Draft plan for Guerrilla operations during 1971 Indo-Pak war was prepared within 24 hours: Brig Sukhjit

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 11

While recalling his service at the Directorate of Military Operations in 1971, Brig Sukhjit Singh (retd) on Saturday revealed that it was he who prepared the draft plan of Guerrilla operations in East Pakistan.

Brig Singh later won the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) for his role in the Battle of Basantar in the Shakargarh sector. He was Lt Col at that time. He was sharing his experience at the Military Lit Fest, which started today.

His boss Lt Gen KK Singh asked him and his senior Lt Col Rai Singh Yadav to prepare a paper on Guerrilla operations. They were to report back at 7 am in morning. “We used our imagination and worked through the night. Those were the days of the typewriter,” he remembered.

Lt Gen KK Singh, while going through their 30-page long paper, with a red pen either said nonsense or rubbish but noted each detail. “He redid it in a precise military language and reduced it to 12 pages.”

The plan started taking its shape.

“I was asked to contact Capt Oscar Stanley Dawson who later rose to Chief of Naval Staff. At that time, he was Director Naval Operations. Lt Gen KK Singh had underwater operations for Guerrillas (Mukti Bahini) in his mind,” said Brig Sukhjit.

He added that when he met Capt Dawson in his room, there were a number of the officers present. But the message was to be sent across. So, he started asking him about his favourite dish in French cuisine during his naval tours to Europe. Though he named few, but Brig Sukhjit pressed him to tell about a very special dish. When Capt Dawson said frogs, Brig Sukhjit nodded, and this was how the message was sent across.

Dawson was to provide training to Geurillas who later blew up enemy ships in East Pakistan under Operation Jackpot.

Brig Sukhjit also revealed that while leading a tank column in Pathankot, a milkman led him to Dinanagar in Punjab. “He was going there only, so our whole regiment followed him. So a milkman led the regiment to a war zone,” said Brig Sukhjit.

Lt Gen Depinder Singh (retd), who was military assistant to Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in 1971, revealed about a meeting of PM Indira Gandhi, her ministers, and Manekshaw.

The Chief of Army Staff wanted to delay the war but the ministers wanted an early start of the operations.

“The Chief got up and went up to her table and said that if she liked him to resign, he would do it on mental health or something. She laughed and said Sam, of course not.”

“She said you are right and will give you time. You take all the time and when you are ready, let me know. We can commence the operations,” said Lt Gen Depinder.

For 13 days of the war, neither the PM or defence minister had questioned any single action by the Chief of Army Staff, he added.

Former IAS officer SS Boparai, who won Kirti Chakra for his contributions in the 1971 war as Ferozepur DC, shared that the civil administration never said no to Army for any support right from digging an anti-tank ditch to fulfilling their entertainment needs.

“While the first show was being inaugurated in a cinema hall in Fazilka, we heard the sounds as the war started,” he said.