Referring to the 1971 Liberation war of Bangladesh, Brigadier Mohan noted that after the Second World War it was the first victory of its kind where surrender of a nation took place.

A historical memory of painting at Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar’s office, at Defence Ministry, South Block. The picture shows one of the photographs in which Lt. Gen. A.A.K. Niazi of Pakistan Army (seated, centre) is signing the surrender documents in Dacca on December 16, 1971. | Photo Credit: Shanker Chakravarty

Veterans continue to question the removal of the iconic painting of 1971 India-Pakistan war from the Army chief’s lounge. In a tersely worded letter addressed to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and all three service chiefs, Brigadier Inder Mohan Singh (retired), President of the Indian Ex-Services League (IESL) of which the Defence Minister is the patron-in-chief, questioned as to why one would “bring religion” into the armed forces and dismantle “our edifice and remove our roots” referring to the Garuda and Lord Krishna’s chariot in the new painting.

“Pangong Tso with mountains in the background, some military equipment. What is the significance? We have lost our patrolling rights from Finger 4 to 8. I know this because I commanded the then neglected 114 Infantry Brigade from 2001 to 2003. Then, we have Chanakya. Do we go by what was taught by him about 2,400 years back? If his philosophies were so sound, India would not have broken into so many regions, kingdoms, principalities, etc. And weren’t the British wise they brought all of them into one geography and today the armed forces are a result of that success and not Chanakya,” Brigadier Mohan questioned in the letter.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER RELIGIONS PRAYER LIKE SIKHS,CHRISTANS,MUSLIMS.JAIN etc