No. 8 Squadron RIAF, Ministry of Defence, Historical Division, New Delhi.
9. Ibid.
10. Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi (London: Pan Macmillan, 2007), p. 51.
11. Farzana Sheikh, ‘Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: In Pursuit of an Asian Pakistan,’ in Ramachandra Guha, ed., Makers of Modern Asia (Cambridge: The Belknapp Press, 2014), p. 269.
12. John Keay, India: A History from the Earliest Civilizations to the Boom of the Twenty-first Century (London: Harper Press, 2010), p. 512.
13. S.N. Prasad, Operation Polo: The Police Action against Hyderabad 1948 (New Delhi: Historical Section, Ministry of Defence, 1972), p. 4.
14. Operation Polo, at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation Polo.
15. S.N. Prasad, Operation Polo: The Police Action against Hyderabad 1948 (New Delhi: Historical Section, Ministry of Defence, 1972), p. 9.
16. ‘First Year of Freedom: India through Western Eyes,’ Bombay Chronicle, 24 August 1948, p. 6.
17. ‘The New Hyderabad,’ Bombay Chronicle, 14 September 1948, p. 6.
18. S.N. Prasad, Operation Polo: The Police Action against Hyderabad 1948 (New Delhi: Historical Section, Ministry of Defence, 1972), p. 22.
19. Ibid., p. 26.
20. Operation Polo, at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation Polo.
21. ‘Razakars Attack Village on Berar and Razakars loot Nanded Border,’ Bombay Chronicle, 17 August 1948, p. 8.
22. Ibid.
23. ‘Reds Attack Nizam’s State Railway Stations,’ Bombay Chronicle, 18 August 1948, p. 8.
24. ‘Razakar Orgies at Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur,’ Bombay Chronicle, 24 August 1948, p. 7.
25. Josy Joseph, ‘Hyd Nizam Said: Gandhi an old Fool,’ The Times of India, 2 August 2013, p. 12.
26. ‘Nizam to Seek UN Intervention,’ Bombay Chronicle, 20 August 1948, p. 1.
27. Bombay Chronicle, 11 and 13 September 1948.
28. Bombay Chronicle, 14 September 1948, p. 4. Some of the finest and most objective details of the initial days of the campaign can be found in this newspaper, which established a fine legacy of military reporting in all of India’s initial conflicts.
29. Ibid.
30. S.N. Prasad, Operation Polo: The Police Action against Hyderabad 1948 (New Delhi: Historical Section, Ministry of Defence, 1972), p. 51.
31. Ibid.
32. For a detailed overview of all the forces involved, see S.N. Prasad, Operation Polo: The Police Action against Hyderabad 1948 (New Delhi: Historical Section, Ministry of Defence, 1972), Appendix III to Appendix X, p. 126–78.
33. White Paper on Hyderabad from Bombay Chronicle some time in September 1948.
34. ‘Where is the Nizam’s Air Force,’ Bombay Chronicle, 17 September 1948, p. 1.
35. ‘Reserve Officers in South Summoned,’ Bombay Chronicle, 17 September 1948, p. 1.
36. ‘Nizam Surrenders to Indian Union,’ Bombay Chronicle, 18 September 1948, p. 1.
37. ‘Hyderabad on the Brink,’ Bombay Chronicle, 8 September 2013, p. 8. Also see, Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, September 1948, at NMML.
38. Srinath Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India (Ranikhet: Permanent Black, 2010), p. 98–100. Also see A.G. Noorani, ‘Of a Massacre Untold,’ Frontline, Vol. 18, No. 5 (3–16 March 2001), available at www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1805/18051130.htm (accessed 10 September 2013).
39. Ibid., p. 100.
40. Ibid.
CHAPTER 13: SEIZING GOA
1. In a speech in the Rajya Sabha in September 1957, from The Economic and Political Weekly, 21 September 1957. The procrastination of the Government of India after such aggressive pronouncements by its PM reveals Nehru’s reluctance to use force, even if it was against the last vestiges of colonialism in India. Excerpts of the speech are available at
2. Bipin Chandra, History of Modern India (Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan, 2009), p. 37. Also see P.D. Gaitonde, The Liberation of Goa: A Participant’s View of History (London: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 3.
3. Ibid., p. 57.
4. P.D. Gaitonde, The Liberation of Goa: A Participant’s View of History (London: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 2–3.
5. Satya Mitra Dubey, ‘Dr Ram Manohar Lohia: A Rebel Socialist and Visionary,’ Mainstream, Vol. XLIX, No. 13 (19 March 2011), available at
6. P.D. Gaitonde, The Liberation of Goa: A Participant’s View of History (London: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 58. Also see Arthur G. Rubinoff, India’s Use of Force in Goa (Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971), p. 2.
7. P.D. Gaitonde, The Liberation of Goa: A Participant’s View of History (London: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 102–04.
8. John Keay, India: A History from the Earliest Civilizations to the Boom of the Twenty-first Century (London: Harper Press, 2010), p. 534.
9. Arthur G. Rubinoff, India’s Use of Force in Goa (Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971), p. 63–64.
10. Ibid.
11. P.D. Gaitonde, The Liberation of Goa: A Participant’s View of History (London: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 108.
12. Arthur G. Rubinoff, India’s Use of Force in Goa (Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971), p. 56.
13. P.D. Gaitonde, The Liberation of Goa: A Participant’s View of History (London: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 154. Also see Arthur G. Rubinoff, India’s Use of Force in Goa (Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971), p. 78–80.
14. John Keay, India: A History from the Earliest Civilizations to the Boom of the Twenty-first Century (London: Harper Press, 2010), p. 534.
15. Arthur G. Rubinoff, India’s Use of Force in Goa (Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971), p. 57.
16. Ibid., p. 67–69.
17. Ibid., p. 102
18. P.N. Khera, Operation Vijay: The Liberation of Goa (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1974), p. 40.
19. Group Captain Kapil Bhargava, Operations at Diu: The One Day War, available at www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/1961Goa/1013-Diu.html (accessed 28 October 2013).
20. P.N. Khera, Operation Vijay: The Liberation of Goa (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1974), p. 9.
21. Ibid., p. 38.
22. Ramachandra Guha, ‘Kripalani versus Menon,’ The Hindu, 1 August 2004, available at
23. P.N. Khera, Operation Vijay: The Liberation of Goa (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1974), p. 57.
24. For a detailed break-up of forces and threat assessment, see P.N. Khera, Operation Vijay: The Liberation of Goa (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1974), p. 46 and Appendix 1 at p. 145, which highlights the essentials of an appreciation by Lieutenant General J.N. Chaudhuri submitted to the Government of India on 10 November 1961.
25. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunhiraman\_Palat\_Candeth. Also see an obituary: ‘K.P. Candeth Dead,’ The Hindu, 20 May 2003, available at
26. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaskar\_Sadashiv\_Soman (accessed 10 December 2013).
27. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961\_Indian\_annexation\_of\_Goa (accessed 10 December 2013).
28. P.N. Khera, Operation Vijay: The Liberation of Goa (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1974), p. 129. Also see
29. Ibid., p. 70–73.
30. Interview with Admiral Nadkarni.
31. P.N. Khera, Operation Vijay: The Liberation of Goa (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1974), p. 117.
32. Ibid., p. 100–02.
33. Group Captain Kapil Bhargava, ‘Operations at Diu: The One Day War,’ available at www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1961Goa/1013-Diu.html (accessed 14 December 2013).
34. Ibid.
35. Interview with Admiral Nadkarni.
36. P.N. Khera, ‘Casualties during Operation Vijay’, Operation Vijay: The Liberation of Goa (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1974), p. 238.
37. Major General D.K. Palit (retd), War in the High Himalayas: The Indian Army in Crisis, 1962 (New Delhi: Lancer, 1991), p. 143–44. Readers may wonder how Goa figured in a book about the 1962 war with China. The book has a chapter on Operation Vijay, the military operation to liberate Goa in December 1961, the same time as things were hotting up along the India–China border.
38. Ibid., p. 111.
39. Brian Cloughley, A History of the Pakistan Army (New Delhi: Lancer, 1999), p. 59.
CHAPTER 14: UNRAVELLING THE FRONTIER WITH CHINA
1. Dr Uma Bhatt and Dr Shekhar Pathak, On the Back of Asia (Nainital: People’s Association for Himalayan Area Research, 2007). The original in Hindi is titled Asia ki Peeth Par. Also see a review of the book at
2. Major General D.K. Palit (retd), War in the High Himalayas: The Indian Army in Crisis (New Delhi: Lancer, 1991), p. 28–38. Also see Bertil Lintner, Great Game East: India, China and the Struggle for Asia’s Volatile Frontier (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2012), p. 10–12.
3. Extracted from Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, Vol. VII (1885): p. 75, available at
4. Shyam G. Menon, ‘Walking with Nain Singh,’ The Hindu, 2 February 2013, at
5. Harish Kapadia, ‘A Trek in Tawang Tract,’ The Himalayan Journal, No. 60 (2004), available at
6. Michael Ward, ‘Early Exploration of Kanchenjunga and South Tibet,’ The Alpine Journal (2001): p. 191, at http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents\_2001\_files/AJ%202001%20191- 196%20Ward%20Kangchenjunga.pdf (accessed 21 February 2015).
7. Ibid. Also see
8. ‘Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakshi PVSM, MVC, VrC, VSM, India’s most decorated General,’ from
9. For a detailed study of the Aksai Chin region from a historical perspective, see Margaret W. Fisher, Leo E. Rose and Robert A. Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground: Sino-Indian Rivalry in Ladakh (New York: Praeger, 1963), p. 98–128.
10. Dr P.B. Sinha and Colonel A.A. Athale, S.N. Prasad (chief editor), History of the Conflict with China, 1962 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1992), p. 2, available at
11. Chumar is an area that has seen a face-off between Indian and Chinese troops as recently as in June 2013. China protested against the construction of bunkers and installation of surveillance cameras, an act that greatly irked them. Chinese troops went on to smash those cameras till a flag meeting was held to reduce the tension. For a detailed report on the Chumar incident see, ‘China-India face off at Chumar post on June 17,’ The Times of India, 12 July 2013, available at
12. The simplest description of the Sino-Indian border dispute with clear maps is available in Alastair Lamb, The China-India Border: The Origins of the Disputed Territories (London: Oxford University Press, 1964), p. 5–12. However, much in tune with his pro-Pakistan stance, he has underplayed the ceding of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir territory to China by General Ayub Khan in 1963. For a detailed review of this event and other Sino-Pak collusive border transgressions in Kashmir, see Pradeep Katoch, ‘Himalayan Plunder,’ Centre for Land Warfare, Article 2288, 2 January 2013, available at
13. For a detailed military review of General Zorawar’s exploits, see Major General G.D. Bakshi (retd), Footprints in the Snow (New Delhi: Lancer, 2008).
14.
15. Alfred P. Rubin, ‘The Sino-Indian Border Disputes,’ The International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1 (January 1960): p. 96–125.
16. Bipin Chandra, History of Modern India (Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan, 2009), p. 83.
17. Ibid.
18. Alastair Lamb, The China-India Border: The Origins of the Disputed Territories (London: Oxford University Press, 1964), p. 60. For the full text of a letter from Lord Hardinge, the British viceroy, to the Chinese authorities in Tibet after signing the Lahore Declaration, see Appendix I of the same book, p. 177–79.
19. Major General D.K. Palit (retd), War in the High Himalayas: The Indian Army in Crisis (New Delhi: Lancer, 1991), p. 23. Also see, Neville Maxwell, India’s China War (London: Cape, 1970), p. 28.
20. Michael Ward, ‘The Pundits beyond the Pamir: The Forsythe Mission of 1870 and 1873,’ The Alpine Journal (2003): p. 203–04, available at www.alpinejournal.org (accessed 3 October 2013).
21. Bertil Lintner, Great Game East: India, China and the Struggle for Asia’s Volatile Frontier (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2012), p. 10.
22. Alastair Lamb, The China-India Border: The Origins of the Disputed Territories (London: Oxford University Press, 1964), p. 14.
23. Margaret W. Fisher, Leo E. Rose and Robert A. Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground: Sino-Indian Rivalry in Ladakh (New York: Praeger, 1963), p. 98–100.
24. Alastair Lamb, The China-India Border: The Origins of the Disputed Territories (London: Oxford University Press, 1964), p. 61–62.
25. Ibid., p. 107.
26. The region of Aksai Chin then fell within the British Empire if one were to consider this frontier.
27. Ibid.
28. Bertil Lintner, Great Game East: India, China and the Struggle for Asia’s Volatile Frontier (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2012), p. 12.
29. Sir Francis Younghusband, India and Tibet (London: John Murray, 1910), p. 96–97. The book is a treasure trove of historical information on Sikkim, Nepal and Tibet of the early twentieth century. It is also a saga of courage as the expedition braved the vagaries of nature to enter Tibet through the Chumbi Valley.
CHAPTER 15: SPARRING AND PROBING
1. From correspondence between General Thimayya and Romesh Thapar soon after the India–China war of 1962, NMML Archives, accessed January 2013.
2. The Panchsheel Agreement between India and China was signed with much fanfare at the Bandung Conference in 1954 and laid down five tenets of peaceful coexistence between India and China. These were mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence.
3. Claude Arpi, 1962 and the McMahon Line Saga (Atlanta: Lancer, 2013), p. 430.
4. Ibid., p. 434.
5. Ibid.
6. Dr P.B. Sinha and Colonel A.A. Athale, S.N. Prasad (chief editor), History of the Conflict with China, 1962 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1992), p. 52–59. Zhou Enlai was skilful and consummate in his letters to Nehru, hoping that India would realize in time that they would not be able to cope with Chinese aggression.
7. Mandeep Singh Bajwa, ‘General Nath’s Recce in Aksai Chin,’ Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, 22 January 2013, available at
8. C.B. Khanduri, Thimayya: An Amazing Life (New Delhi, KW Publishers, 2006), p. 222.
9. Ibid., p. 213–215.
10. John Garver, ‘China’s Decision for War with India in 1962,’ in Robert S. Ross and Alastair Iain Johnston, ed., New Approaches to the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy (Stanford University Press, 2005). From a PDF extract of the chapter (p.4) taken from
11. Ibid., p. 13.
12. Ibid., p. 10–11.
13. Ibid., p. 32.
14. R.D. Pradhan, Debacle to Revival: Y.B. Chavan as Defence Minister, 1962–65 (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1999), p. 2.
15. Neville Maxwell, India’s China War (London: Cape, 1970), p. 110.
16. For a detailed analysis of India–China diplomacy during those turbulent times, also see Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi (London: Pan Macmillan, 2007), p. 301–21. For a biased China-centric view see Neville Maxwell, India’s China War (London: Cape, 1970). For Nehru’s perspective on his attempts to diplomatically resolve the boundary impasse, see S. Gopal, ed., Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vol. 14 (New Delhi: Orient Longman).
17. For a detailed general review of Thimayya’s resignation drama, see C.B. Khanduri, Thimayya: An Amazing Life (New Delhi, KW Publishers, 2006), p. 282–95. The episode reveals the deep and debilitating schisms that existed within the politico-military interface of the time because of the dominating and condescending approach of Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon towards senior military leadership.
18. Ibid.
19. For a detailed analysis of the Forward Policy, see Major General D.K. Palit (retd), War in the High Himalayas: The Indian Army in Crisis (New Delhi: Lancer, 1991), p. 90–100. Also see Major General Jagjit Singh, While the Memory Is Fresh (New Delhi: Lancer, 2006), p. 101–10.
20. The Indian Army’s operational dissent to the Forward Policy is well chronicled by Neville Maxwell, India’s China War (London: Cape, 1970), p. 199–205.
21. Dr P.B. Sinha and Colonel A.A. Athale, S.N. Prasad (chief editor), History of the Conflict with China, 1962 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1992), p. 343–46.
22. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 100–106.
23. The IAF and the Indian Army had calculated that to sustain the Forward Policy in the east a monthly airlift of 2,200, tons was the bare minimum required. Despite its best efforts the IAF could manage an average of only 1,200 tons a month. If one factors in the 25–30 per cent loss due to the small size of the dropping zones and narrow valleys, the airlift was woefully inadequate. See Dr P.B. Sinha and Colonel A.A. Athale, S.N. Prasad (chief editor), History of the Conflict with China, 1962 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1992), p. 353.
24. Interview with Squadron Leader Baldev Raj Gulati (retd) on 17 October 2014. A highly experienced navigator, Gulati remains till today a bitter man about India’s defeat in 1962 and retains vivid recollections of the conflict which he shares very willingly.
25. John Garver, ‘China’s Decision for War with India in 1962,’ in Robert S. Ross and Alastair Iain Johnston, ed., New Approaches to the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy (Stanford University Press, 2005), p. 35.
26. Larry M. Wortzel, ‘Concentrating Forces and Audacious Action: PLA Lessons from the Sino-Indian War,’ in Laurie Burkitt, Andrew Scobell and Larry Wortzel, ed., The Lessons of History: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army at 75 (US Army War College Monograph, 2003), p. 336.
CHAPTER 16: OMINOUS SIGNS
1. Jonathan Holstag, ‘China’s Rise and the Use of Force: A Historical and Geopolitical Perspective,’ Chapter 1, Adelphi Series, Vol. 50, No. 416, p. 19–28, available at
2. Larry M. Wortzel, ‘Concentrating Forces and Audacious Action: PLA Lessons from the Sino-Indian War,’ in Laurie Burkitt, Andrew Scobell and Larry Wortzel, ed., The Lessons of History: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army at 75 (US Army War College Monograph, 2003), p. 341.
