Justifying The Unjustifiable

The India-Pakistan War 1971 was rapidly moving to its culminating phase by the middle of December 1971. The wires were buzzing incessantly between South Block in New Delhi, Fort William in Calcutta and the Pakistani Command Centre at Dacca in East Pakistan.

I was a witness to these historic events, as a young Major covering the War from the Military Operations Directorate and manning the East Pakistan desk, although the major policy issues were being debated by the Generals – by the COAS and DGMO in New Delhi; by the Eastern Army Commander and his Chief of Staff at Calcutta and similar Pakistani Commanders at Dacca.

Besides being on the periphery of these momentous events, my battalion (1 MARATHA LI), operating rapidly on the Northern Axis of Tura-Jamalpur- Tangail-Mirpur Bridge was winning laurels while knocking on the gates of Dacca, while other columns were doing so on their respective Axes. The mood was euphoric but tense. India’s Armed Forces were about to create a much-awaited massive victory. As 16 Dec 1971 dawned, the Indian Armed Forces were ready to accept the surrender of the Pakistani forces.

At around 4:30 PM, General Jagjit Singh Aurora, GOC-in-C Eastern Command, arrived at the Dhaka airport. Gens Jacob and Niazi went there to receive him. They drove to the venue of the Surrender Ceremony at the Dacca Race Course. Once the signing was over, the two commanders rose from their chairs. Then, according to the tradition of surrender, General Niazi with a trembling hand and a melancholic face handed over his revolver to General Aurora.

The historic event was recorded for posterity and that photograph became the symbol of this grand and historic event. Since then, this photograph has been displayed at every conceivable place and copies have been published in thousands of documents, including books about the wars and campaigns. However, its most important place has been the Army Chiefs office complex, where our successive Chiefs have used it as a background for meeting foreign and local guests.

The surrender ceremony at Dacca - 16 December 1971 (in black and white)

The original photograph in colour

In the annals of India’s long history of thousands of years, certain wars and battles stand out and are embedded in the psyche of most Indians. Some of them have at various times created controversies, big and small, as some person or a group of persons have not given great thought to what was being contemplated or thought it a trivial matter, not worth wasting time on it. Reasons could be many, from not seeing beyond their noses; deeply immersed in their own self-created aura of personal aggrandizement; or having no sense of history!

The discerning persons of today, especially those who have worn or are currently wearing the uniform of soldiers, sailors and airmen, are involved in a raging controversy about an act of omission or commission that has occurred in the hallowed office complex of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), which despite being in a high security zone, is always under the scrutiny of the media and the common man.

For the last few days, it has been catapulted in the public gaze over the removal or shifting or replacement of the iconic photograph/painting of just over half a century back, as displayed above, because of the very nature of the painting, as it reflects the bravery, valor, patriotic fervor and emotional attachment of a huge variety of the Indian polity, especially the veterans, serving soldiers, sailors and airmen, and their families.

The removal of the iconic photograph taken at the Race Course Dacca on 16 Dec 1971, as the culmination of the 1971 India-Pakistan War, which our country’s armed forces fought in a lightning campaign, at a loss of 3843 lives of servicemen killed and 9851 wounded, has been till today the greatest feat of Arms of India’s military. It needs to be highlighted that this was the first war on widely dispersed fronts, which India had fought and prevailed on the battlefield, creating a new country- Bangladesh, in the process.

In many ways, this date of 16 Dec 1971 had propelled the Indian Armed Forces to the ranks of global few militaries, who noted that the Indian Military had arrived!

Thus was Vijay Diwas born and celebrated, despite many bureaucratic and political hurdles, which these two entities have always created. In the early days, the much liked and respected Sam Manekshaw, who had steered not only his beloved Indian Army but also the other services too, was denigrated on specious grounds and even denied a Field Marshal’s pension. In later years, when the parties in power changed, the highly apolitical armed forces were sought to be embroiled in “Congress versus BJP Wars”, although denied by both!!

In what may be better called a blunder, the painting that was lovingly placed at the den of the seniormost Tiger of the Indian Army was removed and replaced, without any fanfare or notice. The removal was an act of misguided (stated in lieu of a harsher expletive) judgement, as it was no ordinary painting/photograph, but the recording of the extraordinary event in the annals of the glorious history of the armed forces of not just the modern forces of India, but one that was ranked amongst the very few that qualified to be in the vanguard of wars and battles fought by India in its various ‘avatars’ down the ages, irrespective of which Kingdom or which Ruler had taken on its enemy of his/her time.

The rarity of this painting/photograph was that it had catapulted the Indian Armed Forces to the high table at the global level. Now, I understand another painting, but without any soul has replaced the ‘Surrender at Dacca’ and the politico-bureaucratic hoopla seeks to infuse emotions in its soulless façade. It has neither awe nor inspiration, but a hotchpotch of uncoordinated images and scenery, like in a film poster without any actors!

Replaced Painting - A mix of politics, religion and military platforms

Some aspects of justifying the removal and replacement are even hilarious as a few have argued that offices of Generals should remain exclusive to how they want it and not guided or commented upon by the hoi p'loy like me and others! Perhaps, but when one occupies the highest office of Indian Army, some norms do have to be adhered too, especially if they add to the high morale of the army and motivates them. It is of course too much to expect our politico-bureaucratic combine to understand these nuances!

Let me end this missive by quoting an instance that is bound to delight and appeal to the uniformed community (both veterans and those currently in service). For those who may not be aware, all batches who pass out from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun return to the Academy to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of their commissioning. It is also customary for the courses to present a memento to the Academy on this occasion. In 2021, it was the turn of the 48 Regular and 32 Technical Courses, which had been commissioned on 14 Nov 1971 (less than one month before the commencement of the war). This course had presented a brass life-size trophy of the very iconic Surrender photograph we have been discussing above. Being life-size, every visitor to the Academy would be able to see it and exult over this famous victory.

Brass Replica of the Dacca Surrender Ceremony at the IMA

Incidentally, two stalwarts of this Course 2/Lts MPS Chaudhary (10 BIHAR) and RM Naresh (9 JAT), displaying exceptional valour, had made the supreme sacrifice on the battlefield.

Lt General Vijay Oberoi is a former Vice Chief of Army Staff and the Former Founder Director of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), and now its Director General Emeritus. Views expressed are the writer’s own.