By A.J. Prabal/National Herald
New Delhi, December 13: A painting depicting an imaginary victory celebration at the Pangong lake near the Galwan valley in Ladakh has replaced the iconic photograph of the ceremonial surrender of Pakistani soldiers to the Indian Army on 16 December, 1971 in Dhaka following the liberation of Bangladesh.
The surrender followed a full-fledged war between India and Pakistan that lasted just about two weeks, during which the United States and China both sided with Pakistan and the United States sent its Seventh Fleet to the Indian Ocean to assist the Pakistani Navi.
As many as 90,000 Pakistani soldiers laid down their arms and the prisoners of war were brought back to India with full honour, detained in POW camps for a year or so before being returned as part of the Simla Pact.
While it is not clear when the photograph was removed from the army headquarters, veterans believe it is part of the ‘decolonisation’ drive undertaken by the BJP government for the past several years. The removal of the iconic photograph, however, is a serious mistake and an insult to the Indian armed forces.
The photograph of the surrender reflected a historic and comprehensive military victory and has inspired successive generations of officers and the ranks. Why would the government decide to remove it from its vantage position at the office of the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) where military leaders from abroad and visitors liked to be photographed with the picture of the surrender as the backdrop?
No explanation has come yet from the ministry of defence or the defence minister. Veterans however have voiced their dismay at the development. They are distressed at the recent changes forced on the Indian armed forces in the name of ‘decolonisation’ and question the assault on military history, tradition and creed.
They believe that reasons are entirely political and the BJP government at the Centre wants to erase the memory of the 1971 victory so that they do not have to give credit to the then PM Indira Gandhi.
Veterans have also questioned the rationale behind the removal of what is known as the ‘Chetwode Creed’ too from the army headquarters. Field Marshal Philip Chetwode was the Commander in Chief of the Indian Army and is credited for setting up of the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. The Chetwode motto is derived from an address the Field Marshal gave to the Academy in 1932.
“I would ask you to remember that you have come here to have your first lessons in three principles which must guide an officer of a National Army,” the Field Marshal had said and laid down the three following rules to follow:
First: – The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time.
Second: – The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next.
Third: – Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.
“I do not find anything colonial in what Field Marshal Chetwode said. In fact, his credo for officers is even more relevant today than in those times. And the cringeworthy amateurish Ladakh painting which imagines a victory, is no match for what the Indian Army actually achieved in Dhaka on 16 December, 1971,” reflected military historian Man Aman Singh Chinna, the author of ‘The Seven Heroes of the 1971 War”.
Lt General H.S. Panag agreed and commented, “The photo/painting symbolising India’s first major military victory in a 1000 years and also first as a united nation, in 1971, has been removed by a hierarchy which believes that mythology, religion and distant fragmented feudal past will inspire future victories.”
Some of the veterans who weighed in pointed out that for the last 10 years the present BJP government has tried to project the Kargil war of 1999, when a BJP-led government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power, as a more significant victory than the 1971 war.
Others recalled that PM Modi had claimed that he had taken part in the Bangladesh Liberation War and gone to jail; that it was just a matter of time before he claimed victory for the 1971 war too, a veteran sarcastically commented.
“We are waiting for the BJP & its supreme leader to say that they and he liberated Bangladesh… the govt which itself has nothing to showcase is trying to fiddle around with history but forgets in the bargain that history, once written, cannot be erased by such childish acts of removing pictures. BJP wants to remove anything which the earlier govts did for the nation,” said another veteran.
Others recalled how the present government had stubbornly refused to turn INS Vikrant, India’s first aircraft carrier that played a stellar role in the 1971 war. It had decided to turn INS Vikrant as scrap. Was it also part of the mission to rewrite history and wipe out memories of Indira Gandhi?
At least one veteran pointed to the government’s decision to link the biometrics of all personnel of the Indian armed forces with Aadhaar. He alleged that the Aadhaar details have since been shared with agencies with possible connections to foreign intelligence agencies.
“It takes a special kind of jaundiced thought process to remove your own military victory from public eye. Pandering to political whims has happened earlier in Indian military too but never at this scale. It is an insult to all those who fought and died in 1971 war and to the worthies in this photo,” reflected a veteran.
BJP negating Indira Gandhi’s contribution in 1971 war: Congress
The Leader of Opposition in RS Mallikarjun Kharge said Bangladesh gained freedom 50 years ago and the then Indira Gandhi-led Congress govt played key role in emancipating people from Pakistan’s dominance, IANS adds.
The Congress on Thursday alleged that an “insecure” BJP government was negating the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s contribution to the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war.
Interacting with media, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that Bangladesh attained freedom 50 years ago and the then Indira Gandhi-led Congress government played a key role in emancipating the people from the dominance of Pakistan.
“With the help of government and the army, she managed to divide Pakistan into two countries, thus bringing Bangladesh into existence. Till date, Bangladesh is grateful to Indira Gandhi and India.
“Since the time of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress has been helping the democratic countries but unfortunately, some people at the helm of affairs are attempting to wipe out her efforts and contributions,” he said.
The Indira Gandhi government had kept around 95,000 Pakistani soldiers as war prisoners for a year, which is unprecedented in the world, he added.
“When any leader from Bangladesh, especially Sheikh Hasina, visits our country, she makes it a point to recall Indira Gandhi’s contributions. Even the opposition leaders like Atal Bihari Vaypayee had praised Indira after the 1971 war victory. Vajpayee had gone to the extent of calling her an ‘incarnation of Goddess Durga’. But the Narendra Modi government is negating the contribution of Indira Gandhi and the then Congress government’s contribution,” Kharge said.
When in power, the Congress had never shied away from assisting any democracy, he asserted.
Echoing his sentiments, MP Gaurav Gogoi said if Bangladesh is celebrating its victory day, it is only because of the Congress. Undeniably, it is the achievement of the Congress and Indira Gandhi’s government which should be forgotten.
An event was organised to commemorate the day in Parliament, but nobody from the Opposition was given a chance to speak which is condemnable, he said.
“The Prime Minister’s insecurity was so obvious that during the entire programme, he did not even take the name of Indira Gandhi – the person who was instrumental in the entire exercise. Its akin to changing the history of the country,” he added.
He said before the 1971 Bangladesh war, Gandhi had reached out to the all the leaders and undertaken a 20-day worldwide tour to build consensus on the issue. She visited 24 countries and raised the issue of human rights violation in Bangladesh which was supported by Russia and opposed by America.
Despite this, a war was fought and Pakistan was divided into two countries which changed the world map. Unfortunately, the current dispensation is indulging in cheap and dirty politics, he said.
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