3. For a detailed rationale of why the IB was put in charge of the defence of eastern Ladakh, see B.N. Mullick, My Years with Nehru (Bombay: Allied Publishers, 1973). The essence of Mullick’s argument that it was sufficient to have stray patrols by IB teams in eastern Ladakh, rather than have the army deployed there in numbers, pointed at a Pakistan-centric threat analysis in Ladakh. Therefore, the army was asked to concentrate on western Ladakh (Kargil and Dras) and leave eastern Ladakh to the IB. Mullick completely overestimated the military potential of the IB!
4. Major General S.V. Thapliyal (retd), ‘Battle for Eastern Ladakh: 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict,’ http:// www.usiofindia.org/Article/?pubno=5608&ano=482# (accessed on 10 August 2013).
5. C.B. Khanduri, Thimayya: An Amazing Life (New Delhi, KW Publishers, 2006), p. 233–38.
6. Ibid., p. 296–97.
7. B.G. Verghese, ‘50 Years After 1962: A Personal Memoir,’ from a presentation delivered at the India International Centre, Subbu Forum, SPS Round Table on ‘50 Years after 1962: Recall and Review’ on 6 September 2012, available at southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=yearsafter&nid=3844 (accessed 28 November 2014).
8. Also see Dr P.B. Sinha and Colonel A.A. Athale, S.N. Prasad (chief editor), History of the Conflict with China, 1962 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1992), p. xxii.
9. Major General D.K. Palit (retd), War in the High Himalayas: The Indian Army in Crisis (New Delhi: Lancer, 1991), p. 179. Also see p. 247–55.
10. For a complete deployment in the Ladakh sector, see Major General S.V. Thapliyal, ‘Battle of Eastern Ladakh: 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict’ at
11. For a detailed tactical deployment, see Dr P.B. Sinha and Colonel A.A. Athale, S.N. Prasad (chief editor), History of the Conflict with China, 1962 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1992), p. 67–73.
12. Major General S.V. Thapliyal, ‘Battle of Eastern Ladakh: 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict’ at
13. Ibid.
14. Larry M. Wortzel, ‘Concentrating Forces and Audacious Action: PLA Lessons from the Sino-Indian War,’ in Laurie Burkitt, Andrew Scobell and Larry Wortzel, ed., The Lessons of History: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army at 75 (US Army War College Monograph, 2003), p. 339.
15. Major General Jagjit Singh, While the Memory Is Fresh (New Delhi: Lancer, 2006), p. 330.
16. Brigadier J.P. Dalvi, Himalayan Blunder (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 1969).
17. A PLA regiment was equivalent to an Indian Army brigade in terms of combat potential.
18. Interview with Air Marshal Vinod Patney on 2 June 2013. The air marshal was a young flying officer and posted at Tezpur during the conflict.
19. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, Unknown and Unsung: Indian Air Force in Sino-Indian War of 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013).
20. See R. Sukumaran, ‘The 1962 India-China War and Kargil 1999: Restrictions on the Use of Air Power,’ Strategic Analysis, Vol. 27, No. 3 (July–September 2003): p. 332–55. Also see Arjun Subramaniam, ‘Clearing the Air,’ The Indian Express, New Delhi, 21 October 2012, p. 2.
21. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, Unknown and Unsung: Indian Air Force in Sino-Indian War of 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 39.
22. Telephonic conversation with Air Marshal Randhir Singh in October 2014. He revealed during that interview that he was asked to assume command of 106 Squadron after it had one aircraft shot down over Pakistan in 1959 during a clandestine intrusive mission.
23. Air Marshal S. Raghavendran, Panther Red One (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 141.
24. Ibid., p. 187.
25. Ibid., p. 83–84. Also see R. Sukumaran, ‘The 1962 India-China War and Kargil 1999: Restrictions on the Use of Air Power,’ Strategic Analysis, Vol. 27, No. 3 (July–September 2003): p. 333. Also see S.N. Prasad, ed., History of the Conflict with China, 1962 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1992), p. 356–57.
26. A detachment of Canberra reconnaissance and bomber aircraft from Agra was moved to Tezpur and worked in close liaison with HQ 4 Corps. Also see Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, Unknown and Unsung: Indian Air Force in Sino-Indian War of 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), IAF deployment map, p. 95.
27. Ibid.
28. Interview with Air Marshal Patney on 2 June 2013.
29. Ibid.
30. An operational assessment from Air HQ sounded extreme caution with regard to close air support (CAS) in NEFA. However, it is surprising that the same report does not mention that CAS in Ladakh could be a worthwhile proposition. Also see R. Sukumaran, ‘The 1962 India-China War and Kargil 1999: Restrictions on the Use of Air Power,’ Strategic Analysis, Vol. 27, No. 3 (July–September 2003): p. 337.
31. Asher Lee, The Russian and Chinese Air Forces, Brasseys Annual – The Armed Forces Yearbook (London: William Clowes and Sons, 1963), p. 97–99. Also see R. Sukumaran, ‘The 1962 India-China War and Kargil 1999: Restrictions on the Use of Air Power,’ Strategic Analysis, Vol. 27, No. 3 (July–September 2003): p. 335–336.
32. Most of the twenty-odd airfields in Tibet were at altitudes of above 3,500 m, with some as high as 4,500 m.
33. Also see Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, ‘No Use of Air Power in 1962,’ Indian Defence Review, Vol. 21, No. 3 (July–September 2006), available at
34. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, Unknown and Unsung: Indian Air Force in Sino-Indian War of 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 103–10.
35. Ibid.
36. Ibid., p. 130–33.
37. Dr P.B. Sinha and Colonel A.A. Athale, S.N. Prasad (chief editor), History of the Conflict with China, 1962 (New Delhi: Ministry of Defence, 1992), p. 353–55.
38. B.G. Verghese, ‘50 Years After 1962: A Personal Memoir,’ from a presentation delivered at the India International Centre, Subbu Forum, SPS Round Table on ‘50 Years after 1962: Recall and Review’ on 6 September 2012, available at southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=yearsafter&nid=3844 (accessed 28 November 2014).
39. John Garver, ‘China’s Decision for War with India in 1962,’ in Robert S. Ross and Alastair Iain Johnston, ed., New Approaches to the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy (Stanford University Press, 2005).
40. Major General D.K. Palit (retd), War in the High Himalayas: The Indian Army in Crisis (New Delhi: Lancer, 1991), p. 178.
41. Lieutenant Colonel Gautam Sharma, Valour and Sacrifice: Famous Regiments of the Indian Army (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990), p. 170–71.
42. For a detailed analysis of the Namka Chu battle see Major General P.J.S. Sandhu (retd), ‘1962 – The Battle of Namka Chu and the Fall of Tawang (A View from the Other Side of the Hill)’, USI Journal, New Delhi (April–June 2013): p. 271–89.
43. Neville Maxwell, India’s China War (London: Cape, 1970), p. 303–09.
44. John Garver, ‘China’s Decision for War with India in 1962,’ in Robert S. Ross and Alastair Iain Johnston, ed., New Approaches to the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy (Stanford University Press, 2005), p. 48.
45. Ibid., p. 49.
46. Major General D.K. Palit (retd), War in the High Himalayas: The Indian Army in Crisis (New Delhi: Lancer, 1991), p. 224–25.
47. John Garver, ‘China’s Decision for War with India in 1962,’ in Robert S. Ross and Alastair Iain Johnston, ed., New Approaches to the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy (Stanford University Press, 2005), p. 55.
48. Neville Maxwell, India’s China War (London: Cape, 1970), p. 335–40.
49. Major General P.J.S. Sandhu (retd), ‘1962 – The Battle of Namka Chu and the Fall of Tawang (A View from the Other Side of the Hill)’, USI Journal, New Delhi (April–June 2013): p. 283.
50. Zhou Enlai at an expanded Politburo meeting on 18 October. See John Garver, ‘China’s Decision for War with India in 1962,’ in Robert S. Ross and Alastair Iain Johnston, ed., New Approaches to the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy (Stanford University Press, 2005), p. 59.
51. Registering is a military term that denotes the process of attempting to exactly ascertain the coordinates of a tactical location by firing a few artillery rounds, and then validating the accuracy with visual confirmation, either from a vantage location on ground, or from an aerial reconnaissance platform like a helicopter.
52. See Major J.S. Rathore (retd), ‘Memoirs of a Prisoner of War: Sino Indian War of 1962,’ USI Journal (January–March 2014): p. 128–29. The officer was part of 17 Para Field Regiment who was captured during the battle of Namku Chu and remained a prisoner for over nineteen months.
53. Lieutenant Colonel Gautam Sharma, Valour and Sacrifice: Famous Regiments of the Indian Army (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990), p. 142–43.
54. Ibid.
55. Major General P.J.S. Sandhu (retd), ‘1962 – The Battle of Namka Chu and the Fall of Tawang (A View from the Other Side of the Hill)’, USI Journal, New Delhi (April–June 2013): p. 283.
56. Major General D.K. Palit (retd), War in the High Himalayas: The Indian Army in Crisis (New Delhi: Lancer, 1991), p. 242.
57. For a detailed and poignant defence of 7 Brigade’s performance in the battle of Namka Chu, see Brigadier J.P. Dalvi, Himalayan Blunder (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 1969). Major portions of the book were written by Brigadier Dalvi during his six months as a POW after his brigade was run over by a massive Chinese assault on 20 October 1962.
58. Mandeep Singh Bajwa, ‘The Hero of Battle of IB Ridge,’ Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, 23 October 2012, available at
59. An aggressive right-wing opposition with scanty knowledge of the operational situation on ground did not leave any political space for Nehru to negotiate with China after the humiliating experiences of the first few days of the war. Instead, he continued to harp on ‘throwing the Chinese out’. It was clear that political wisdom and sagacity was replaced by nationalistic warmongering.
60. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 95.
61. ‘Battle of Walong: 18 Oct-16 Nov 1962,’ www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1962War/Walong,html (accessed 2 September, 2013). Also see Lieutenant Colonel Gautam Sharma, Valour and Sacrifice: Famous Regiments of the Indian Army (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990), p. 281–82 and Major General D.K. Palit (retd), War in the High Himalayas: The Indian Army in Crisis (New Delhi: Lancer, 1991), p. 299.
62. See note 23 in the previous chapter describing the perils of air dropping in the Eastern Sector.
63. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, Unknown and Unsung: Indian Air Force in Sino-Indian War of 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 181.
64. Ibid., p. 175.
65. Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 73–76. Tiwary offers a detailed account of the events of 20 October.
66. A passionate account of the exploits of 110 HU has been written by Air Commodore Melville Rego, who was a young engineering officer in the unit during the battle of Walong. See Air Commodore Mellvile C. Rego, ‘In the Line of Fire – 110 Helicopter Unit,’
67. Major General S.V. Thapliyal (retd), ‘Battle for Eastern Ladakh: 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict,’ http:// www.usiofindia.org/Article/?pubno=5608&ano=482# (accessed on 10 August 2013).
68. Lieutenant Colonel Gautam Sharma, Valour and Sacrifice: Famous Regiments of the Indian Army (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990), p. 170.
69. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, Unknown and Unsung: Indian Air Force in Sino-Indian War of 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 257.
70. Ibid., p. 245.
CHAPTER 17: DEFEAT
1. John Garver, ‘China’s Decision for War with India in 1962,’ in Robert S. Ross and Alastair Iain Johnston, ed., New Approaches to the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy (Stanford University Press, 2005), p. 3.
2. Jaidev Singh Datta, Recollections of the Sela Bodila Debacle 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 30–33.
3. Major General P.J.S. Sandhu (retd), ‘1962 – The Battle of Namka Chu and the Fall of Tawang (A View from the Other Side of the Hill)’, USI Journal, New Delhi (April–June 2013): p. 277.
4. Interview with Squadron Leader Gulati, 17 October 2014.
5. Jaidev Singh Datta, Recollections of the Sela Bodila Debacle 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), Order of Battle – Chinese Army, p. 127–32.
6. Ibid., p. 149–65. Also see Lieutenant Colonel Gautam Sharma, Valour and Sacrifice: Famous Regiments of the Indian Army (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990), p. 255.
7. Ibid. Taken from the chapter ‘Chinese Offensive’. The main source for this material, according to the author, was from an official Chinese book China’s War of Self Defence Counter Attack on India published by the Academy of Military Sciences, Beijing, 1994.
8. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, Unknown and Unsung: Indian Air Force in Sino-Indian War of 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 249.
9. B.G. Verghese, ‘50 Years After 1962: A Personal Memoir,’ from a presentation delivered at the India International Centre, Subbu Forum, SPS Round Table on ‘50 Years after 1962: Recall and Review’ on 6 September 2012, available at southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=yearsafter&nid=3844 (accessed 28 November 2014).
10. Harbaksh Singh felt that offering resistance at Walong was a sure recipe for disaster and tried to convince his superiors to develop Hayuliang as the main defence, but he was overruled by Delhi. See Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, In the Line of Duty (New Delhi: Lancer, 2000), p. 312.
11. L.N. Subramaniam, ‘Battle of Walong: 18 October–16 November 1962,’
12. Ibid.
13. Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, Unknown and Unsung: Indian Air Force in Sino-Indian War of 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 237.
14. Major General S.V. Thapliyal (retd), ‘Battle for Eastern Ladakh: 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict,’ http://www.usiofindia.org/Article/?pubno=5608&ano=482# (accessed on 10 August 2013). Also see Air Marshal Bharat Kumar, Unknown and Unsung: Indian Air Force in Sino-Indian War of 1962 (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 264–66.
15. Conversation with Lieutenant General Rustam Nanavatty on 10 November 2013.
16. Lieutenant Colonel Gautam Sharma, Valour and Sacrifice: Famous Regiments of the Indian Army (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1990), p. 279–80. Also see Major General S.V. Thapliyal (retd), ‘Battle for Eastern Ladakh: 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict,’ http:// www.usiofindia.org/Article/?pubno=5608&ano=482# (accessed on 10 August 2013). Numerous accounts are available on this epic battle. Also see Battle Honours section at the Kumaon Regimental Centre, Ranikhet.
17. Colonel N.N. Bhatia (retd), ‘1962 – War in the Western Sector (Ladakh),’ USI Journal (January–March 2014): p. 134–37.
18. Interview with Group Captain M. Murdeshwar on 15 March 2015 at Pune. The author cross-checked the reference to the sortie in his well-preserved logbook.
19. Geoffrey Blainey, The Causes of War (New York: The Free Press, 1988), p. 50.
20. The Henderson Brooks Report is a still a ‘Top Secret’ report on operational aspects of the 1962 war. It has not been declassified, supposedly because its contents may have a detrimental effect on the morale of India’s armed forces. More importantly, it may also reveal the complete absence of apportioning any blame for the debacle elsewhere.
21. ‘Hardening of Troops for War – February 1944,’ distributed by the manager of publications, Government of India, with a caption: This document must not fall into the hands of the enemy.
22. Ibid.
23. Assorted email correspondence from friends who wanted to help and contribute to the chapter.
24. Major General P.J.S. Sandhu (retd), ‘1962 – The Battle of Namka Chu and the Fall of Tawang (A View from the Other Side of the Hill),’ USI Journal, New Delhi (April–June 2013): p. 289. According to Sandhu, 832 Indian soldiers of all ranks were killed in the battles of Namka Chu and Tawang against just 115 killed on the Chinese side.
25. Laurie Burkitt, Andrew Scobell and Larry M. Wortzel, ed., The Lessons of History: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army at 75 (US Army War College, 2003), available at
26. Ibid, p. 327–46.
27. Directorate of Military Intelligence, Japanese in Battle, Part 1, Enemy Method (New Delhi: Manager Publications, Government of India, 1943).
28. Major J.S. Rathore (retd), ‘Memoirs of a Prisoner of War: Sino-Indian War of 1962,’ USI Journal (January-March 2014): p. 132–33.
29. Interview with Squadron Leader Gulati.
30. Major J.S. Rathore (retd), ‘Memoirs of a Prisoner of War: Sino-Indian War of 1962,’ USI Journal (January-March 2014): p. 133.
31. While the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, puts Indian losses at 1,383 soldiers killed, 1,696 missing, 1,047 wounded and 3,968 captured, PLA archives put the number of killed as much higher at 4,897 as against Chinese losses of only 722 killed and 1,047 wounded. However, Chinese casualties are likely to have been much higher considering the number of battles wherein there was stiff resistance from entrenched Indian troops. See Laurie Burkitt, Andrew Scobell and Larry M. Wortzel, ed., The Lessons of History: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army at 75 (US Army War College, 2003), p. 343, available at
32. Bhavna Vij Arora, ‘RSS Wants Students to Learn More about India-China War,’ The Economic Times, New Delhi, 2 June 2015, p. 2.
CHAPTER 18: OPENING MOVES: KUTCH TO KASHMIR IN 1965
1. Speaking to the Indian nation on All India Radio, 13 August 1965. From Ramachandra Guha’s blog at
2. Stephen P. Cohen, The Idea of Pakistan (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 102. The other members of CENTO were Turkey, Iran and the USA. Also see Mohammed Ayub Khan, ‘The Pakistan-American Alliance’, Foreign Affairs (January 1964), available at
3. Sumit Ganguly, The Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pakistan Conflicts since 1947 (New Delhi: Vision Books, 1999), p. 57.
4. Key features of this treaty were defended by Bhutto in his speech to the UN Security Council on 26 March 1963. See
5. Sumit Ganguly, The Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pakistan Conflicts since 1947 (New Delhi: Vision Books, 1999), p. 51–52.
6. Ibid.
7. Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 22.
8. The Rann of Kutch is a desolate and beautiful region with tremendous diversity of flora and fauna. The wild asses of Kutch are an endangered species that roam the salt pans, and so are the flamingos which frequent the riverine waterways of the province.
