Lt Gen Raj Sujlana (Retd)

IRRESPECTIVE of who shows guts and bravery in battle, it deserves respect and honour. The recent report of renovation of thegrave of a fallen Pakistani officer in Jammu and Kashmir is in this spirit, and is in consort with the ethos of the Indian Army to respect all those killed in battle. I was a part of 9 Sikh during the Indo-Pak war in 1971 when this outstanding battalion captured 42 square km of PoK in Lipa valley, a record unmatched by any other Infantry battalion during the war. The enemy’s resistance collapsed as the Sikhs emerged out of thin air, accompanied by the resounding ‘jaikaras’ of ‘Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal’.

Of the many surprise attacks was the capture of the area (referred to here as Three Heights) where the grave is located. Three Heights, at the outbreak of war, was located well to the rear of the enemy defences where they least expected an attack, but was to witness many acts of gallantry. After the capture of the initial objectives, two companies of 9 Sikh took a wide hook by night to launch an attack by infiltration on Three Heights. After one company had established firm base for the attack to the north-east of Three Heights, further infiltration was resumed with a recce in strength under Major ‘Hardy’ Hardul Singh, Lt Taneja and an additional platoon under Lt Pushpinder as immediate reinforcements. It being daylight, stealth was paramount; around 2 pm, this force had creeped close to Three Heights. The enemy was totally unaware and even the six mortars deployed there were unguarded.

The opportunity could not be missed. The troops following up were whistled forward hurriedly, but suddenly a sentry spotted the lurking Sikhs. ‘Hardy’, true to the adage that ‘boldest measures are the safest’, took the initiative and launched the attack. This daylight rush totally surprised the Pakistanis. They defended well, especially the mortar handlers, but the Sikh resilience was overbearing. The follow-up troops, along with the platoon under Lt Pushpinder, had joined up; soon the entire Three Heights, along with four mortars with 280 high explosive bombs and other weapons, was captured. The counter-attack was also beaten back. The enemy casualties were nearly 30 killed and two captured; due to the surprise, our casualties were low: five killed, one officer (Lt Taneja) and six other ranks wounded.

Fast forward to May 1972, Three Heights again witnessed extremely severe fighting. On May 5, Pakistan launched a surprise attack with over two battalions supported by helicopter-based SSGs and heavy artillery support — a ratio of nine attackers to one defender. Some peacetime activities had started; thus the 9 Sikh company was pretty under-strength, but egged on by Major Pancholy, they fought it out till most were killed or wounded. Pancholy, critically wounded, was evacuated along with only a handful of men. 9 Sikh launched a counter-attack soon with four officers leading and three of them were wounded; in an intense fire-fight, Capt Sen killed Maj Sabir Khan, but was himself badly wounded. It was an extremely high-intensity battle. The casualty figure on our side was 20 and 28 were wounded, Pakistan lost many more, including the Commanding Officer (Lt Col Haq Kiyani), and it awarded five Sitara-e-Jurat and two Tamgha-e-Jurat, their third and fourth highest gallantry awards, for this operation.

Some 15 years later, I was back there as the Company Commander. Maj Khan’s grave was a short distance from my bunker. The grave reminded me of the famous poem by Rupert Brooke: ‘If I should die, think this only of me. That there is some corner of a foreign field that is forever (me)…’ But lest the gallantry of many others be forgotten, the poem continues, ‘There shall be in that rich earth richer (gallantry acts) concealed.’ How true! The original epitaph that read ‘Here lies Maj Khan killed by Capt AS Sen of 9 Sikh’ needs to be known and preserved.

Jammu, December 13

Pakistani Rangers opened fire on forward posts and villages along the International Border (IB) in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.

The firing from across the border in Pansar border outpost area in Hiranagar sector started around 10 pm on Saturday, drawing strong and effective retaliation from the Border Security Force (BSF), the officials said.

