Our Correspondent

Ambala, December 15

The Kharga Corps celebrated the 45th Vijay Divas at Vijay Smarak here today.A wreath was laid at the War Memorial by Lt-Gen MM Naravane, General Officer Commanding, to pay homage to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the motherland.Vijay Divas commemorates the victory of India in the 1971 Indo-Pak war which culminated in the liberation of Bangladesh.In one of the fastest and shortest campaigns of military history, a new nation was created.Also known as the ‘Lightening Campaign’, 93,000 prisoners of war surrendered to the Indian Army at the end of the operation.

Seminar on Indo-Pak conflict

Amritsar, December 15

Folklore Research Academy will hold a seminar on “Indo-Pak conflict: Let live the people” here on December 18.Prof Bawa Singh, former chairman, Minority Commission, Jammu and Kashmir’s former MP AR Shaheen, UP’s former MP Shahed Sidiqqi, Satnam Singh Manak, Assistant Editor of a Punjabi daily, Parmod Jamwal, Editor, Kashmir Times, PN Puniyal and Pushpindera Kulshreshtha, both senior journalists, will deliver talks on the subject.Elections for the executive of Folklore Research Academy will also be held on this occasion. — TNS

Brig HS Sodhi, who played an instrumental role in Bangladesh war, dies at 89

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 15

Brig Harinder Singh Sodhi (retd), who had commanded the fourth battalion of the 4th Gurkha Rifles at Sikkim in 1964 and a mountain brigade, which played an instrumental role in the Bangladesh war, was cremated here today. He was 89 and passed away on Wednesday, informed a family member.He is survived by his wife Harjit Sodhi, son Jasbir Singh, daughter-in-law Neelam Sodhi and daughters Nishi Coday and Kiran.Born on January 27, 1927, at Gujranwala (now in Pakistan), Brigadier Sodhi had received his initial education at a local school in Guru Har Sahai before moving to Aitchison College in Lahore. Later, he went to the RIMC in Dehradun. He joined the Indian Military Academy in 1946 and was commissioned into the 4th Gurkha Rifles on December 22, 1947.After commanding the fourth battalion of the 4th Gurkha Rifles at Sikkim in 1964, Brigadier Sodhi became commandant of the 14th Gurkha Training Centre in Subathu. Later, he moved on to command a mountain brigade, which played an instrumental role in the Bangladesh war. He went into the war with just a walking stick and refused to carry a weapon. Brigadier Sodhi was a prolific sportsman and keen swimmer and polo player.He took premature retirement in 1976 to be with his family and to peruse his passion for writing. He was a keen military historian and had written seven books about the Indian Army.