9. For a Pakistani viewpoint on the ownership of the Rann, see Lubna Abid Ali, ‘The Rann of Kutch and Its Aftermath,’ South Asian Studies: A Research Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2 (July–December 2009): p. 251–52.
10. Report of International Arbitral Awards: The Indo-Pakistan Western Boundary (Rann of Kutch) between India and Pakistan, Vol. XVII (19 February 1968): p. 400–500.
11. For a detailed description of force levels and a chronological sequence of events, see S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 20–30. This book is an official history of the war, brought out by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
12. Stephen P. Cohen, The Pakistan Army (New Delhi: Himalayan Books, 1984), p. 64
13. Stephen P. Cohen, The Idea of Pakistan (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 102.
14. Lubna Abid Ali, ‘The Rann of Kutch and Its Aftermath,’ South Asian Studies: A Research Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2 (July–December 2009): p. 253–55.
15. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 27–28.
16. ‘The Preliminaries: Line-up and the Rann of Kutch,’ www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1965war/chapter2.html (accessed on 14 September 2013).
17. Lubna Abid Ali, ‘The Rann of Kutch and Its Aftermath,’ South Asian Studies: A Research Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2 (July–December 2009): p. 252.
18. Ibid. Also see S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 27.
19. P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 124.
20. For a crisp account of the Kutch battle, see K.C. Praval, India’s Paratroopers (New Delhi: Thomson Press, 1974), p. 240–48.
21. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 21.
22. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 62.
23. In an email exchange between Jagan Mohan and Sajad Haider on 5 March 2015, the PAF veteran shares some illuminating perspectives on the 1965 war.
24. Ibid.
25. John Fricker, Battle for Pakistan (Surrey: Ian Allen Ltd, 1979), p. 42.
26. Lubna Abid Ali, ‘The Rann of Kutch and Its Aftermath,’ South Asian Studies: A Research Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2 (July–December 2009): p. 254.
27. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 36–37.
28. P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 124–25.
29. Ibid.
30. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 36.
31. Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 22.
32. Sumit Ganguly, Conflict Unending: India-Pakistan Tensions since 1947 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 37.
33. Ibid., p. 31.
34. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 13.
35. Sumit Ganguly, Conflict Unending: India-Pakistan Tensions since 1947 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 37.
36. While Sumit Ganguly indicates that India had two armoured divisions against Pakistan’s one, a more accurate holding is provided by Brian Cloughley, A History of the Pakistan Army (New Delhi: Lancer, 1999), p. 67–68. The Pak advantage over India was mainly in the form of an extra armoured brigade with six armoured divisions.
37. For a detailed tabular comparison of all forces, see S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 9–11.
38. Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 193.
39. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 55.
40. Ibid., Appendix G, p. 358–359.
41. This version had a fighter-style tandem cockpit as against the British version with India which had the navigator lying on his belly in the nose. The US version had ejection seats for both the pilot and the navigator, while only the pilot had an ejection facility in the IAF Canberra; the navigator had to bail out.
42. Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), table at p. 119.
43. Interview with Air Marshal Patney, 2 June 2013. Air Marshal Pingale and Air Marshal Ghandhi would confirm to the author in numerous conversations that there was no such feeling in IAF squadrons.
44. The fact was confirmed in a telephonic conversation with Wing Commander Mayadev, who as a flying officer accompanied McMahon and Bhatia to train on Sabres in the US. He recalls that in a briefing in 9 Squadron (Gnats) prior to the sortie in which he was shot down, Mayadev had queried the formation leader on what they should do if the Sabres ‘split’. When there was no clarity, he decided to stick with his leader even when he saw the Sabres in front split, with one of them then manoeuvring offensively to shoot down Mayadev.
45. ‘Mitty Masud Folds His Wings,’ at
46. Farzana Sheikh, ‘Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: In Pursuit of an Asian Pakistan,’ in Ramachandra Guha, ed., Makers of Modern Asia (Cambridge: The Belknapp Press, 2014), p. 281.
47. M. Asghar Khan, The First Round Indo-Pakistan War 1965 (Ghaziabad: Vikas Publishing House, 1979), p. 75.
48. Major General Lachhman Singh, Missed Opportunities: Indo-Pak War 1965 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 1997), p. 117, 155. For a detailed analysis of the role played by Akhtar Malik in Operation Gibraltar and Operation Grand Slam, see S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 51–55, 123–24.
CHAPTER 19: OPERATIONS GIBRALTAR AND GRAND SLAM
1. Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 186.
2. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011).
3. Brian Cloughley, A History of the Pakistan Army (New Delhi: Lancer, 1999), p. 71.
4. Ibid.
5. Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 26.
6. For a short and crisp account of the battle, see Mandeep Singh Bajwa, ‘The First Kargil Battle,’ Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, 2 July 2012, available at
7. ‘Pak Saboteurs begin Armed Raid’, The Sunday Standard, New Delhi, 7 August 1965, p. 1, microfilm at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), (accessed 16 September 2013). Also see Brian Cloughley, A History of the Pakistan Army (New Delhi: Lancer, 1999), p. 65.
8. ‘Pakistan Guerilla Attack Crushed,’ The Indian Express, New Delhi, 11 August 1965, p. 1 on microfilm at NMML, (accessed 16 September 2013).
9. Ibid.
10. ‘Indian Troops Cross Ceasefire Line at Two Places’, The Indian Express, New Delhi, 26 August 1965, p. 1.
11. For a detailed analysis of the Tithwal sector and Haji Pir operation see Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 44–47. Also see S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 70–74.
12. Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 48–50.
13. Ibid.
14. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 74–77.
15. Interview with Lieutenant General Thomas Mathews (retd) at Pune on 30 January 2015.
16. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 67–68.
17. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 64–66.
18. Rajesh Isser, Purple Legacy: Indian Air Force Helicopters in Service of the Nation (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2012), p. 25–27. Also see S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 77. Harbaksh Singh also acknowledges the role of helicopters in the counter-infiltration campaign in the ‘Lessons Learnt’ portions of his book. See Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 197.
19. Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 52–53.
20. Brian Cloughley, A History of the Pakistan Army (New Delhi: Lancer, 1999), p. 72.
21. For a detailed account of the lopsided artillery battle during the battle of Chhamb, see Brigadier Chowdhury, ‘Chhamb – The Artillery Battle’, USI Journal (April–June 2013): p. 294–302.
22. The best commentary on the Chhamb battle from a Pakistani perspective comes from Major Agha Humayun Amin (retd). See Major Agha Humayun Amin (retd), ‘Grand Slam – A Battle of Lost Opportunities,’ at
23. Sumit Ganguly, Conflict Unending: India-Pakistan Tensions since 1947 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 38.
24. According to Shuja Nawaz, ‘PAF Sabres, however, provided superb ground support in all phases of the attack.’ See Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 211.
25. Ibid., p. 212.
26. Major General Lachhman Singh, Missed Opportunities: Indo-Pak War 1965 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 1997), p. 168.
27. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 75.
28. For a detailed narrative of his years as the CO of 23 Squadron during the 1965 war, see Air Marshal S. Raghavendran (retd), Panther Red One: The Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013).
29. Conversation with Air Vice Marshal Milind Shankar on 25 October 2013. He was a young pilot in 23 Squadron, which was the first Gnat squadron to draw blood in combat with the Sabres.
30. Air Marshal S. Raghavendran (retd), Panther Red One: The Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 213.
31. Email exchange with Group Captain Manna Murdheshwar (retd).
CHAPTER 20: OPERATIONAL STALEMATE
1. John Frazer, ‘Who can win Kashmir?’ Reader’s Digest, January 1996, from Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi (London: Pan Macmillan, 2007), p. 399.
2. Email exchange in March 2015 between P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Sajad Haider.
3. Email exchange with Group Captain Manna Murdeshwar on Indo-Pak war of 1965 –reflections on Pathankot operation, 29 September 2014.
4. Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 117.
5. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 95.
6. Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 17.
7. Air Marshal Asghar Khan (retd), The First Round Indo-Pakistan War 1965 (Ghaziabad: Vikas Publishing House, 1975), p. 20.
8. Ibid., p. 21–23.
9. Air Marshal S. Raghavendran (retd), Panther Red One: The Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2013), p. 219–21.
10. Interview with Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha on 4 September 2014 at Pune.
11. Interview with Air Marshal A.R. Gandhi in December 2013. Gandhi was one of the Hunter pilots of 7 Squadron involved in the dogfights over Halwara on 6 September 1965.
12. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 108–14.
13. Air Marshal Asghar Khan (retd), The First Round Indo-Pakistan War 1965 (Ghaziabad: Vikas Publishing House, 1975), p. 26.
14. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 116–117.
15. John Fricker, Battle for Pakistan (Surrey: Ian Allen Ltd, 1979), chapter titled ‘Thirty Seconds over Sargodha’, p. 11–20. Air Commander ‘Cinch’ Sinha (retd) was in the Hunter formation and did the Staff College at Camberly with Alam where he sorted out many of the ambiguities (shared with the author in a conversation at Pune).
16. Email exchange between the author and Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar on 15 January 2014.
17. For a detailed description of the battle of Dograi, see Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 119. For a personal account of the battle and other exploits of 3 Jat during the 1965 war, see Brigadier Desmond Hayde, Battle of Dograi and Batapore (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2005).
18. Ibid.
19. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 124–25.
20. Interview with Air Marshal Patney.
21. Ibid.
22. V. Ganapathy, ‘Military Lessons of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War,’ Scholar Warrior (Autumn 2014): p. 168. The journal is published by CLAWS.
23. Interview with Air Marshal Patney and telephonic conversation with Air Marshal Bhatia.
24. For a detailed account of the aerial action over Dera Baba Nanak as narrated by Flight Lieutenant Vinod Bhatia, see P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 125.
25. Ibid.
26.
27. Peter Wilson Prabhakar, Wars, Proxy Wars and Terrorism: Post Independent India (New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2003), p. 83–84.
28. Mandeep Singh Bajwa, ‘A Quiet General Goes to War,’ Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, 18 September 2012, available at http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/chandigarh/a-quiet-general-goes-to-war/ 931818.aspx (accessed 18 October 2014).
29. 20 Squadron IAF, When Lightning Strikes (New Delhi: The Society for Aerospace Studies, 2006), p. 27. The book is a commemorative volume that was released during the golden jubilee of the squadron in 2006.
30. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 356–57.
31. Ibid., p. 243–245.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid., p. 351.
34. Conventional post–WW II armies went by the ballpark planning figure of a 3:1 and 5:1 numerical superiority in the plains and mountains respectively, which were required to force a decisive result in a battle between evenly matched adversaries.
35. In Indian Army parlance, a holding corps is essentially an infantry-heavy defensive formation with limited armour, which is deployed along the international border. These formations have limited offensive capability and are designed to shape the battlefield for the ‘strike corps’ to exploit. Unfortunately, India had only one fledgling strike corps at the time.
36. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 188–89.
37. Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 131.
38. For a detailed order of battle in the Sialkot sector, both from the Indian and the Pakistan perspectives, see Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 (New Delhi: Lancer International, 1991), p. 163–167.
39. Ibid., p. 147.
40. Agha Humayun Amin, India-Pakistan Wars – 1947–1971: A Strategic and Operational Analysis (Arlington: Strategicus and Tacticus, 1999), p. 170–75.
41. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 212.
42. Air Marshal Asghar Khan (retd), The First Round Indo-Pakistan War 1965 (Ghaziabad: Vikas Publishing House, 1975), p. 94.
43. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 253.
44. Ibid., p. 216.
45. Ibid., p. 217.
46. Telephonic conversation with Wing Commander Mayadev (retd) on 3 December 2014. Mayadev was one of the formation members during the dogfight. Also see P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 268–70.
47. Telephonic conversation with Wing Commander Mayadev on 3 December 2014.
48. Ibid.
49. Attrition figures are reasonably accurate and if enthusiasts want more authentic figures, they could compare an Indian perspective in P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra’s book, while a Pakistani perspective is available in Asghar Khan’s book. The flavour of my rendition of events primarily focuses on the rather amateurish planning of missions by both the PAF and the IAF. To be fair to both air forces, it was probably the first real aerial tussle between two ‘at par’ air forces without much prior combat experience in the modern ‘aerial war fighting’ era, which commenced over Korea in the mid-1950s.
CHAPTER 21: STRATEGIC REVIVAL
1. Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 219.
2. For a detailed chapter on the limited operations in Rajasthan/Sind sector called Operation Barrel by India, see S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 223–38.
3. Shobhan Saxena, ‘War and Grief,’ The Times of India, 21 August 2011.
4. Ibid.
5. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, The India-Pakistan Air War of 1965 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2009), p. 178.
6. The frigates were the INS Brahmaputra, Beas, Betwa, Khukri, Kuthar, Kripan, Talwar and Trishul.
7. Air Marshal Asghar Khan (retd), The First Round Indo-Pakistan War 1965 (Ghaziabad: Vikas Publishing House, 1975), p. 33.
8. Ibid., p. 4.
9. Admiral S.N. Kohli, We Dared: Maritime Operations in the 1971 Indo-Pak War (New Delhi: Lancer, 1989), p. 1–3. (This is from the Prologue highlighting the frustration of the Indian Navy at not being able to participate effectively in the 1965 war).
10. From a presentation delivered by Vice Admiral Anup Singh on the role of the Indian Navy in the 1965 war held at Vivekananda Foundation on 11 September 2015.
11. Ibid.
12. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 278–79.
13. Ibid., p. 275. Also see Air Marshal Asghar Khan (retd), The First Round Indo-Pakistan War 1965 (Ghaziabad: Vikas Publishing House, 1975), p. 34.
14. Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. 84–85.
15. Air Marshal Asghar Khan (retd), The First Round Indo-Pakistan War 1965 (Ghaziabad: Vikas Publishing House, 1975), p. 33.
16. S.N. Prasad (chief editor) and U.P. Thapliyal (general editor), The India-Pakistan War of 1965: A History (Dehradun and Delhi: Natraj Publishers, 2011), p. 278.
17. Vice Admiral G.M. Hiranandani, Transition to Triumph: Indian Navy 1965–1975 (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 2000), p. 39–40.
18. Admiral S.N. Kohli, We Dared: Maritime Operations in the 1971 Indo-Pak War (New Delhi: Lancer, 1989), p. 1–2.
19. Ibid.
20. R.D. Pradhan, Debacle to Revival: Y.B. Chavan as Defence Minister, 1962–65 (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1999), p. 283–88. Also see Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 109.
21. Gohar Ayub Khan, ‘The Kashmiris didn’t back Pakistan in 1965,’ The Tribune, 3 June 2005, at
22. Arjan Singh, ‘I advised Shastri against ceasefire,’ The Week, 23 August 2015, p. 42–43.
23. Key features of the ceasefire agreement are available in R.D. Pradhan, Debacle to Revival: Y.B. Chavan as Defence Minister, 1962–65 (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1999), p. 255–57.
24. Ibid.
25. Also see Farzana Sheikh, ‘Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: In Pursuit of an Asian Pakistan,’ in Ramachandra Guha, ed., Makers of Modern Asia (Cambridge: The Belknapp Press, 2014), p. 281.
26. Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 209–10.
27. R.D. Pradhan, Debacle to Revival: Y.B. Chavan as Defence Minister, 1962–65 (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1999), p. 258.
28. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 127.
29. Romesh Thapar, ‘A Fight to the Finish?’ Economic and Political Weekly, 18 September 1965, available at www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1965\_17/38/a\_fight\_to\_the\_finish.pdf (accessed 4 July 2015).
30. Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 127.
31. Attrition rate is the number of aircraft lost per 100 sorties and is arrived at by multiplying the number of aircraft lost by 100 and dividing the product by the number of sorties flown. Based on reasonably accurate statistics, Jasjit Singh, India’s foremost air power historian and strategist, puts the attrition rates for the IAF and PAF at 1.50 and 1.82 respectively.
32. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 159.
33. Interview with Group Captain Manna Murdheshwar (retd). The eighty-three-year-old veteran of the 1965 war recounts that Lal was almost in tears when he addressed officers in the Base Operations Room during a visit to Pathankot in the first week of the war.
34. Admiral S.N. Kohli, We Dared: Maritime Operations in the 1971 Indo-Pak War (New Delhi: Lancer, 1989), p. 2.
35. Interview with Vice Admiral Pasricha.
36. Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi (London: Pan Macmillan, 2007), p. 399.
37. ‘We lost terribly in 1965 war, says Pak historian,’ The Times of India, New Delhi, 6 September 2015, p. 13.
38. Geoffrey Blainey, The Causes of War (New York: The Free Press, 1988), p. 122.
CHAPTER 22: SOUTH ASIA IN TURMOIL
1. Indira Gandhi’s press conference in New Delhi on 19 October 1971, quoted in Sydney H. Schanberg, ‘Indian and Pakistani Armies Confront Each Other along Borders,’ The New York Times, 20 October 1971, p. 6.
2. Mohajirs are an ethnic group in modern Pakistan comprising mainly Muslims who migrated from India to Pakistan in the aftermath of Partition. They are concentrated around Karachi and the Sind province of Pakistan. For an interesting article on the Mohajirs, see Nadeem Paracha, ‘The Evolution of Mohajir Politics and Identity,’ Dawn, Karachi, 20 April 2014, available at
3. Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi (London: Pan Macmillan, 2007), p. 449–450.
4. The Awami League was a Bengali-dominated political party representing the aspirations of the huge Bengali population of East Pakistan, which outnumbered the population of West Pakistan.
5. For an excellent Western perspective on the Bangladesh crisis, see Gary J. Bass, Blood Telegram: India’s Secret War in East Pakistan (New Delhi: Random House, 2013).