They said the cross-border firing between the two sides continued till 3.45 am on Sunday, forcing border residents to spend the night in underground bunkers.

There was no report of any damage in the firing on the Indian side, the officials said. PTI

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 11

Marking a centenary is rare, and rarer still is a veteran who has had the unique opportunity of having served with not just all three branches of the armed forces but also the paramilitary.

As Col Prithipal Singh Gill (retd) celebrated his 100th birthday in the city today, he fondly reminisced his stint in the uniform and the aura, adventure and elan associated with it.

With a twinkle in his eye as felicitations poured in, he cut a cake amidst a small gathering of family members and close relatives. The World War II veteran recalled his eventful and chequered service life in the cockpit, on the high seas and with the big guns. Brigadier Ravi Kumar from the Western Command presented him a memento on behalf of the Army and another was also sent by the 71 Medium Regiment, the unit he had commanded.

Col Prithpal Singh Gill’s journey began with him joining the erstwhile Royal Indian Air Force in 1942 as a flight cadet in Karachi, without telling his family. He had just spent a little over a year with the Air Force, learning to fly the Harvard aircraft, when his father learnt from a friend that he was a “good flyer” and pulled him out because flying in those days was considered unsafe and his father was afraid that he may die in an air crash. Then at the age of 23, he joined the Navy and served for five years (from January 1943 to September 1948) as a commissioned officer in the gunnery branch. He sailed on minesweepers and escort ships. During World War II, he was assigned to undertake escort duties for maritime convoys proceeding from the Indian mainland to the Persian Gulf. It was during his days with the Navy that then Sub-Lieutenant Prithipal Singh was detailed to attend the Long Gunnery Staff Course at the Army’s School of Artillery in Deolali, where he qualified as an instructor in gunnery.

After a brief interlude with a government agency, he donned the olive green in April 1951, joining the Regiment of Artillery on account of his previous naval gunnery experience. He then served with the 34 Medium Regiment that had earlier served with distinction in Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and Italy during World War II. Later, he raised and commanded the 71 Medium Regiment that saw action during the 1965 Indo-Pak War. “The most eventful part of my service was during the 1965 Indo-Pak War when I was commanding the regiment,” he said. Born in 1920 in Patiala, he studied at Government College, Lahore. After retirement, he took up farming in his family land near Faridkot but continued to keep a healthy lifestyle

Lahore, December 12

The statue of esteemed 19th Century Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh was vandalised at Lahore Fort here, officials said on Saturday.

This was the second time that Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue was defaced in the ‘Mai Jinda’ haveli at the fort since its unveiling in June 2019.

Following the incident, the authorities closed the enclosure which displays the cold bronze figure of Maharaja Singh – popularly called Sher-e-Punjab – for public viewing.

An official of the Lahore Walled City Authority on Saturday told PTI that a teenage visitor broke the arm of the Maharaja’s statue on Friday.

“The security guards deployed there arrested the boy and handed him over to the police. The suspect has been booked under (sections) 295, 295-A and 427 of the Pakistan Penal Code,” he said, adding that the suspect told the police that his ‘religious sentiments’ were hurt seeing the statue of a Sikh ruler at the fort.

Early in August 2019, two young men belonging to a religious party – Tehreek-Labbaik Pakistan of Maulana Khaim Rizvi – had vandalised the statue. They had used sticks to damage the figure.

In June 2019, Maharaja Singh’s statue was unveiled in a colourful ceremony in which several Sikh delegates from India, Pakistan and other countries had participated. The event was organised by Bobby Singh Bansal from the UK, in collaboration with the Walled City of Lahore Authority.

The nine-feet statue is made of cold bronze. It shows the regal Sikh emperor sitting on a horse, sword in hand, complete in Sikh attire.

Sculpted by local artists, under the aegis of the Fakir Khana Museum, the statue is meant to invoke the feeling of the emperor being present, with its real life proportions, and was unveiled on his 180th death anniversary. Ranjit Singh died in 1839.

