The Indian forces, after a 13-day battle, registered a resounding victory over Pakistan on December 16, 1971, which ultimately led to the creation of Bangladesh. It was on this day, when General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, the head of Pakistan’s armed forces, along with 93,000 of its soldiers, surrendered before the Indian Army as well as the Mukti Bahini of Bangladesh. This marked the most substantial military surrender post World War II.
India had also defeated Pakistan during the Kargil War in 1999. The country marked the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas on July 26, which commemorates the victory of our armed forces over Pakistan.
As the nation pays tribute to the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in different wars, here we take a look at several revelations that have been made by Army veterans and others in recent times:
‘Nawaz went running to Bill Clinton’
Speaking to ANI in April last year, former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Vikram Sood discussed how a phone call intercepted by the Indian agency during the Kargil War had a major impact on Pakistan.
Talking about the phone call, Sood said, “Pervez (Musharraf) had gone to Beijing and there he rings up (Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Mohammed) Aziz and they talk to each other… The conversation was about how ‘we are controlling the whole operation… Mian Nawaz ko zyada batane ki zarurat nahi hain. You don’t have to tell him anything. Just tell him everything is okay… We will carry on like this.'”
Sood recalled that this conversation proved that Pakistan was ‘actually involved’ in the Kargil War.
Asked whether it aided in ending a war, Sood added, “It made a lot of difference. After that Nawaz went running to Bill Clinton.”
“Nawaz went running to Clinton…” R&AW’s phone intercept during Kargil War and its impact#ANIPodcastWithSmitaPrakash #VikramSood #Podcast #SmitaPrakash
Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/BHYnEjZEWB pic.twitter.com/kaai7QyWPw— ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2023
When foreign tech misled India in the Kargil War
While speaking with the news agency about the Kargil War, Lt Col (retd) Pavithran Rajan recalled the time when we “started increasingly becoming dependent on others (foreign countries) in May last year.”
“If you look at 26/11 (attacks), the whole talk was happening on Skype,” he said.
He recalled how they were “issued with something, called ‘Garmin’ handset,” moving from the old methods of finding each others’ positions on the map.
“But somehow I felt there was something wrong with that set. I knew where I was, but it was showing me somewhere else. In my mind, it was troubling me that, we have spent money and it is not working.”
ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash | Story of 26/11 & how foreign tech misled India in Kargil war- Lt Col Pavithran Rajan (Retd)
#ANIPodcastWithSmitaPrakash #KargilWar #ISIWatch the full episode here: https://t.co/GKk7qzPbmp pic.twitter.com/ZQLqNAtim8
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2023
Include war heroes in schools’ syllabus
GL Batra, father of Captain Vikram Batra, known for his heroic actions during the Kargil War, demanded last year that stories of war heroes be included in schools’ syllabuses.
“People forget the things with time but I believe that Captain Vikram Batra is such a personality that people still remember him. It was a long-time desire of our family and I have been repeatedly saying in the media that war heroes like Captain Vikram Batra are known worldwide and whatever he had done in Kargil was outstanding…. I wish that our governments would add the stories of our war heroes to the school syllabus so that the younger generation and future generations may get inspiration,” GL Batra said.
‘Still not given up on Kashmir’
Soon after Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir acknowledged the Pakistan Army’s role during the Kargil War, Defence expert Anil Gaur, in September this year, said that it was high time the Pakistan Army stopped matching up with the Indian armed forces or viewed India as an adversary.
“This is a kind of development in the sense that if Pakistan acknowledges that its army had taken these intrusions into their planning back then, it reflects that even after 75 years, they have still not given up on Kashmir… Though Kashmir is a part of India, and the world acknowledges that but even now, after all the wars Pakistan has fought and lost, they are still arguing about Kashmir,” Gaur told ANI.
He added, “It is high time that the Pakistan Army stopped trying to match up with the Indian Army or trying to take India and its army as an adversary and look after their people who are dying of hunger and who have no employment”.