6. Ibid., p. 77–78.
7. CIA report dated 12 April 1971 – declassified in June 2005 and available on the website of the Center for Indian Military History in the US State Department Documents pertaining to India and Pakistan 1971 – p. 25–26. Assembled by Ramesh Shanker at
8. Arjun Subramaniam, ‘Brave Diplomacy amidst Genocide,’ The Hindu, 3 December 2013,
9. Ibid.
10. ‘Mitty Masud Folds His Wings,’ an obituary in the Dawn newspaper of 13 October 2003, at
11. Sumit Ganguly, The Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pakistan Conflicts since 1947 (New Delhi: Vision Books, 1999), p. 84–85.
12. Ibid., p. 102–03. K. Subrahmanyam, an IAS officer with a remarkable feel for ‘matters strategic’, was then director of IDSA, a fledgling strategic think tank nurtured by him with adequate support from the Government of India.
13. ‘CIA Memorandum,’ 7 December 1971, declassified June 2005, US State Department Documents pertaining to India and Pakistan 1971, p. 219. Assembled by Ramesh Shanker at
14. J.N. Dixit, India-Pakistan in War and Peace (New Delhi: Books Today, 2002), p. 182–83.
15. Interview with Lieutenant General Pandit at Pune on 19 September 2014. The general was remarkably modest and has excellent recollections of the 1971 war in which he played an active part, first as part of Military Operations (MO) Directorate and then as CO of 9 Engineer Regiment in the battle of Basantar.
16. Amongst those who felt that Manekshaw was excessively cautious is Air Marshal Vinod Patney, the IAF’s most decorated officer and veteran of both the 1965 and 1971 wars. He felt that the three months from April to the onset of monsoon in early June would have been adequate to secure victory even if India had to go in through only one or two fronts in the east. More importantly, he asserts, had that been agreed to, India’s demographic disaster may well have been averted. Srinath Raghavan, a promising army officer turned military historian/strategic commentator, concurs with that assessment in his book 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh.
17. John. H. Gill, An Atlas of the 1971 India-Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh (Washington: NDU Press, 2003), p. 13.
18. Sumit Ganguly, The Origins of War in South Asia: Indo-Pakistan Conflicts since 1947 (New Delhi: Vision Books, 1999), p. 104, referring to the memoirs of T.N. Kaul, India’s foreign secretary at the time.
19. For an excellent commentary on the treaty four decades after it was signed, see Arun Mohanty, ‘Toasting the Legacy of 1971 Indo-Soviet friendship Treaty,’ 9 August 2011,
20. Gary J. Bass, Blood Telegram: India’s Secret War in East Pakistan (New Delhi: Random House, 2013), p. 250–60. Also see Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi (London: Pan Macmillan, 2007), p. 457.
21. Declassified US State Department documents pertaining to India and Pakistan 1971, p. 10–12. Assembled by Ramesh Shanker at
22. For an Indian perspective of the force levels in the east, see Major K.C. Praval, Indian Army after Independence (New Delhi: Lancer, 1988), p. 401–11.
23. The most objective comparison of forces, both in the eastern and western theatres, is provided by John H. Gill, a faculty member at the National Defense University, Washington. See John. H. Gill, An Atlas of the 1971 India-Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh (Washington: NDU Press, 2003), p. 69–90.
24. Ibid., p. 57.
25. Brigadier R.R. Palsokar, ‘A History of the Black Arrow Brigade,’ (unpublished monograph – cited with permission from the author).
26. Ibid.
27. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 102.
28. Interview with Vice Admiral Pasricha, who was a young Sea Hawk pilot on board the Vikrant in 1971.
29. Interview with Commander Bahadur Kavina (retd) on 5 December 2014. Though the interview was not planned so, it happened to be on the same day, thirty-three years ago in 1971, when 25 Squadron triumphantly returned after carrying out their famous strikes on Karachi harbour that left the Pakistan Navy reeling.
30. Kavina recollects that he was hauled up for revealing the ranges at the briefing but asserts that it was time for the Indian Navy to realize the potential of the boats.
31. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 372–75.
32. ‘Commander Y.N. Singh, the Pioneer Naval Aviator,’ at
33. The exploits of INAS 300 are best chronicled in an article written on the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of the White Tigers in the Vayu Aerospace Journal, available at
34. Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. 95. For a detailed review of the growth of naval aviation in India see Chapter 17 (The Naval Air Arm) of G.M. Hiranandani, Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy, 1965–1975 (New Delhi: Lancer, 2000), p. 262–79.
35. Interview with Vice Admiral Pasricha (retd).
36. G.M. Hiranandani, Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy, 1965–1975 (New Delhi: Lancer, 2000), p. 120–21.
37. While Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS 300) was equipped with the British Sea Hawks, INAS 310 was equipped with the French-built Alize anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Also see G.M. Hiranandani, Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy, 1965–1975 (New Delhi: Lancer, 2000), p. 266–70.
38. Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. 112. For a detailed history of the submarine arm of the Indian Navy, see G.M. Hiranandani, Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy, 1965–1975 (New Delhi: Lancer, 2000), p. 254–56.
39. Admiral S.N. Kohli, We Dared: Maritime Operations in the 1971 Indo-Pak War (Lancer: New Delhi, 1989), p. 116–19.
40. For a detailed overview of the evolution of the Indian Navy’s submarine arm, also see
41. For an exact inventory of IAF aircraft, see P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), Appendix A, p. 379.
42. For an Indian perspective on the comparative force ratio in the west, see Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 197.
43. For a Pakistani perspective of force levels see, S. Sajad Haider, The Flight of the Falcon: Demolishing Myths of the Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971 (Lahore: Vanguard Books, 2009), p. 227–28.
44. A reasonably comprehensive orbit of both air forces is available at ‘India Sub-Continent Database,’
45. Interview with Air Marshal Vinod Patney on 5 September 2015.
46. See Chapter 19, p. 7.
47. Air Chief Marshal Lal’s comparative analysis of all the measures initiated to strengthen the IAF are succinctly described in a narrative form in his book. See Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 187–89 and p. 223. Though Lal argues that the combat strength of both the air forces in the western sector was almost similar, an objective analysis indicates that this was not so with the IAF having at least twenty-five frontline fighter squadrons as against about 18–19 with the PAF. Prasad and Thapliyal have indicated in their book, which is more or less the official history of the war from an Indian perspective, that the IAF had more than twenty-five squadrons of deployable fighters and bombers if one considered two squadrons that were withdrawn from the eastern sector after the first week of the war. Adding to the IAF strength were a few training flights with Vampire jets and MiG-21s. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 206–09.
48. S. Sajad Haider, The Flight of the Falcon: Demolishing Myths of the Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971 (Lahore: Vanguard Books, 2009), p. 227.
49. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 210.
CHAPTER 23: SHAPING THE EASTERN FRONT
1. From an interview on 12 October 2014 with Lieutenant General Shamsher Mehta, a key participant in the race to Dacca.
2. B. Raman, The Kao Boys of R&AW: Down Memory Lane (New Delhi: Lancer, 2007), p. 9. The book not only offers an insider’s view of covert operations in Bangladesh but also an overview of the growth of an organization that has led the development of covert operations in Indian statecraft.
3. Lieutenant General A.A.K. Niazi, The Betrayal of East Pakistan (New Delhi: Manohar, 1998), p. 69. The book is an interesting and detailed ‘personal defence’ of his stint as commander of the Eastern garrison in 1971, and it must be read thus, and not as an authentic history of a Pakistani perspective of the birth of Bangladesh.
4. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 47–51.
5. The Mukti Bahini was divided into eleven sectors under three major formations called Z, S and K forces under the command of Majors Zia-ur-Rahman, Shafiullah and Khalid Musharraf respectively.
6. Lieutenant General A.A.K. Niazi, The Betrayal of East Pakistan (New Delhi: Manohar, 1998), p. 72.
7. General V.K. Singh, Courage and Conviction: An Autobiography (New Delhi: Aleph, 2013), p. 54–57. The book has an extremely well-written chapter on his experiences of the Bangladesh campaign as a young lieutenant. His unit was deployed in a sector in Meghalaya where there was intense Mukti Bahini activity.
8. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 57.
9. Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. 148–150.
10. Ibid., p. 170–171.
11. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 45–49.
12. Ibid.
13. The exploits of the Tibetan commandos of the SFF in the run-up to the 1971 war have been covered in the book Phantoms of Chittagong by Major General S.S. Uban. The website www.bharatrakshak.com also covers it briefly. Taken from www.rediff.com/news/2003/jan/08spec.htm?zcc=rl (accessed 29 January 2014).
14. Interview with Lieutenant General W.A.G. Pinto (retd).
15. From a book review of Admiral S.M. Nanda’s book The Man Who Bombed Karachi, by Ashok Mehta,
16. For a detailed review of R&AW operations in Bangladesh and the legacy left behind by its founding director, see B. Raman, The Kao Boys of R&AW: Down Memory Lane (New Delhi: Lancer, 2007), p. 9–14.
17. Haksar Papers, NMML.
18. While Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob, the chief of staff of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command, takes credit for the initial focus on Dacca as the final objective of the Indian Army’s offensive, the COAS, General Manekshaw, overruled him from Army HQ by laying down more conservative military objectives. These included the capture of key towns like Jessore, Khulna and Chittagong. See J.F.R. Jacob, Surrender at Dacca: The Birth of a Nation (New Delhi: Manohar, 1997), p. 126–27.
19. Lieutenant General K.P. Candeth, The Western Front: The India Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: The English Book Depot, 1997), p. 18.
20. Interview with Lieutenant General W.A.G. Pinto.
21. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 174. Lal has particularly emphasized in his book that India’s air strategy was different from the one prosecuted in 1965. It was discussed extensively at the annual Air Force Commanders Conference in 1969 and highlights his participative decision-making style.
22. Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. 214–15.
23. Admiral S.N. Kohli, We Dared: Maritime Operations in the 1971 Indo-Pak War (New Delhi: Lancer, 1989), p. 36.
24. From an interview with Brigadier Palsokar (retd) in January 2013. The event was narrated by Air Marshal Malse to Brig Palsaokar.
25. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 49–50.
26. Indira Gandhi’s international forays to explain India’s case are vividly described in the following books: Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi, p. 457; Gary Bass, The Blood Telegram, p. xvii and p. 243–45; D.R. Mankekar, Pakistan Cut to Size, p. 32–34.
27. As the Ganga enters Bangladesh, it is known as the Padma. The mighty Brahmaputra becomes the Jamuna. The combined flow known as the Meghna drains into the Bay of Bengal at the eastern flank of the huge Ganga delta which extends almost 400 km from Calcutta in the west to Chittagong in the east.
28. The force comparison has been extracted from a plethora of Indian and Pakistani sources, and a lone but highly accurate Western monograph. See Major General Sukhwant Singh (retd), India’s Wars since Independence (New Delhi: Lancer, 2009); Lieutenant General A.A.K. Niazi, The Betrayal of East Pakistan (New Delhi: Manohar, 1998); John. H. Gill, An Atlas of the 1971 India-Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh (Washington: NDU Press, 2003).
29. For a detailed profile of his early career, see Lieutenant General A.A.K. Niazi, The Betrayal of East Pakistan (New Delhi: Manohar, 1998), p. 1–32.
30. Ibid., p. 106–08. Also see John. H. Gill, An Atlas of the 1971 India-Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh (Washington: NDU Press, 2003), p. 17–20.
31. See map depicting ‘Airfields and IAF units in the eastern sector’ in P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. v.
32. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 187–88.
33. Admiral S.N. Kohli, We Dared: Maritime Operations in the 1971 Indo-Pak War (New Delhi: Lancer, 1989), p. 32.
34. Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. 199.
35. Lieutenant General A.A.K. Niazi, The Betrayal of East Pakistan (New Delhi: Manohar, 1998), p. 118.
36. Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 292.
37. R. Sisson and L.E. Rose, War and Secession: Pakistan, India and the Creation of Bangladesh (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 213.
38. Mandeep Singh Bajwa, ‘A Young Officer’s First Taste of War,’ Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, 20 July 2014, available at
39. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 81–83. General V.K. Singh also confirms in his autobiography that he actively participated in offensive forays into East Pakistan in November 1971. See General V.K. Singh, Courage and Conviction: An Autobiography (New Delhi: Aleph, 2013), p. 58–60.
40. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 70, 94. Also see Forever Fearless, Vol. 25 of Squadrons of the IAF, Historical and Air Warrior Studies Cell, College of Air Warfare, Secunderabad, 2013. This is a limited series and unclassified booklet for internal circulation within the IAF.
41. John. H. Gill, An Atlas of the 1971 India-Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh (Washington: NDU Press, 2003), p. 16.
CHAPTER 24: DESTINATION DACCA
1. Conversation between Lieutenant General Sagat Singh and his army commander, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, when Aurora came to know that Sagat was planning multiple crossings of the Meghna using helicopters to create an air bridge. See Randhir Singh, A Talent for War: The Military Biography of Lieutenant General Sagat Singh (New Delhi: Vij Books, 2013), p. 198–99.
2. Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 293.
3. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 81–83.
4. The four Indian pilots were Flight Lieutenants Massey and Ganapathy and Flying Officers Lazarus and Soares.
5. S. Sajad Haider, The Flight of the Falcon: Demolishing Myths of the Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971 (Lahore: Vanguard Books, 2009), p. 235–37. Chaudhry is said to have disengaged prematurely from combat (sic) instead of coming to the assistance of his two young wingmen. He is also said to have falsely claimed to have shot down a Gnat, much to the amusement of his colleagues in the squadron who, after analysing his air combat film, remarked that they ‘could not even see a bird in the picture frame, leave alone an aircraft’.
6. For an excellent tactical narrative of the battle for Hilli, albeit from an Indian perspective, see Major General Sukhwant Singh (retd), India’s Wars since Independence (New Delhi: Lancer, 2009), p. 146–47. A Pakistani version of the battle has been narrated by the brigade commander of 205 Brigade under whose command the defences at Hilli were placed. See interview with Major General (retd) Tajjamul Hussain Malik by Major Agha Amin, one of Pakistan’s best modern military historians, in ‘The Battle of Hilli – A Narration by Pakistan Brigade Commander,’
7. Conversation with Air Marshal Gokhale on 18 September 2014 at Pune.
8. A detailed account of the Jamalpur battle and the link-up with 2 Para at Tangail was offered by Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar at his residence in Noida.
9. For a most detailed narrative of the battle for Akhaura and how the Indian Army’s IV Corps shaped the battlefield in the area, see Randhir Singh, A Talent for War: The Military Biography of Lieutenant General Sagat Singh (New Delhi: Vij Books, 2013), p. 168–175.
10. For an interesting narrative with a human touch on independent India’s Param Vir Chakra winners, see Rachna Bisht Rawat, The Brave: Param Vir Chakra Stories (New Delhi: Penguin, 2014). Lance Naik Albert Ekka’s story is between pages 145 and 154.
11. Interview with Lieutenant General Shammi Mehta, 12 October 2014.
12. John. H. Gill, An Atlas of the 1971 India-Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh (Washington: NDU Press, 2003), p. 32–33. Also see Randhir Singh, A Talent for War: The Military Biography of Lieutenant General Sagat Singh (New Delhi: Vij Books, 2013), p. 320.
13. Both Lieutenant General Niazi and John Gill are critical of the decision of the brigade commander of the 313 Brigade at Maulvi Bazaar to withdraw north to the Sylhet garrison rather than head south towards Ashuganj and reinforce 27 Brigade, which had fought a reasonably successful defensive battle as it withdrew from Akhaura to Ashuganj, and then finally across the Meghna to Brahmanbaria.
14. Interview with Lieutenant General Shammi Mehta, who corroborated this, on 12 October 2014.
15. The dogfight between Dilawar’s formation and Wing Commander Sundaresan’s formation of Hunters, also from 14 Squadron, IAF, comes to life in P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 147–49. For a PAF perspective, also see S. Sajad Haider, The Flight of the Falcon: Demolishing Myths of the Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971 (Lahore: Vanguard Books, 2009), p. 238–39.
16. Interview with Air Commander (retd) Manbir Singh, VrC, on 5 January 2014, at Pune. Also see Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 203.
17. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 159.
18. For a detailed account of the Sylhet heli-lift operation by the CO of 4/5 Gorkha Rifles, Lieutenant Colonel A.B. Harolikar, see Brigadier A.B. Harolikar, ‘The Battle for Sylhet Nov–Dec 1971 by Maj (Retd) Mumtaz Hussaini Shah, Pakistan Army – A Rejoinder by Brig A.B. Harolikar, Indian Army,’
19. Sandhu, Singla and another young Mi-4 pilot P.K. Vaid would go on to win Vir Chakras for their exploits during the numerous heli-borne missions they would fly during the war.
20. Telephonic interview with Wing Commander (retd) S.C. Sharma, VrC, on 11 and 12 January 2015.
21. Brigadier Harolikar, ‘Inside a Chakravyuh in Sylhet,’
22. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 375–77. The sinking of PNS Ghazi is covered in great detail.
23. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 130–50. Also see S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 380.
24. For a crisp narration of naval action during the first week of the war, see Vice Admiral Vice Admiral Mihir Roy, War in the Indian Ocean (New Delhi: Lancer Publishers, 1995), p. 202–212.
25. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 381–385.
26. B. Harry, ‘Damage Assessment – 1971 Indo-Pak Naval War,’ at
27. Interview with Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha on 4 October 2014.
28. Ibid.
29. A small paragraph on the entire IV Corps operations under Sagat Singh does not do justice to the actual impact it had on the ultimate fall of Dacca. See Randhir Singh, A Talent for War: The Military Biography of Lieutenant General Sagat Singh (New Delhi: Vij Books, 2013), p. 163–190. Chapter 7 in the book, aptly called ‘The Hammer’, covers the decisive second week of operations in great detail.