“The project was meant to commemorate the 180th death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and to forge a lasting friendship amongst the people of Punjab,” Bobby Singh Bansal had said.

His organisation SK Foundation, UK, commissioned the statue in 2016. “We donated it to the people of Pakistan to promote Sikh heritage and tourism here,” he had said.

Maharaja Singh was the leader of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. PTI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 12

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said India will rise to the occasion and meet the national security challenge posed by the seven-month-long border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.

However, he refrained from crystal-gazing on how the LAC standoff will finally shape up. “I would not go into the prediction zone at all whether it is going to be easy or not, and what will be the timelines and so on,” he said on being asked whether the bid to restore status quo along the LAC will be a long haul or a breakthrough is expected soon.

“I also believe that what has happened is not actually in the interest of China, because it has significantly impacted public sentiment in India. Professionally, I have seen the evolution of how the Indian public feels about China and am old enough to remember much more difficult days, especially in my childhood and in my teens,” he said during an interaction session at the FICCI convention.

The minister admitted that South Block’s proclaimed proximity with the Trump administration did not result in a trade deal. “There was a fairly serious negotiation between our government and the Trump administration on resolving the outstanding trade issues. The general idea was — let’s deal with the differences before moving forward,” he said.

“For a variety of reasons they did not close it. On our side, we were dead serious. We wanted to deal with those issues because we thought there was something much bigger in store for the relationship,” he explained.

Jaishankar also said India would remain committed to the concept of the Indo-Pacific though US President-elect Joe Biden had used the term “Asia Pacific” while introducing his nominee for the post of Defence Secretary.

New Delhi, December 7

Thousands of farmers protesting against the Centre’s new agri laws for the past 11 days here have called on people to join their Bharat bandh on Tuesday in large numbers, as police increased deployment at various Delhi border points.

Farmer leaders also welcomed the support of political parties to the nationwide strike against the laws and demanded that the legislations be repealed.

The Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Nationalist Congress Party, CPI(M) and DMK are among the political parties that are backing the day-long strike.

Also read: Reforms needed for development, says Modi as farmers protest on Delhi borders

Kejriwal visits Singhu border, reviews arrangements for protesting farmers

Congress MPs from Punjab, Haryana stage dharna at Jantar Mantar; want Parliament session to be convened

Delhi Police have increased security arrangements on Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh as a precautionary measure.

Farmers have threatened to intensify their agitation and block more roads leading to the national capital if the government did not accept their demand.

Talks between the government and protesting farmer unions so far have been futile and the sixth round of discussions is scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

Delhi Traffic Police on Monday tweeted about the closure of the Singhu, Auchandi, Piao Maniyari and Mangesh borders. The Tikri and Jharoda borders are also closed, it said.

The National Highway-44 has also been closed on both sides. So those travelling are suggested to take alternative routes through Lampur, Safiabad and Saboli borders. Traffic has also been diverted from Mukarba and GTK road, the traffic police said.

Those travelling towards Noida have been advised to take DND as the Chilla border on the Noida link road, too, is closed for traffic movement, it said.

“The Chilla border on the Noida link road is closed for traffic from Noida to Delhi due to farmers’ protests near Gautam Budh Dwar. People are advised to avoid the Noida link road for coming to Delhi and use DND,” the traffic police said on Twitter.

The Gazipur border on NH-24 is also closed for traffic from Gaziabad to Delhi. “People are advised to avoid NH-24 for coming to Delhi and use Apsara/Bhopra/DND for coming to Delhi,” it added.

However, the Badusarai border is open only for light motor vehicles like cars and two-wheelers and Jhatikara border is open only for two-wheeler traffic, police said.

They said those travelling to Haryana can take Dhansa, Daurala, Kapashera, Rajokri NH-8, Bijwasan or Bajghera, Palam Vihar and Dundahera borders. PTI