Ex-servicemen pay tributes to '71 martyrs in Mandi

Tribune News Service

Mandi, December 16

The Himachal Pradesh Ex-Servicemen League, Mandi, paid floral tributes to the martyrs of the 1971 War with Pakistan and felicitated war veterans and their families at the War Memorial here today.

Brig Khushal Thakur (retd) was the chief guest of the homage-paying ceremony organised as part of the Swarnim Vijay Varsh Celebrations to commemorate the 50 years of India’s

victory in the 1971 war over Pakistan and the formation of Bangladesh.

He further said, “It was the day of glory for us. It is also a day to remember the sacrifices made by our great sons of the soil for the cause of the nation”.

He urged the youth to come forward and join the Indian Armed forces. He said that the Indian Army had come a long way in terms of steady modernisation, honing military capabilities against terrorism, internal and external threats and keeping pace with technology.

“The recent crash of CDS Gen Bipin Rawat’s helicopter was tragic but the love, respect and support of people and the government keeps the morale of soldiers very high, which is the key to winning wars,” he added.

“The 1971 war was a military battle between India and Pakistan. It started with pre-emptive airstrikes by Pakistan on December 3, 1971. As a result, the Indian Army agreed to support Bengali nationalist groups in the Bangladesh independence struggle in East Pakistan,” Brig Thakur said.

“The war was fought on both eastern and western fronts. The surrender of Pakistani forces started on December 16, 1971, and around 93,000 of them surrendered. Thus, on December 16, 1971, Bangladesh was born as a new nation and East Pakistan became independent from Pakistan. In the war, about 3,900 Indian soldiers were martyred and about 9,851 were injured,” said Brig Thakur.

The Ex-Servicemen Association of Baldwara also paid tributes to the martyrs.