30. For a personal narrative of the operation from the man who orchestrated it as the IAF commander alongside Sagat Singh, see Air Vice Marshal Chandan Singh, ‘The Meghna Crossing’, in Major General Dhruv Katoch and Lieutenant Colonel Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir, ed., Liberation: Bangladesh 1971 (New Delhi: Bloomsbury, 2015), p. 218–22.
31. Ibid.
32. Interview with Lieutenant General Shammi Mehta.
33. ‘The Saga of Captain P.K. Ghosh, VrC,’ from Veekays History Book, a blog maintained by Major General V.K. Singh, one of India’s prolific military writers. Available at veekay-militaryhistory.blogspot.in/2013/4/the-saga-of-captain-pk-ghosh-vrc-html.
34. From an interview sourced from the archives of 2 Para Bridge.
35. Interview with Lieutenant General Thomas Mathew in Pune on 30 January 2015.
36. Ibid.
37. K.C. Praval, India’s Paratroopers: A History of the Parachute Regiment of India (New Delhi: Thomson Press, 1974), p. 280. For an exhilarating account of the operation, see Densys Hamson, We Fell among the Greeks (London: Cape, 1946).
38. K.C. Praval, India’s Paratroopers: A History of the Parachute Regiment of India (New Delhi: Thomson Press, 1974), p. 190. The initial three battalions were from the Punjab Regiment, Maratha Light Infantry and Kumaon Regiment.
39. From three battalions, the Indian Army added seven more battalions to the Parachute Regiment by the time India entered the 1971 war including two Para Commando Battalions. These seven battalions were attached to different fighting formations based on the operational need. Also see K.C. Praval, India’s Paratroopers: A History of the Parachute Regiment of India (New Delhi: Thomson Press, 1974) for a detailed account of the evolution and growth of the Indian Army’s Parachute Regiment.
40. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 336.
41. Email exchange between the author and Group Captain Murdeshwar in February 2014 on his perceptions of what was right and what went wrong during the 1971 war.
42. For a detailed narrative of the Meghna Air Bridge Operation, see P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 215–21, and Randhir Singh, A Talent for War: The Military Biography of Lieutenant General Sagat Singh (New Delhi: Vij Books, 2013), p. 175–195. Lieutenant General Niazi is less charitable about the impact of the heli-borne operations. See Lieutenant General A.A.K. Niazi, The Betrayal of East Pakistan (New Delhi: Manohar, 1998), p. 216–17. For a recent analysis of the heli-bridge and heli-borne operations by an IAF helicopter pilot, see Air Commodore Rajesh Isser, The Purple Legacy: Indian Air Force Helicopters in Service of the Nation (New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2012), p. 63–79.
43. Mandeep Singh Bajwa, ‘Flying to Victory: An Air OP pilot’s story,’ Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, 12 January 2014, available at http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/chandigarh/ flying-to-victory-an-air-op-pilot-s-story/article1.aspx (accessed 18 October 2014).
44. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 383 (summary of sector-wise close air support missions).
45. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 212.
46. Interview with Lieutenant General Shammi Mehta.
47. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 214–15.
48. P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra, Eagles over Bangladesh (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2013), p. 291–95.
49. For a detailed overview of Operation Beaver, see Ministry of Defence publication, Official History of the India-Pakistan 1971 War, p. 649–52,
50. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 407–09.
51. Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob, Surrender at Dacca: Birth of a Nation (New Delhi: Manohar, 1977), p. 134.
52. Ibid. Also see declassified US State Department correspondence of the time.
53. Department of State telegram from New Delhi to Washington dated 15 December 1971 from declassified US State Department documents pertaining to India and Pakistan 1971, p. 383. Assembled by Ramesh Shanker,
CHAPTER 25: OPENING THE WESTERN FRONT
1. Lieutenant General K.P. Candeth, The Western Front: The India Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: The English Book Depot, 1997), p. 173.
2. Ibid., p. 17.
3. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 239–55.
4. Popularly called Ditch-cum-Bund or DCB, these came up along rivers and canals and proved to be significant obstacles during the ensuing conflict.
5. Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, Indian Air Force in Wars (New Delhi: Lancer, 2012), p. 199–200.
6. Air Vice Marshal A. K. Tiwary in his book describes very succinctly the layered air defence network put up by the IAF and its role in establishing a favourable air situation in the sector. See ibid., p. 197–98.
7. From these distinguished fighter pilots of the IAF, Krishnaswamy went on to become the chief of air staff, while all others rose to the rank of air marshal.
8. Conversation with Air Marshal Pingale on 4 January 2015.
9. S. Sajad Haider, The Flight of the Falcon: Demolishing Myths of the Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971 (Lahore: Vanguard Books, 2009).
10. Interview with Vinod Patney on 5 September 2015.
11. Admiral Arun Prakash, ‘How I Crossed Swords with Chuck Yeager,’ Vayu Aerospace and Defence Review, Vol. 1/2007, from
12. 20 Squadron IAF, When Lightning Strikes (New Delhi: The Society for Aerospace Studies, 2006), p. 29–37.
13. Telephonic conversation with Admiral Arun Prakash in September 2014.
14. The squadron bagged two MVCs, five VrCs, one Vayusena medal and three Mentioned-in-Despatches (M-in-D). See 20 Squadron IAF, When Lightning Strikes (New Delhi: The Society for Aerospace Studies, 2006), p. 37.
15. See Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 255–60.
16. Kaiser Tufail, ‘PAF on the Offensive,’ at kaiser-aeronaut.blogspot.in/2011/08/paf-on-offensive-1971-war.html (accessed 5 July 2014).
17. Email exchange on 17 July 2014 with P.V.S. Jagan Mohan on the air effort dedicated by the IAF during the initial counter-campaign.
18. Interview with Lieutenant General Pandit. Pandit recollects K.K. Singh as having personally shared with him his anguish at having to maintain a ‘defensive balance’ in the absence of any hard intelligence about the enemy’s armoured formations on 10 December.
19. Brian Cloughley, A History of the Pakistan Army (New Delhi: Lancer, 1999), p. 227–30.
20. The valour of 5 Sikh Regiment in the battle of Chhamb has been well chronicled by Major Raj Mehta. See Major General Raj Mehta, ‘Déjà vu at Chhamb,’ South Asia Defence and Strategic Review (1 January 2014) at www.defstrat.com/exec/frmArticleDetails.aspx?DID=454 (accessed 26 November 2014).
21. For a detailed review of Brigadier Jasbir Singh’s defensive battle, see Sukhwant Singh, India’s Wars since Independence (New Delhi: Lancer, 2009), p. 249–51.
22. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 229–31.
23. Brian Cloughley, A History of the Pakistan Army (New Delhi: Lancer, 1999), p. 227. For a detailed tactical-level appreciation of operations in the Poonch and Rajouri sectors, also see Lieutenant General K.P. Candeth, The Western Front: The India Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: The English Book Depot, 1997), p. 63–71.
24. Ibid., p. 70.
25. Telephonic conversation with Air Marshal Sekhon on 22 July 2014.
26. Telephonic interview with Group Captain Anil Thapar (retd) on 12 January 2015.
27. Major General V.K. Singh, Leadership in the Indian Army (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2005), p. 350–352. Major General Bakshi had won a Vir Chakra in the 1947–48 war with Pakistan; he was back in action in the 1965 war, winning a Maha Vir Chakra for his leadership of 68 Brigade in the capture of the Haji Pir Pass.
28. Ibid.
29. Interview with Lieutenant General B.T. Pandit.
30. S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 252–54.
31. Commander Kavina described the operation in great detail in an interview with the author on 5 December.
32. Ibid. Details of the IAF strike are on p. 230.
33. For a detailed Indian Navy perspective of the missile boat attacks on Karachi, see Admiral S.N. Kohli, We Dared: Maritime Operations in the 1971 Indo-Pak War (New Delhi: Lancer, 1989), p. 45–67 and 88–93. P.C. Lal offers the IAF perspective on the bombing of the fuel storage tanks at Karachi harbour. See Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 290.
34. Interview with Admiral Nadkarni. Also refer interview with Commander Kavina.
35. Vice Admiral G.M. Hiranandani, Transition to Triumph (New Delhi: Lancer, 2000). See Preface.
36. Ibid., p. 212.
37. For a detailed account of the induction and operations of the Foxtrot Class of submarines, see P.R. Franklin, Foxtrots of the Indian Navy (Mumbai: Frontier India Technology Press, 2015), p. 133–43.
38. This is a poem written by Commodore S.P.R. Reddy (retd) and shared with us by Group Captain Unni Kartha (retd) on our school Yahoo group.
CHAPTER 26: ATTRITION BATTLES
1. Lieutenant General W.A.G. Pinto, Bash on Regardless (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2013), p. 103.
2. Lieutenant General K.P. Candeth, The Western Front: The India Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: The English Book Depot, 1997), p. 47–53.
3. Kuldeep Singh Bajwa, ‘Kargil Remembered,’ The Sunday Tribune, 27 June 1999,
4. Lieutenant General K.P. Candeth, The Western Front: The India Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: The English Book Depot, 1997), p. 48. Also see John H. Gill, p. 40.
5. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 226–27.
6. Email correspondence between the author and P.V.S. Jagan Mohan on 16 July 2014.
7. Telephonic conversation with Air Marshal Sekhon on 22 July 2014.
8. Lieutenant General K.P. Candeth, The Western Front: The India Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: The English Book Depot, 1997), p. 45–46.
9. Wing Commander Vashisht dropped thirty-six bombs on Skardu with great accuracy and displayed courage and innovativeness of the highest order. See Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 303. Also see S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 220.
10. A wonderfully crafted animation video on the Srinagar dogfight was made by Anurag Rana and is available at
11. The most detailed Indian perspectives on the ‘much hyped’ Shakargarh offensive are available in Lieutenant General K.P. Candeth, The Western Front: The India Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: The English Book Depot, 1997), p. 97–110 and K.C. Praval, India’s Paratroopers: A History of the Parachute Regiment of India (New Delhi: Thomson Press, 1974), p. 470–76. For a crisp Pakistani perspective, see Shuja Nawaz, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 304–05.
12. For a crisp account of the battle of the Shakargarh bulge from an Indian perspective, see Major General Ian Cardozo, ed., The Indian Army: A Brief History (New Delhi: Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, 2005), p. 151–53. I was also lucky to lay my hands on an unpublished monograph on the history of India’s 16 (Independent) Armoured Brigade by Brigadier Palsokar. The monograph authenticated much of the research I had already done.
13. Much of this narrative unfolds poignantly in Rachna Bisht Rawat, The Brave: Param Vir Chakra Stories (New Delhi: Penguin, 2014), p. 175–84.
14. Interview with Lieutenant General B.T. Pandit. Also see Lieutenant General B.T. Pandit (retd), ‘Only Lucky Soldiers Get to See War,’ 16 December 2011, available at www.rediff.com/news/slide-show-1-only-lucky-soldiers-get-to-see-war/20111216.htm#1 (accessed 26 November 2014).
15. From the Madras Engineering Group Archives at the Regimental Centre in Bangalore in a demi-official letter written to the author by Colonel C.S.S. Prakash on 3 May 2014.
16. Kaiser Tufail, one of the PAF’s accomplished fighter pilots, writes objectively on India–Pakistan conflicts. His descriptions of the air battles over Shakargarh are quite compelling. They can be accessed at kaiser-aeronautblogspot.in/2010/04/air-support-in-shakargarh-1971-war.html (accessed on 26 November 2014).
17. Tactical air centres were employed by the IAF for the first time alongside the Indian Army’s corps to act as real-time interfaces for close air support, reconnaissance and other missions in support of the land battle.
18. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 240. Attacking minefields by fighter aircraft was one of the examples given by him of wrong targeting.
19. Kaiser Tufail, kaiser-aeronautblogspot.in/2010/04/air-support-in-shakargarh-1971-war.html (accessed on 26 November 2014). For a detailed Indian perspective on losses, also see P.V.S. Jagan Mohan, ‘Indian Air Force Losses in the 1971 War,’
20. Ibid.
21. Headquarters Southern Command Publication, The Southern Cross (Pune: Command Press, 2012), p. 62.
22. Ibid., p. 68.
23. Rajkumar and Pushpindar (2013), p. 57–72.
24. Kaiser Tufail, ‘Air Support in Thar-1971,’ at kaiser-aeronaut.blogspot.in/2009/10/air-war-in-thar.html.
25. For a detailed description of battles in the Fazilka, Ferozpur, Hussainiwala and Ganganagar sectors, see S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 172–90.
26. Major General Fazal Muqueem Khan, Pakistan’s Crisis in Leadership (Islamabad: National Book Foundation, 1973), p. 187.
27. A detailed description of the surrender ceremony has been written by Lieutenant General Jacob, the chief of staff of Eastern Army Command. See Lieutenant General J.F.R. Jacob, Surrender at Dacca: Birth of a Nation (New Delhi: Manohar, 1977), p. 135–56. Also see S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014), p. 414–17.
28. Ibid., S.N. Prasad and U.P. Thapliyal, ed., The India-Pakistan War of 1971 (Dehradun: Natraj Publishers, 2014).
CHAPTER 27: WHAT 1971 MEANS TO INDIA AND PAKISTAN
1. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986), p. 319–29.
2. Sarmila Bose, Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War (New Delhi: Hachette, 2011), p. 149, 160. Sarmila Bose writes of numerous intellectuals, doctors and professors being systematically killed by the Razakars and Al-Badr.
3. Ghulam Azam, the founder of the Al-Badr group, an auxiliary force which was set up to help the Pakistan Army identify and kill pro-independence Bengali activists, was sentenced on 15 July 2013 to ninety years in jail for crimes against humanity. See www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20970123
4. Sarmila Bose, Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War (New Delhi: Hachette, 2011), p. 159.
5. Sujan Dutta, ‘Unarmed major who disarmed Pak soldiers and saved a future PM,’ The Telegraph, 28 June 2012, available at www.telegraphindia.com/1120628/jsp/frontpage/story\_15666585.jsp#VHa6hnZkm-A
6. Arjun Subramaniam, ‘Brave Diplomacy amidst Genocide,’ The Hindu, 3 December, 2013 at
7. Geoffrey Blainey, The Causes of War (New York: The Free Press, 1988), p. 123.
8. Interview with Lieutenant General Shammi Mehta.
9. Shuja Nawaz, Hussain Haqqani, Sajad Haider, Kaiser Tufail and Agha Humayun Amin are amongst those whose writings emerge as objective and incisive.
10. Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military (Washington DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2005), p. 98–99. The book has excellent chapters on the India–Pakistan relationship and is one of the most objective books on the Pakistan Army in the modern era.
11. Ibid., p. 98–99. Also see J.N. Dixit, India-Pakistan in War and Peace (New Delhi: Books Today, 2002), p. 225–31.
12. See Arjun Subramaniam, ‘Brave Diplomacy amidst Genocide,’ The Hindu, 3 December 2013, available at
13. Interview with Lieutenant General Shammi Mehta.
14. Ibid.
15. Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, My Years with the IAF (New Delhi: Lancer, 1986).
16. S. Sajad Haider, The Flight of the Falcon: Demolishing Myths of the Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971 (Lahore: Vanguard Books, 2009), p. 187–88
17. P.C. Lal puts the total number of sorties flown in the 1971 war at over 7,500 as against a total number of around 4,000 sorties flown in 1965.
18. S.N. Prasad, Official History of the 1971 War, Chapter X, p. 433–34.
19. Interview with Lieutenant General Shammi Mehta.
20. Major General Pinto’s 54 Division was primarily a south Indian division with bulk of the troops being from the Madras Regiment and the Madras Engineering Group (MEG).
21. Sarmila Bose, Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War (New Delhi: Hachette, 2011), p. x.
22. Email to the author from Sydney Schanberg on Christmas Eve of 2014.
CHAPTER 28: REMEMBERING KAUTILYA
1. L.N. Rangarajan, ed., Kautilya: The Arthashastra (New Delhi: Penguin, 1987).
2. An excellent commentary on Kautilya by Prof. Sunil Khilnani is available on a BBC 4 podcast under the series Incarnations: India in 50 Lives.
3. Ashok Kapur, India’s Nuclear Option: Atomic Diplomacy and Decision Making (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1976), p. 77.
4. Vinay Vittal, ‘Kautilya’s Arthashastra: A Timeless Grand Strategy,’ from a thesis submitted at the School of Advanced Air and Space Power Studies, Maxwell AFB, June 2011.
5. Ibid.
6. Roger Boesche, ‘Kautilya’s Arthashastra on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India,’ Journal of Military History, Vol. 67 (January 2003): p. 9–38.
7. Ibid., p. 9.
8. Steven Wilkinson, Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2015), p. 15.
9. Vinay Vittal, ‘Kautilya’s Arthashastra: A Timeless Grand Strategy,’ from a thesis submitted at the School of Advanced Air and Space Power Studies, Maxwell AFB, June 2011.
10. L.N. Rangarajan, ed., Kautilya: The Arthashastra (New Delhi: Penguin, 1987), p. 640.
11. Ibid., p. 642.
12. Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Cohen, Thunder over Kashmir (Bombay: Orient Longman, 1955), p. 35.
13. L.N. Rangarajan, ed., Kautilya: The Arthashastra (New Delhi: Penguin, 1987), p. 676, from the dissertation by Vinay Vittal.
14. Rangarajan refers to them as qualifications of the chief of defence staff and puts them slightly differently. See L.N. Rangarajan, ed., Kautilya: The Arthashastra (New Delhi: Penguin, 1987), p. 647.
15. Ibid., p. 672.
16. Major General V.K. Singh, Leadership in the Indian Army: Biographies of Twelve Soldiers (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2005), p. 171–72.
17. Ibid.
18. Henry Kissinger, ‘The World According to Gita,’ The Times of India, Pune, 21 November 2014, p. 18. The article is the lead article on the editorial page.
