The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary of the war.
President Ayub Khan, then a favourite with the Western powers as Pakistan was an ally in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, was keen that before India builds up the strength of its armed forces, it should take action to acquire Kashmir. As an ally of the Western Powers, Pakistan had received Patton Tanks, F-104 Star Fighters, Sabres and B-57 bombers.
In the summer of 1965, Pakistan had a trial run by invading the Rann of Kutch. I was then a public relations officer in the Directorate of Public Relations of the Ministry of Defence, and was asked to cover the operations in Kutch. Before the Indian Army could mobilise troops, a cease fire was brought about through the intervention of then British Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
The cease fire came into being on the day Major Sunderj was promoted Lieutenant Colonel and became the commanding officer of the Mahar Regiment located in the Rann of Kutch.
Ayub Khan and his advisors apparently had hoped that India would shift army formations from north to south, and that he would have a free run in invading Jammu and Kashmir.
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Pakistan then sent infiltrators to Kashmir hoping that the people of the State would rise in its favour. Instead, people gave information of the infiltrators to units of the Indian Army. During the operations that followed, the Indian Army was able to capture key passes that gave ingress to the infiltrators, particularly the Haji Pir Pass in Kashmir.
Impatient, the Pakistan Army attacked Chamb Jaurian on September 1. Titled Operation Grand Slam' Pakistan tried to sever the Indian jugular in Chamb, and was close to succeeding in their objective. The Indian Air Force, which counter-attacked, lost a number of aircraft.
At this critical juncture, India took the initiative at the strategic level through its bold political decision to extend the conflict across the international border in Punjab, which compelled Pakistan to hold its forces at Chamb Jaurian. The decision was taken by Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Defence Minister Yeshwantrao Balwantrao Chavan, who had replaced Krishna Menon after the 1962 debacle. According to records, Y.B. Chavan recorded in minutes on September 4, that the decision to launch an attack on Pakistan across the international border in Punjab was a desperate move and carried high risks. "The step will change the complexion of the entire situation. If we fail - and I cannot imagine it - the nation fails. ". The nation won.
It was asked to proceed to Amritsar to cover the war in the front known as the Lahore Sector. The Western Command was headed by Lt.Gen Harbaksh Singh. The operations in the sector were conducted by 11 Corps headed by Lt. Gen Jogi Dhillon.
The operations in the Lahore Sector was three-pronged: along the Amritsar-Wagah-Lahore Axis along the Grand Trunk Road, the Amritsar Khalra Burki Axis, and the Khem Karan Kasur Axis. The objective was to occupy the east bank of the Icchogil Canal. The Wagah Axis was under the 15 Division, the Khalra Burki Aaxis was under the 7 Division and the Khem Kharan Kasur Axis was under the 4 Division.
On my first day of covering events in the sector, I crossed Wagah and met Lt. Col. Desmond De Hayde of the Jat Regiment, who told me that he had reached the Icchogil Canal, but the supporting armoured vehicles and artillery could not reach and his battalion had to fall back.
My routine during the next ten days was to take correspondents who used to arrive from Delhi to places like Burki, which was captured during the first week of the war, to the location of the 2nd Armoured Brigade, which had scored significant successes against the Pakistan tank attacks. The 2nd Armoured Brigade, commanded by Brig. Theograj , which had Centurion and Sherman Tanks could shoot down the Pakistan Patton Tanks. Indian troops had watered the fields, and when the Pakistani tanks rushed in they bogged down and became an easy target for the Indian tanks. The tank regiments were commanded by Lt Col A. S. Vaidya and Lt Col Salim Caleb, both of whom were awarded the Mahavir Chakra.
Similarly, in the fierce battles fought at Asal Uttar, the Pakistani tanks had bogged down and became targets for Indian troops. We had reports of Pakistani soldiers abandoning their tanks and running back. Nearly 100 Patton Tanks were destroyed by our Centurions.
At my office in Amritsar, I used to listen to the Pakistan Radio regularly. To start with, during the first week of the war, it was stated that Pakistan was winning the war, and telling Indians that they would not damage the Gurudwaras in Amritsar and elsewhere.
I released pictures and interviews on the radio which told the country that Pakistan was not in Indian Punjab, and instead, we had reached Burki. India too had made advances in the Sialkot Sector.
Some foreign correspondents who visited Amritsar told me that they were taken by the Pakistan Army to the forward areas and they believed that India had suffered a debacle. After a visit to Burki and the graveyard of Pakistan Patton Tanks, some burnt and many abandoned, they changed their mind.
On the final day of the war, its 22nd day, I was on the bank of Ichhogil Canal overlooking Lahore , with many Indian correspondents.
India captured 1920 square kilometres of Pakistani territory, as against the loss of 550 sq km of its own territory.
In Tashkent, in January 1966, India and Pakistan agreed to withdraw their forces to the positions that existed on August 5, 1965. India had to surrender key areas, including the Haji Pir Pass. What was won on the battlefield was given up at the negotiating table. Did that trouble Lal Bahadur Shastri who died on January 11 , 1966 at Tashkent?
Chavan noted in his diary: The first round is over - where is the second round and when."
A media- person has speculated that Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar has the makings of Yeshwantrao Chavan, who in his days was compared to Chattrapati Shivaji.
We can never forget the 1965 war with Pakistan. There have been more 'rounds', and one has to be prepared always.
Mr. I. Ramamohan Rao is a former Principal Information Officer to the Government of India. He can be reached on raoramamohan@hotmail.com. (ANI)
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