19. Ibid.
20. Roger Boesche, ‘Kautilya’s Arthashastra on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India,’ Journal of Military History, Vol. 67 (January 2003): p. 37.
Index
Abbotabad
Abdali, Ahmad Shah
Abdullah, Sheikh
Abdulm Salam
Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
Adampur airbase, Jalandhar
Advanced Flying School, Ambala
Afghanistan
Foreign Terrorists (FTs)
operational campaigns
Russian invasion
Wars, First and Second (1839 and 1880)
Third (1919)
Afridis and Mahsuds
Afrika Corps
Agnew
Ahluwalia, Air Vice Marshal Harry
Ahmed, Major General Nasir
Ahoms
Ahsan, Admiral S.M.
Air House – 23 Akbar Road
Akbar, Emperor
Akhaura Battle
Akhnur sector
Aksai Chin, China’s build up
Alamein, Battle of
Al-Badr
Alexander
Alexander, General
Ali, Lubna Abid
Ali, Major General Rao Farman
Alibaug
Allied forces
Al-Qaeda
Amin, Major (retd) Agha Humayun
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
captured by Japanese
Andaman Sea
Andhra Hindu Mahasabha
Anglo-American machinations in Tibet
Anglo-Burmese War (1826)
Anglo-Maratha War
Anglo-Sikh (two) wars (1848–49)
Sikh resistance after
Angre, Kanhoji
Angre, Tukoji
Angre, Tulaji
Anjadiv
Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW)
Anupgarh
Arabian Sea
Arakan Coast of Burma
Ardgah
Arjan Singh, Squadron Leader
Arjuna
Armed Forces Nationalisation Committee
Arthashastra
Arun Prakash, Admiral
Arunachal Pradesh
Asaf Jah VII, Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqui, Nizam of Hyderabad
Army of
and Police Action
richest man in the world
control over rural population
Standstill Agreement with Government of India
sought United Nations’ intervention, 174 surrendered
Asaf Jahi dynasty
Assal Uttar Battle
counter attack at
Assam Regiment
Assam Rifles
Atkinson, Rick
Atlantic and Burma, action of Indian Navy
Atlee, Clement
Atma Singh, Major General
Auchinleck, Field Marshal Claude
Aurora, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh
Awami League
Axis powers
Azad Hind Fauj
See Indian National Army (INA)
Azad Kashmir
See Pakistan Occupied Kashmir
Babar (force)
Babur
Badgam Battle
Baghdad Pact, 262Bakshi, Major Zorawar Chand
Balaji Rao defeated the Nizam of Hyderabad (1927)
Baltistan
See Gilgit and Baltistan
Baluchis
Bangladesh, formation
Banihal Pass
Bannu Brigade
Barahoti Pass
Baralacha Pass
Baramulla
Barty, Dennis
Basantar battle
Battle Field Interdiction
Bay of Bengal, US Seventh Fleet
Bayly, Christopher
Beg, Yakub
Bengal Sappers
Benghazi battle, Libya
Bewoor, Lieutenant General G.G.
Bhagat, Lieutenant Premindra Singh
Bharat Kumar, Air Marshal (retd)
Bhatia, Air Marshal K.L.
Bhindranwale, Sant Jarnail Singh
Bhonsale, J.K.
Bhopal
Bhopal Infantry
Bhutan-Tibet-Arunachal border
Bhutto, Shah Nawaz
Bhutto, Zulfiqar Ali
Biddle, Tami Davis
Bihar Regiment
Bijapur, Sultan of
Bipin Chandra
Bishnoi, Wing Commander
Black Formation
Blackett, Prof
Blainey, Geoffrey
Blake, Wing Commander Mickey
Blenheim bomber
Boer War
Boesche, Roger
Bombay Marine
Bomdila
Border Security Force (BSF)
Bose, Rash Behari
Bose, Sarmila, Dead Reckoning
Bose, Subhas Chandra
Bose, Sugata
Bucher, General Roy
Boyra, Battle of
Bren Carriers
Brigade of Guards
Britain, Battle of
British, British Empire/Raj
Army
and Asaf Jahi dynasty, relations
Chiefs of Staff Committee
colonial expansion in India
gained control over Deccan Plateau after defeating Marathas
‘Divide and Rule’ policy
imperialism
India’s non-violent ousting
Indian composition of military leadership
Military Intelligence
military leadership
Operations Research
post-war political leadership
British Indian Army
communal, caste and race polarization
Brooke, Alan
Burma
Japanese invasion
Burma Campaign (1944–45)
Burzil Range
Cambrai Battle
Canberra
Candeth, Lieutenant General K.P.
Cardozo, Major Ian
Cariappa, Field Marshal K.M.
Cariappa, Flight Lieutenant Nanda
Casualty Evacuation Missions (CASEVAC)
Cease-fire agreement
Ceasefire Line (CFL)
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Central Military Commission
Central Provinces
Central Treaty Organization (CENTO)
Centurion tank
Chaklala
Chandan Singh, Group Captain
Changanchenmo River Valley (spl vari)
Change Manga Forest
Chaudhuri, General J.N.
Chavan, Y.B.
Chawinda
dogfight over
Che Guevara
Chen Yi, Marshal
Chhamb sector
guns boom
Indian Air Force over
Chiang Kai Shek
Chillianwala Battle (1849)
China
and Burma, logistics links
Communist
Confucian and Tibetans, animistic and monastic, cultural differences
operational art
Pan-Asian hegemony
revolutionary movement
Tibet issue
India-war (1962)
See India-China war
Chitralis
Chittagong sector
Chola empire
Cho La
Chopra, Samir
Chou-en-Lai
See Zhou Enlai
Christison, Lieutenant General Philip
Chu Han boundary
Chumbi valley
Churchill, Winston
Chushul Battle
resistance at
Citino, Robert M.
Civil Volunteer Reserve Force
civil-military relations
Clausewitz
Cloghley, Brian
Close Air Support (CAS)
and Interdiction operations
Cloughley, Brian
Coastal Defence Flights
Coastal Forces in Burma Theatre
coastal fortifications
Cohen, Major Maurice
Cohen, Stephen
Cold War
collective security as a state policy
colonialism
Combat Air Patrol
command and control structure
Commission for Non-Commissioned Officers
communal violence
Communist Party of India (CPI)
Confidence Building Measures (CBMs)
Confucius
Congress
seizure of Goa
Cooke, Flight Lieutenant Alfred
Coral Sea, Battle of
Counter-Insurgency and Counter-Terrorism operations
covert operations
Crown dominated the frontiers
Cunningham, George
Curzon, Lord
Dacca
Da-Gama, Vasco
Dalai Lama
Dalrymple, William
Dalvi, Brigadier J.P.
Dalvi, Michael
Daly College, Indore
Das, Sarat Chandra
Datta, Major General
Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO)
Daulat Singh, Lieutenant General
David, Lieutenant Noel
Dayal, Major Ranjit Singh
Deccan Plateau
defence budget
Defence Committee of the Indian Cabinet
Defence Services Partition Committee
Defence Services Staff College (DSSC)
Dera Baba Nanak (DBN)
air-land battle
valour at
Devayya, Flight Lieutenant Tubby
Dewan, Air Marshal
Dhillon, Brigadier Gurbinder
Dhillon, Lieutenant General Chanan Singh
Diego Garcia
Dilawar, Squadron Leader
Distinguished Service Crosses
Dogra (Hindu) soldiers, Dogras
Tibetans and Chinese, treaty
Dograi, Battle
Duff, James Grant, History of Mahrattas
Duleep Singh, Maharaja
Dulles, John Foster
Dunne, Major General P.O.
Durrani kingdom
Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia)
Dwaraka
Dyer, Brigadier General
East Bengal Rifles (EBR)
East India Company (EIC)
Army
East Pakistan Armed Forces
Eden Commission (1879)
Egypt
Eisenhower, Dwight D.
Ekka, Lance Naik Albert
Elmhirst, Air Marshal Thomas
Engineer, Squadron Leader Aspy Merwan
Engineer, Jehangir
Engineer, Minoo
ethnic and religious bigotry
ethnic cleansing
European sea power
Exercise Peace, as the operation to liberate Junagadh
Falaise, Battle of
Fazilka
Fighter Leaders’ School
First War of Independence (1857)
Flag Officer Commanding Royal Indian Navy (FOCRIN)
Foreign Terrorists (FTs) of Afghan and Pashtun
Forsyth, Douglas
Forward Air Controllers (FACs)
Forward Defensive Line
Forward Line of Own Troops (FLOT)
Forward Policy (1961)
Fourth Generation Warfare
France during World War II
free India, procrastination
Freedman, Sir Lawrence
freedom struggle
Fricker, John
fundamentalist ideologies
Galbraith, John Kenneth
Galwan Valley
Ganapathy, Flying Officer
Gandhi, Indira
lost opportunity to solve the Kashmir issue
standing up to the United States
Gandhi, M.K.
Gangasagar battle
Ganguly, Sumit
Garhwal Rifles
Garver, John
Gautam, Wing Commander
Gaylor, John
general elections
(1967)
(1971)
(2014)
geographical boundaries
geopolitical instability
geopolitical landscape
geopolitics
George VI, King
German and Japanese naval build-ups
World War I
Ghandhi, Flight Lieutenant
Ghaznavi (force)
Gilgit and Baltistan (Northern Autonomous Region)
Gilgit Scouts
Gill, John H.
Gill, Lieutenant General Inder Singh
Gill, Major General Gurbaksh Singh, (spl vari Gurbux)
Gill, Squadron Leader Padam Singh
Gnat
Goa, Daman and Diu
freedom movement
lethargic response of Government of India
liberation movement
Portuguese legacy
seizure of (evacuation from Portuguese)
Gobind Singh, Guru
Gonsalves, Major General Ben
Goodman, Wing Commander William
Gorkha Regiments
Gorkha Rifles
Gorkha War (1816)
Gorkhas
Gosain, Flight Lieutenant
Gracey, General
Great Game
Great Wars
Greene, Wing Commander Johnny
Grenadier Regiment
Guadalcanal, Battle of
Guha, Ramachandra
India After Gandhi
Patriots and Partisans
Gujarat Battle
Gulab Singh, Raja
Gulati, Squadron Leader Baldev Raj (retd)
Gurdial Singh, Brigadier
Gush, Commander A.W.
Haider Ali
Haider, S. Sajad
Haji Pir Pass
Halwara
Hari Chand, Major
Hari Singh, Maharaja of Kashmir
Harolikar, Lieutenant Colonel A.B.
Harper, Tim
Hawai Sepoys
Hayde, Lieutenant Colonel Desmond
Heavy Vehicle Factory
Henderson Brooks Report
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
Hiranandani, Vice Admiral
Holstag, Jonathan
Hoshiar Singh, Major
Howard, Michael
Hughes, Flight Lieutenant Arthur
human intelligence (HUMINT)
humanitarian crisis in east Pakistan
Hunter
Hurricabe fighters
Hussain, Flight Lieutenant Amjad
Hussain, Flying Officer Q.A.
Hussain, Major General Ibrar, (spl vari Abrar)
Hussain, Mumtaz
Hyderabad
Hindu population
liberation of
indecisiveness over
multi-pronged offensive
Nizam of
See Asaf Jah VII
police action
State Forces
Ibrahim, Sardar
Ichogil Canal
Iliad
Imphal, Battle of
See also Kohima
India-China conflict (1962)
and Aksai Chin
defeat
offensive air power not used
Tibet issue
India-Pakistan War (1947–48)
drags on
gun fall silent
holding on to Kashmir
politics and religion dictated
surprise and riposte
war drags on
India-Pakistan War (1965)
India and Pakistan, military equation
opening moves, Kutch to Kashmir
Operation Gibraltar and Grand Slam
operational stalemate
strategic revival
India-Pakistan War (1971)
destination Dacca
India prepares, Pakistan stumbles
what means to India and Pakistan
leadership
opening the Western Front
operational takeaways from Indian perspective
release of Pak prisoners
shaping the Eastern Front
South Asia in turmoil
India-Bhutan-Tibet border
India-Burma-Tibet tri-junction
Indian Air Force (IAF)
attitudes
India-China war (1962)
India-Pakistan war (1965)
over Chhamb
response to Pakistan initiative
India-Pakistan war (1971)
bombing campaign in Dacca
run-up to independence
tribal control
World War II
Indian Air Force Volunteer Reserve Force (IAFVR)
Indian armed forces
and India-China War (1962)
and India-Pakistan War (1947–48)
and India-Pakistan war (1965)
and India-Pakistan (Bangladesh Liberation) war (1971)
and Indian National Army (INA)
and Indian society, relations
liberation of Goa, Daman and Diu from Portuguese
and liberation of Hyderabad
colonization of Angola and Mozambique
colonization of Goa, Daman and Diu
deployment in Ladakh
stagnation
Indian Army
British legacy, restructuring and professionalism
entering into twentieth century
Indian or colonial
diversity
downsizing
Eastern Army Command
and India-China War (1962)
India-Pakistan war (1947–48)
India-Pakistan war (1965)
India-Pakistan war (1971)
in Iraq in WW I
officers and men
Southern Army Command
transition, adjustment and freedom
Western Army Command
Indian Corps Commander
Indian Military Academy (IMA)
Indian military, stagnation
Indian National Army (INA)
Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS)
Indian Navy
Air Force synergy
British legacy
Carrier Battle Group
dilemma
Eastern Naval Command
flying the Indian ensign
offensive on Karachi
run-up to independence
Western Naval Command
Indian Ocean
Indian parliament, terrorist attack (2001)
Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF)
India-Nepal-Tibet tri-junction
Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace and Friendship (1971)
Indo-Tibet border
Indus River
Indus Valley Civilization
Infantry Brigade
INS Angre
INS Beas
INS Betwa
INS Brahmaputra
INS Delhi
INS Khukri
INS Vikrant
intelligence agencies
Intelligence Bureau (IB)
intelligence gathering about Goa
International Border (IB) with Pakistan
International Conference on Portuguese colonialism, New Delhi (1961)
international relations
inter-state wars and insurgencies
inter-war years
Italy
Indian Army, into
Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, (spl vari)
Ivan Chen
Jacob, Lieutenant General
Jadhav, Havildar Maruti
Jagan Mohan, P.V.S.
Jagjivan Ram
Jahangir, Mughal emperor
Jaisalmer
Jalamaiva Yasya, Balamaiva Tasya
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Kashmir issue
accession to Indian Union
assembly elections (1950)
Hindu Dogra rulers
massacre of Hindus
insurgency
internationalization of conflict
military action
State Forces
communal divide
subversion in
tribal invasions
Kashmir Liberation Committee
Jamnagar
Jan Sangh
Janjua, Major General Iftikhar
Japan
Army
assault on Akyab
formations
forces in Burma
prisoners of war camps
Zero fighters
Jasjit Singh, Air Cmde
Jaswant Singh, Major General
Jat Regiment
Jat warriors, Jats
Jatar, Squadron Leader Dinky
Jaurian Sector
Jellicoe, Lord
Jhangar, battle
Jihad
Jinnah, Muhammad Ali
Jodhpur
Joginder Singh, Subedar
Johnson, Alastair Iain
Joint Bomber Conversion Unit (JBCU)
Joint operations, the X-factor in the East
joint war fighting
Junagadh
declared the accession to Pakistan
liberation of
military action against
Nawab of
Kalaikunda
Kalian Singh
Kangaw Battle
Kao, R.N.
Kapila, Flight Lieutenant Vinay
Kaplan, Robert D.
Karakoram range
Karam Singh, Inspector
Kargil sector
garrison (1947–48)
conflict with Pakistan (1999)
Karnad, Raghu
Karnataka
Kashgar
Kashmir
See Jammu & Kashmir
Kasur
Katari, Commander R.D.
Kaul, Lieutenant General B M
Kaushik, Air Commodore S.S. (retd)
Kautilya
and India’s modern wars
Kautilya: The Arthashastra (Ed. L.N. Rangarajan)
Kavina, Lieutenant Commander Bahadur
Keating, Kenneth
Keay, John
Keegan, John
Keelor, Flight Lieutenant Denzil
Keelor, Flight Lieutenant Trevor
Keynes, John Maynard
Khalid (force)
Khambatta, Major General
Khampa rebellion, Eastern Tibet (1959)
Khan, Air Marshal Asghar
Khan, Air Marshal Nur
Khan, Amanullah
Khan, Captain Shahnawaz
Khan, Filed Marshal Ayub
Khan, Liaqat Ali
Khan, Major General Akbar
Khan, Major General Tikka
Khan, Nisar Ahmad
Khan, Rahim Yar
Khan, Sepoy Khudadad
Khan, Yahya
Khan, Zafarullah
Khardung La
Khem Karan Battle
Khera, P.N.
Khetarpal, Second Lieutenant Arun
Khusal Chu, Wazir Mian
Khuswant Singh, History of Sikhs
Kiani, Mohd Zaman
Kings Commission
Kings Commissioned Indian Officers (KCIO)
Kishanganga-Tithwal sector
Kishen Singh
Kishtwar range
Kissinger, Henry
Kitchener, Lord
Kler, Brigadier Hardev
Kohat
Kohima Battle
Kohli, Admiral S.N.
Kongka La Pass
Korean Peninsula
Korean War
Krishnan, Admiral
Kulkarni, Uday S., Solstice at Panipat: 14 January 1761
Kulwant Singh, Major General
Kumaon Regiment
Kumaonis
Kunjali Marakkars
Kunlun Range
Kuruvilla, Rear Admiral
Kushal Chand, Captain
Kutch, Maharaja of
La Bassee
Ladakh Scouts
Ladakh
air brigade to Leh and defence of Ladakh
border management
and India-China conflict of 1962
and Tibet, early posturing
Ladakh-Tibet boundary
Lahore
and 1965 War
1971 War
Lahore treaty (1809)
Lal, Air Chief Marshal P.C.
My Years with the IAF
Lamb, Alistair
Lambeth, Benjamin
Lane, Timur
Laser Guided Bombs (LGBs)
Lashkars
Lassawala, Lama Guru Sahib
late medieval Indian ethos
Latif, Air Chief Marshal
Lazarus, Flying Officer Don
leadership in India
British colonial
Hyderabad, liberation of
and India-China war (1962)
and India-Pakistan war (1947–48)
and India-Pakistan war (1965)
and India-Pakistan war (1971)
of Sikhs
leadership in Pakistan
and India-Pakistan war (1947–48)
and India-Pakistan war (1965)
and India-Pakistan (Bangladesh liberation) war (1971)
Lee, Wing Commander Asher
Leh
Leh-Kargil-Dras sector
Lhasa and Tawang monasteries, religious interaction
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Line of Actual Control (LAC)
Line of Control (LoC)
Lockhart, General Rob
Lohia, Ram Manohar
Long Range Penetration Groups, Burma
Longju
Lutyens, Edward
Machiavelli, Niccoló
Madras Engineering Group (MEG)
Madras Presidency
Mahabatkhan Rasulkhanji, Nawab of Junagadh
Mahabharata
Mahar Regiment
Mahars
Mahsuds
Majumdar, Flight Lieutenant K.K. (Jumbo)
Malacca straits
Malaya
Malgaokar, Lt Col (retd) Manohar
Malik, Hardit Singh
Malik, Major General Akhtar Hussein
Malse, Air Marshal
Mamgain, Flying Officer
Manbir Singh, Flight Lieutenant
Manchus of Qing Dynasty
Manekshaw, Field Marshal Sam
Mankekar, D.R.
Manmohan Singh, Brigadier
Mao Zedong, role in India-China conflict (1962)
Maratha Empire, Marathas
nationalism
and Nizam of Hyderabad, fight
under Peshwa Balaji Rao
resurgence at sea
See also Sikhs
Maratha Light Infantry
Maritime Air Operations
maritime resistance to British expansion
maritime trade linkages
Marshall (spl variation Marshal. Full name ?)
Masillamani, Squadron Leader
Mason, Philip
Massey, Flight Lieutenant Roy
Masud, Air Commodore Zafar
Mathews, Lieutenant General Thomas
Maurya, Chandragupta
Maxwell, Neville
Mayadev, Flight Lieutenant
McMahon Line
McMahon, Sir Henry
Megh Singh, Lieutenant Colonel
Meghdoot Force
Mehar Singh, Air Commondore
Mehta, Lieutenant General Shamsher (Shammi) (retd)
Mehta, Squadron Leader F J
Menon, V.K. Krishna
Menon, V.P.
Mersa Mathruh Battle (1942)
Mesopotamia
campaign (1915–16)
Messervy, General Frank
MiG-21
Military
balance
decisiveness
history, neglect of
intelligence
organization and war as tools of statecraft
violence against the Japanese and the Kuomintang
the way ahead
Western perspective
Mirpur
Mizo insurgency
Mobile Observations Posts (MOPs)
Mohan Singh, General
Mohanty, Arun
Mongol invaders
Monte Casino (where an Indian division performed)
Montgomery, Field Marshal
Moolgavkar, Air Chief Marshal
Moorcroft
motivation, inspiration and leadership
Motor Launched Flotillas
Mountbatten, Lord
Mughals, Mughal Empire
army
decline
inefficiency
as invaders
Mujahids
Mukerjee, Air Commondore Subroto
Mukherji, Captain D.N.
Mukti Bahini
and covert operations
Mulla, Captain Mahendra Nath
Mullick, B.N.
Mumbai: terrorists’ attacks (2008)
Munnawar Tawi RiverM
(spl variation)
Muntho Dalo
Murdeshwar, Group Captain Manna
Murray, Brigadier Williamson
Murtuza (force)
Musa, General Mohammed
Mushkoh Valley
Muslim(s)
and Hindus, religious violence
of Hyderabad
invaders of India
of Kashmir
Punjabi
See also Razakars
Muslim League
Mutual Defence Assistance Agreement
Muzzafarabad
Mysore
Army
Third War (1817–1818)
Mystere
Nadir Shah
Nadkarni, Admiral Jayant
Nagra, Major General G C
Nair, Brigadier
Nambiar, Lieutenant General Satish
Namka Chu
Nanda, Admiral S.M.
Nanda, B.R.
Napoleonic wars, Napoleon
Narain Singh, Lieutenant Colonel
Naser, Major Khwaja
Nath, Captain Rajendra
Nath, Wing Commander Jaggi
Nathu-la pass
National Army War Museum
National Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
National Conference (NC)
National Defence Academy (NDA)
National War Memorial
nation-state relations
Naval dilemma
Navina, Bahadur Karim
Nawaz, Shuja
Neb, Flying Officer
Negi, Naik Darwan Singh
Nehru, Jawaharlal
death
and the liberation of Goa
and Hyderabad’s merger with Indian union
and India-China war (19962)
and the Indo-Pak war of
dilemmas about Indian statecraft
demolished military intelligence structures
Nehru, Motilal
Neuve Chapelle Battle, (variation on same page)
Niazi, Lieutenant General A.A.K. (Tiger)
Nixon, Richard
non-alignment policy
Normandy Army
Normandy, Battle of
Noronha, Squadron Leader
North East Frontier Agency (NEFA)
North West Frontier Province (NWFP)
operational campaigns
insurgencies
Nusrat (force)
Offensive Defensive Strategy
Omdurman, Battle of
Omissi, David
Operation Blue Star
Operation Brass Tacks
Operation Desert Hawk
Operation Dracula
Operation Gibraltar
Operation Grain
Operation Grand Slam
Operation Gulmarg – Secret
Operation Leghon
Operation Market Garden
Operation Parakram
Operation Polo
Operation Vijay (1961, eviction of Portuguese from Goa, Daman and Diu)
Operation Vijay (battle of Jhangar)
operational leadership
Operational Ready Platform (ORP)
organizational cohesiveness
OSA boats
Osmani, Colonel M.A.G.
Out of Area Contingency Operations
Pakistan
China, strategic pact
infiltrations and ceasefire violations
Kashmir strategy
military adventurism
military brinkmanship as a state policy
People’s Party (PPP)
proxy war as state policy
supported Portugal in Goa conflict
Pakistan Armed Forces
Pakistan Air Force (PAF)
Pakistan Army, 5
Pakistan Frontier Rifles
Pakistan Navy
Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) (Azad Kashmir)
formed by Poonchi Muslims
Pakistan Special Forces
Pakistan Special Frontier Force (SFF)
Palestine
Palit, Major General D. K. (Monty)
Palsokar, Brigadier R.R. (retd)
Panchsheel Agreement
failure with China
Pandit, Lieutenant General B.T.
Panipat Battle, Third (1761)
Pannu, Lieutenant Colonel K.S.
Parab, Lieutenant Colonel Harishchandra Sakharam
Parachute Regiment
Paranjpe, Brigadier
Parker, Air Marshal Cecil
Partapur
Partition Council
Partition of Indian subcontinent
and plotting
sectarian violence
Pasricha, Vice Admiral Vinod (retd)
Patel, Sardar Vallabhbhai
Pathania, Major General A.S.
Pathans of Kashmir
Patney, Air Marshal Vinod
Pattan Battle
Peel Commission (1859)
People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF)
Persian Gulf
Peshwa rulers of Pune, Peshwas
Phillaur
Phillora
See also Chawinda
Pinto, Air Marshal Erlic W.
Pinto, Lieutenant General W.A.G.
Pir Panjal range
PNS Ghazi
political opportunism
politico-military relationship
Polo Air Task Force
Pondicherry
Poonch Brigade
Poonch Garrison Command
Poonch saga of valour
Poonchi Muslims
Portuguese
colonization of Goa, Daman and Diu
sea power
Praja Socialist Party (PSP)
Prasad, Major General Niranjan
Prasad, S.N.
Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College, Dehradun
princely states
Pritham Singh, Brigadier
Provisional Government of Azad Hind
proxy war strategy of Pakistan
Pujji, Squadron Leader Mohinder Singh
Punjab Boundary Force
Punjab Frontier Force
Punjab Regiment
Qadam Qadam Badaye Ja
Qing Dynasty
Quit India civil disobedience movement
R Class destroyers (Rajput, Ranjit and Rana)
radar warning receivers (RWR)
Raghavan, Srinath
Raghavendran, Air Marshal
Rai, Jyoti and Patwant Singh, The Empire of the Sikhs
Raina, General T.N. (‘Tappy’)
Rajaram, Air Marshal
Rajendra Sinhji, General
Rajkumar, Air Marshal Philip
Rajouri
Rajput Regiment
Rajputana Rifles
Rajputs, Rajput warriors
seized Diu
Randhir Singh, Air Marshal
Rangarajan, L.N.
Rangdom Gompa
Ranjit Rai, Lieutenant Colonel Dewan
Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of Punjab
Rao, Major General K.V. Krishna
Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC)
Rashtriya Rifles
Rathore, Lt Col Rajyvardhan Singh
Rathore, Major J S (retd)
Ratnu, Wazir
Rawat, Pandit Nain Singh
Rawlinson, Lord
Rawlley, Lieutenant General N.C.
Razakars
realpolitik
Rear Airfield Maintenance Organisation, Palam
Reconnaissance, Indian statecraft and Chinese intransigence
regimental system
Rehman, Sheikh Mujibur
Rehman, Zia-ur
Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW)
Rezangla
Rikhye, Ravi
Rizvi, Kasim (spl vari Qasim Razvi)
Roberts, Lord
Rohtang Pass
Rommel, Field Marshal Erwin
Roosevelt, Franklin
Rose, L.E.
Rosen, Stephen
Ross, Robert S.
Roy, Indra Lal
Roy, Vice Admiral Mihir, War in the Indian Ocean
Royal Air Force (RAF)
Royal Desert Air Force
Royal Flying Corps (RFC)
Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF)
Royal Indian Army Supply Corps
Royal Indian Marine (RIM)
Royal Indian Military College (RIMC)
Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RINVR)
Royal Indian Navy (RIN)
downsizing and retrenchment
revolt
World War II
Task Force
Royal Jordanian Air Force
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
Royal Navy
Rubinoff, Arthur
Rudra, Major General Ajit Anil ‘Jock’, (spl vari Jick)
Russell, Lieutenant General Dudley
Russian Empire
Sabre Slayers
Sagat Singh, Lieutenant General
Salauddin (force)
Salazar
Sambhaji, Maratha Prince
Sampuran Bachan Singh, Lieutenant Colonel
Samson, Vice Admiral
Sandhu, Flight Lieutenant A.J.S.
Sangha, Lieutenant Colonel G.S.
Sant Singh, Brigadier
Sapper (Engineer) Regiment
Sarila, Narinder Singh
Sastry, Shama
Satyagraha movement
Satyendra Singh, Rear Admiral
Schanberg, Sydney
Se La, collapse of
Sea Control and Protection of Commerce
Sea Denial
Sea Hawks and Alizes
Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCS)
sea-land battle (1604)
Sehgal, Squadron Leader Prem
Sekhon, Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh
Sen, Eroll Chunder
Sen, Lieutenant General L.P.
Shah, Squadron Leader Zafar A.
Shaitan Singh, Major
Shakargarh Battle
limited success
Shaksgam Valley, ceded to China by Pakistan
Shalateng Battle
Shankar, Air Vice Marshal Milind
Shankar, Engineer
Sharma, Flight Lieutenant S.C.
Sharma, Lieutenant General Nirbhay
Sharma, Major Somnath
Shastri, Lal Bahadur
Sherman tank
Shivaji, Maratha king
Sholapur-Hyderabad highway
Shyok river
Siachen Glacier
Sialkot sector
tank battle
Siddiqui, Tiger
Signals Training Centre (STC)
Sikhs, Sikh warriors
assimilation into British Indian Army
military resistance to British expansion
Sikh Light Infantry
Sikh Regiment
Sikkim
Sikkim-Tibet border
Simla Agreement
Simla Conference (1972)
Simla Conference with Tibet and China (1914)
Singapore
fall of (1942)
Singh, Brigadier K.K.
Singh, General V.K.
Singh, Lieutenant General Harbaksh
Singh, Lieutenant General Sartaj
Singh, Lieutenant Yadunath
Sinha, Major S.K.
Sinhgarh Company
Sinkiang
See Xinjiang
Sirijap complex
Skardu battle
Skeen Committee
Slim, Field Marshal William ‘Bill’
Defeat into Victory
Somme and Flanders, Battle of
South Asia in turmoil
South-East-Asia
South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO)
Soviet Union
advances towards Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf
expansion into Central Asia
Spangur Gap
Sparrow Control
Sparrow, Major General Rajinder Singh
Special Services Group (SSG)
Spitfires
Spiti Valley
spring battles in the vale
Sri Lanka
Indian intervention
Srinagar-Leh highway
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Standstill Agreement
statecraft
relevance of Kautilya
reconnaissance, Indian statecraft and Chinese intransigence
strategic revival
Subrahmanyam, K.
Sukhoi
Sun Tzu
Sundarji, General Krishnaswamy
Supremo Syndrome
Surender Singh, Naik
Suri, Group Captain Roshan
Swaraj Prakash, Captain
Swaran Singh, Sardar
Sylhet
Tactical Air Centre (TAC)
Tactical Battle Area (TBA)
Tactics and Combat Development Establishment (TACDE)
Tang dynasty
Tara, Major Ashok
Tarapore, Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir B
Tariq (force)
Tariq, General
See Khan, General Akbar
Tashkent Agreement (1966)
Tawang
Tedder, Air Marshal
Thagla Rigde
Thakur, Ram Singh
Thambi’ engineers
Thangaraju, Major
Thapa, Major Dhan Singh
Thapa, Major Sher Jung
Thapan, Lieutenant General M.L.
Thapar, Flying Officer Anil
Thapar, General P.N.
Thapar, Romesh
Thapar, Romila
Thapliyal, Major General S.V.
Thapliyal, U.P.
Thant, U.
Theograj, Brigadier
Thimayya, General K.S.
Thorat, Lieutenant General S.P.P.
Tibet
and Aksai Chin
British fascination/interest
and British India, boundaries
cartographic details by Nain Singh Rawat
Chinese annexation/capability build-up
history from Indian perspective
and India-China conflict of 1962
Lamas
McMahon Line
Russian ambitions
and Turkestan, wool trade
Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR)
Tibet-Sikkim and Bhutan, tri-junction
Tibet-Sinkiang highway
Tibetan Tourism Authority
Tiger Hill
Tipu Sultan
Tithwal
Tiwary, Air Vice Marshal A. K.
Tobruk battle, Libya
Tochi Scouts
Toofani
Topa Ridge Battle
Toynbee, Arnold
Travancore
Truman, Harry
Trumbull, Robert
Tsar armies captured Tashkent and Samarkand
Tufail, Kaiser
Turkestan
Uban, Major General S.S.
Umrao Singh, Lieutenant General
United Nations (UN)
and the Kashmir issue
brokered ceasefire (1948)
mediation
Military Observer Group (UNMOG)
Peacekeeping force in Korea
resolution condemning Pakistani atrocities in Bangladesh
Security Council
Resolution on Kashmir
Tribunal
United States (US)
Air Force
indifference towards human rights violation in East Pakistan
Military Assistance Programme (MAP) to Pakistan
Navy
post World War II
Seventh Fleet in Bay of Bengal
Uri sector
Usman, Brigadier Mohammed
Vajpayee, Atal Bihari
Vampire
Vas, Lieutenant General Eric A.
Vashisht, Wing Commander
Verghese, B G
Vietnam conflict
Vijayanta
Vittal, Wing Commander Vinay
Vivekananda
Vultee Vengeance Dive Bombers
Wajed, Sheikh Hasina
Walong battle
stubborn resistance at
war, avoidance of
operational preparation for
Wavell, Field Marshal (Lord) Archibald
Weber, Max
Weigley, Russell, (spl vari Weigly)
Welinkar, Lieutenant Srikrishna
West Coast of India
Whig, Brigadier M.L.
Wilkinson, Steven
Williams, Squadron Leader Arnold
Wilson, Harold
Wollen, Group Captain Mally
World War I
World War II
financial burden
role of Indian Army
role of Indian Air Force
Wortzel, Larry M.
Xinjiang (Sinkiang)
Yadav, Commander Babru
Yarkand
Yeager, Colonel Chuck
Younghusband, Francis
Ypres Battle
Zafarwal Battle
Zaidi, Akbar S.
Zamorin (Hindu rulers) of Calicut
Zanskar range
Zhou Enlai
Zorawar Singh, General
Zojila Battle (spelling variation Zojila)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is the result of one simple idea: I wanted to share an important and less-written-about facet of contemporary Indian history with more than merely the military fraternity in mind. I am grateful to all the veterans who welcomed me into their homes and shared their experiences of war, both good and bad. I am particularly grateful to the late Air Chief Marshal Moolgavkar, Admiral Nadkarni, Admiral Arun Prakash, Lieutenant General W.A.G. Pinto, Lieutenant General Thomas Mathew, Lieutenant General B.T. Pandit, Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar, Lieutenant General Shammi Mehta, Air Marshals Patney, Pingale, Rajkumar, Bhatia and Sekhon, Vice Admiral Pasricha, Group Captain Murdeshwar, Wing Commander Mayadev, Commander Kavina and many other veterans for their narratives, support and words of encouragement. There were others too from across the country who shared their experiences. My gratitude goes out to them.
Any endeavour such as this needs periodic boosters to propel it far enough; Prof. Sugata Bose, Dr Ramachandra Guha and Admiral Arun Prakash provided those. While Prof. Bose was the first one to see value in the project in late 2012, Dr Guha was the first to read the entire manuscript in 2014 and approve of its broad contours. I am indeed privileged to have spent time with these most accomplished historians. Words cannot express my gratitude to Admiral Arun Prakash for urging me to follow my passion and not get bogged down by a few career setbacks. Prof. Rana Mitter from Oxford, Brigadier Palsokar, Squadron Leader Rana Chhina and Group Captain Ashish Singh offered insightful and incisive critiques after my first draft. These allowed me to make relevant mid-course changes. Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar, Air Marshal Patney and Air Marshal Reddy went through my final draft and offered highly constructive suggestions. I am also grateful to the Photo Division of the Ministry of Defence, the Armed Forces Films and Photo Division, archives from The Hindu, numerous regimental centres, squadrons and war colleges from where I managed to collect an excellent repository of photographs and records of action. Rana Chhina, P.V.S. Jagan Mohan and Air Vice Marshal Vikram Singh were extremely kind in sharing their vast repository of rare photographs and filling gaps in my narrative.
To the Indian Army for having taken me into their fold at Pune for over two years during which time the book was written, and for having respected me as a professional, I can only offer my dedication in the form of this book. I am indebted to the Indian Air Force for clearing the book. Had it not been for Air Chief Marshal Raha, the Chief of Air Staff, and Air Marshal Dhanoa, the vice chief, this book may not have seen the light of day. The National Defence College was the perfect place where I could give the finishing touches to this book and Lieutenant General Ghei, the commandant, has been most supportive of my endeavour.
Krishan Chopra, Siddhesh Inamdar and Bonita Vaz-Shimray at HarperCollins brought the narrative to life and helped me clear the minefield of publishing. The ever-cheerful warrant officer, Sahoo, the head of my office staff in Pune and Delhi, ensured that I never got hassled by routine administrative work.
I am indebted to my parents for encouraging a spirit of inquiry and challenging me to keep my passion for history alive. My wife Mowthika was a pillar of strength during these past three years of uncertainty. She handled the choppy waters with the dexterity of an experienced navigator on the high seas. My girls Shruti and Meghna jokingly called me a bipolar father during this critical period for them as teenagers. This book would not have been possible without their resilience and fortitude.
Photographic Inserts
WW I
Naik Darwan Singh Negi, Garhwal Rifles, Victoria Cross (VC), WW I, 23 November 1914.
Sepoy Khudadad Khan, the first Indian to win the VC in WW I, 31 October 1914.
British SE5
German Fokker
Lieutenant Indra Lal Roy, Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). He also sketched brilliantly, two samples of which are shown above.
Lieutenant Welingkar, Military Cross. He was the second Indian pilot to be killed in WW I.
Indian soldiers with Colonel Bartoli of the French army, Pas-de-Calais, Northern France, 1915.
Indian troops practise a drill with gas masks prior to the second battle of Ypres, April-May 1915.
WW II
Second Lieutenant Bhagat, the first Indian to be awarded the VC in WW II.
Commander D.N. Mukherji, the first Indian naval officer.
Field Marshal Auchinleck – Friend of India.
Battalion Commanders of the All Indian 51 Infantry Brigade. (L to R) Lieutenant Colonels Thorat and Sen, Brigadier Hutton (Brigade Commander) and Lieutenant Colonel Thimayya.
IAF Squadron Commanders in Burma (from L to R) Niranjan Prasad, Prithipal Singh, Mehar Singh, Arjan Singh, Majithia and Hem Chaudhuri.
IAF’s two early DFCs, Aspy Engineer and the legendary K.K. (Jumbo) Majumdar.
An Indian diver kitted for action.
Flight Lieutenant Nur Khan, later Chief of Pakistan Air Force.
A Royal Indian Navy ship in the Bay of Bengal.
A Royal Indian Navy ack–ack crew in action.
Havildar (later Lieutenant Colonel) Chanan Singh Dhillon of 41 Field Park Regiment, British 8th Army, commanding a Muster Parade.
Refereeing a wrestling bout at a prisoners of war camp at Limberg (near Frankfurt).
A Sikh soldier guarding Japanese prisoners of war in Burma.
A Rajput Regiment sniper cleaning his rifle.
Tamil gunners of 5th India Field Battalion in Burma, April 1942.
Squadron Leader Arjan Singh, DFC, 1 Squadron, in Imphal, May 1944.
Flight Lieutenant Rajaram, DFC, flight commander, with aircrew and technicians of 1 Squadron, Imphal, 1944.
Hurricanes of 6 Squadron, IAF, Cox’s Bazaar, Burma theatre.
Indian, American and British troops, north Assam, 1943.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose reviewing a mechanized unit of the INA in Singapore.
INA parade in Singapore, July 1943.
PLATE SECTION 2
Wing Commander Subroto Mukerjee (fourth from right) and Mrs Sharada Mukerjee (second from right) at a social function after WW II.
J&K, 1947–48
Jawaharlal Nehru discussing military plans in the Poonch/Rajouri sector with Brigadier Usman (centre) as Sheikh Abdullah (right) looks on.
A painting of the Battle of Badgam (3 November 1947) and a portrait of Major Somnath Sharma, who was posthumously awarded independent India’s first Param Vir Chakra (PVC).
Gunners of Patiala State Forces in support of 1 Sikh at Pattan, October 1947.
Wing Commanders K.L. Bhatia (left), hero of the Srinagar airlift, and Moolgavkar (right), orchestrator of air operations in Srinagar, were awarded the Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra respectively for their exploits.
Dakotas of 12 Squadron evacuating civilians from the besieged Poonch.
Villagers in Leh look on as Dakotas of 12 Squadron fly in supplies.
Major Thangaraju of the Madras Sappers opening the Zojila Pass, 1948.
Air Commodore Mehar Singh (third from left), Major General Kulwant Singh (fourth from left), Wing Commander M.M. Engineer (fifth from left) and officers of 12 Squadron.
Pilots of 8 Squadron with their flight commander, Mickey Blake, Vir Chakra (fourth from left).
Hiding a Harvard aircraft from enemy shelling in a Poonch courtyard, mid-1948.
Hyderabad 1948
Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, the Nizam of Hyderabad.
Arms haul from retreating Razakars.
Stuart Tanks of 1 Armoured Division en route to Hyderabad.
Major General E.L. Edroos (right) surrendering to Major General Chaudhuri in Hyderabad on 16 September 1948.
Goa 1961
Bombay Sappers laying a bridge across the Mandovi during Operation Vijay, December 1961.
Portuguese prisoners of war being repatriated to Portugal in December 1961.
The Younghusband Route into Tibet via Jelepla in Sikkim.
1962 war
Gorkhas at Pangong Tso in October 1962.
A mule patrol of Ladakh Scouts around Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO).
5 Jat Regiment during their valiant withdrawal from DBO along the frozen Shyok river.
Gorkha survivors from the Sirjap outposts along Pangong Tso.
IAF Packets on a forward dropping mission in eastern Ladakh.
IL-14s and other IAF transport aircraft at Chushul before Phase II of the war, late October 1962.
An IAF helicopter at a forward helipad in Tawang sector.
Armoured vehicles being offloaded from an An-12 at Chushul, November 1962.
A painting of 13 Kumaon at Rezangla, where Major Shaitan Singh (portrait) was posthumously awarded a Param Vir Chakra.
PLATE SECTION 3
Captured Pakistani raiders during Operation Gibraltar, August 1965.
1965 war
Major Ranjit Singh Dayal (fourth from left) and his team from 1 Para with Brigadier Zorawar Bakshi, Brigade Commander of 68 Infantry Brigade.
Indian Howitzers in action in Haji Pir after its capture.
Sabre killers from Halwara, Flying Officer Neb (left) and Flight Lieutenant Rathore (right) with the Air Chief, Arjan Singh, September 1965.
Dr Karan Singh, Governor of J&K, flanked by Major General Sparrow (left) and Lieutenant General Dunne atop a destroyed Palton tank in Sialkot sector.
Flight Lieutenant Alfred Cooke from 14 Squadron next to the Hunter in which he shot down two PAF Sabres in a classic dogfight over Kalaikunda.
Rearming Mysteres of 1 Squadron at Adampur, September 1965.
A Gnat scramble at a forward base, September 1965.
Ground attack boys of 1 Squadron at Adampur with their commanding officer, Wing Commander O.P. Taneja (standing fifth from right).
Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan with troops of 3 Jat after the Battle of Dograi.
A canteen for arriving troops set up by the citizens of Amritsar at the city railway station.
Lal Bahadur Shastri with UN Secretary General U. Thant (centre).
A senior Indian Army officer shares a light moment with his Pakistani counterparts on the Ichogil Canal after the ceasefire.
Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh (fourth from left) with veterans of 1 Sikh just after the 1965 war.
Training the Mukti Bahini somewhere in the Eastern theatre.
1971 war
A young Mukti Bahini fighter displays his marksmanship.
Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram being driven around the frontline by Major General Pinto.
General Manekshaw (centre) with Lieutenant General K.K. Singh (right) and Major General Pinto (second from right) in Shakargarh.
Ladakh Scouts after the capture of Turtuk, December 1971.
Foxtrot Class submarine INS Kalavari entering Mumbai against the backdrop of the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel.
Wing Commander Kaul (right), the commanding officer of 37 Squadron, briefing his No. 2, Flying Officer Masand, prior to a recce mission.
Air Defence Gunners in action around Amritsar, December 1971.
Lieutenant General Sagat Singh, the unstoppable commander, addressing troops before the final assault on Dacca from the east.
A destroyed Patton tank near Longewala.
Loading the deadly T-10 rockets on a Hunter aircraft.
29 Squadron (Scorpios) of MiG-21s saw much action in the desert sector.
IAF Packets over Tangail. Over fifty aircraft of various types were used in this airborne operation.
Indian tanks on the road to Dacca, December 1971.
Group Captain Chandan Singh (left) and Lieutenant General Sagat Singh (right), the two architects of the joint operation in Bangladesh.
(From left to right) Brigadier Kler, Major General Nagra, Lieutenant Colonel Pannu and Brigadier Sant Singh in Dacca.
INS Vikrant in the Bay of Bengal with her full complement
of aircraft.
Vice Admiral Krishnan with children in Chittagong.
Lieutenant General Candeth being briefed by Major General Bakshi, 26 Infantry Division sector, December 1971.
Sheikh Hasina and her family after their release from house arrest on 16 December 1971.
Osa Class missile boats used by the Indian Navy in the attacks on Karachi.
Vice Admiral Kohli (centre) with Commander Babru Yadav, MVC, on his right and Lieutenant Commmander Kavina, VrC, on his left.
Indira Gandhi visiting a wounded soldier at a military hospital.
Indira Gandhi greeting Air Chief Marshal Lal while his fellow chiefs look on.
Sheikh Mujib reviews a parade by the Indian Army in March 1972.
AN INSPIRING ACCOUNT OF INDIA’S MILITARY LEGACY
The armed forces play a key role in protecting India and occupy a special place in people’s hearts. Yet, standard accounts of contemporary Indian history rarely have a military dimension.
In India’s Wars, serving Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam, who has a PhD in Defence and Strategic Studies, seeks to give India’s military exploits their rightful place in history. Beginning with a snapshot of the growth of the armed forces, he provides detailed accounts of the conflicts from Independence to 1971: the first India–Pakistan war of 1947–48, the liberation of Hyderabad and Junagadh, the campaign to evict the Portuguese from Goa in 1961, and the full-blown wars against China and Pakistan.
At the same time, India’s Wars is much more than a record of events. It is a tribute to the valour of the men and women in olive green, white and blue in the hope that it reaches out to a large audience, specially the youth. It highlights ways to improve the synergy between the three services, and emphasizes the need for wider discussions on matters related to national security.
Laced with veterans’ exhilarating experiences in combat operations, India’s Wars fuses the strategic, operational, tactical and human dimensions of war with great finesse. Deeply researched and passionately written, it unfolds with ease and offers a fresh perspective on independent India’s history.
About the Author
Arjun Subramaniam is a serving Air Vice Marshal in the Indian Air Force. An alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College, National Defence Academy and National Defence College, he is an accomplished fighter pilot who has primarily flown MiG-21s and Mirage-2000s during his active flying career. He has commanded a MiG-21 squadron and a large flying base. An instructor at academies and institutions of military learning in India and abroad, he is a soldier-scholar with a PhD in defence and strategic studies. A prolific writer and speaker on military history, air power and national security, he is currently posted as a faculty member at the National Defence College, New Delhi.
Advance Praise for India’s Wars
‘Arjun Subramaniam is a remarkable soldier-scholar who combines an avid interest in history with keen strategic insights. He writes with great clarity and balance on India’s modern conflicts. His sound history fills a major lacuna in the field of contemporary Indian history and could contribute to a more informed formulation of policy and strategy in the future.’
– Sugata Bose, Member of Parliament and Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs at Harvard University
‘Military history is a seriously under-researched field in India. This outstanding book on India’s military conflicts since Independence is, therefore, very welcome. As a scholar-practitioner, Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam is uniquely qualified, and both aspects of his background are revealed to good effect in his book. The close attention to the technical and organizational aspects of the armed forces, combined with a rich and nuanced analysis of the conflicts themselves, makes for compelling as well as instructive reading.’
– Ramachandra Guha, historian and author
‘Deftly telescoping six decades of India’s conflicts in a single volume, Arjun Subramaniam presents an objective and compelling tri-service narrative which I found hard to put down. He joins a select band of service officers who have, in the tradition of Thucydides, shown the intellectual acumen as well as courage and perseverance to put pen to paper while still in uniform.’
– Admiral Arun Prakash (retd), former Chief of Naval Staff and Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee
‘Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam’s deep insights into the first twenty-five years of independent India’s military history fill a big gap in our understanding of modern India’s political evolution. As Delhi rises to be one of the world’s leading economic and military powers, Subramaniam’s narrative contributes to the construction of a more productive discourse on India’s strategic future.’
– C. Raja Mohan, foreign affairs columnist and director, Carnegie India
‘Considering the scope and nature of conflicts that the Indian armed forces have engaged in since Independence, presenting a narrative within a tri-service perspective is a daunting task by any measure. Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam has rendered yeoman service to the profession of arms and to the idea of ‘jointmanship’ that will need to be the bedrock of military operations in the future. Very well researched and authenticated with exhaustive interviews, striking photographs and detailed maps, the narrative meets the rigour of academic discourse. It certainly has the potential to form part of the curriculum for study of contemporary Indian military history at war colleges and universities. It is what many of us would call a “labour of love”, by a person who has enjoyed being in the profession of arms, and has therefore tried to place its achievements, and, I dare say, inadequacies, in the public domain for the greater benefit of society in general, and the Indian armed forces in particular.’
– Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar (retd)
‘A well-researched, well-written, very readable account of the development of the Indian armed forces over the last 300-plus years and, particularly, their performance during the wars fought in independent India up to 1971. The book is a saga of the spirit and commitment of the Indian armed forces in spite of being consistently surprised by our adversaries and forever low on resources. The author has often trodden virgin ground and produced what can only be termed as a “special work”, peppered with his personal views, that will intrigue and interest the lay reader and the professional. Any such work has to rely on books and interviews, and history is a many-sided study. Some disagreements on details are likely, but that does not detract from the quality of the essential narrative. The author deserves kudos and accolades.’
– Air Marshal Vinod Patney (retd)
‘For too long, the military contribution to India’s post-Independence development has been underplayed in standard histories. Arjun Subramaniam provides a detailed, thoughtful and compelling view of this missing factor in understanding the turbulent years after 1947. A valuable and innovative work of history.’
– Rana Mitter, professor and director of the China Centre at Oxford University
PHOTO CREDITS
I am grateful to the following organizations, units, regimental centres, fleets, squadrons and individuals for sharing photographs and helping with sketches so willingly. Their contributions added significant value to the narrative.
Ministry of Defence Photo Division and Armed Forces Film and Photo Division, special thanks to Major V.K. Singh (retd) and Mr Sreekumar
Air Force Museum and Institute of Flight Safety, Palam
Mr Gurbinder Dhillon
Squadron Leader Rana Chhina
Netaji Research Bureau
Kumaon Regimental Centre, Ranikhet
A.V.M. Vikram Singh
Parachute Regimental Centre
MEG Regimental Centre
BEG Centre
Armoured Corps Centre
Artillery Centre
Ladakh Scouts Centre
Eastern Naval Command
No. 1 Squadron, IAF
No. 4 Squadron, IAF
No. 12 Squadron, IAF
No. 14 Squadron, IAF
4 Mech Regiment (formerly 1 Sikh)
Photo archives of The Hindu (special thanks to N. Ravi and Pothen Jacob)
Lieutenant General W.A.G. Pinto (retd)
P.V.S. Jagan Mohan
Group Captain Deb Gohain (retd)
Air Commodore Nagesh Kapoor
Eastern & Western Naval Command Archives
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First published in India in 2016 by
HarperCollins Publishers India
P-ISBN: 978-93-5177-749-6
Epub Edition © April 2016 ISBN: 978-93-5177-750-2
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Arjun Subramaniam asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
The views and opinions expressed in this book are the author’s own and the facts are as reported by him, and the publishers are not in any way liable for the same.
Other than the official Indian boundaries depicted on the maps, few boundaries are as per the author’s own findings and study. The author and the publisher do not claim them to be official/legal boundaries of India.
The maps are neither accurate nor drawn to exact scale and the international boundaries as shown neither purport to be correct nor authentic as per the directives of the Survey of India.
Cover image: Getty Images
Cover design: HarperCollins Publishers India
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