Puneet's Page

On September 19, 1965, when the second India Pakistan war (commonly known as the 1965 war) was on, a civilan aircraft – a ‘Beechcraft-18’, an eight seater passenger plane belonging to the Govt. of Gujarat, took off from Ahmedabad with a VIP passenger – the Chief Minister of Gujarat – Balwantrai Mehta. His co-passengers included his wife Mrs. Sarojben Mehta, three members of his personal staff, and one reporter from “The Gujarat Samachar” The crew consisted of the pilot Jehangir ‘Jangoo’ Engineer. Jangoo finished an illustrious career with the Indian Air Force and then with Indian Airlines, before being employed by the Govt. of Maharashtra as Chief Pilot. At the time of the incident he was on loan to the Gujarat Government. His co-pilot was D’Costa. (Jangoo’s family holds the unique distinction of sending four of its sons to the IAF. All of them became pilots. One rose to the rank of Chief of Air Staff, and another was the Air Officer Commanding, Western Command, during the 1971 war...

Most Indians do NOT as a matter of habit, remember our National heroes especially t hose, that put their lives at peril to guard the frontiers of our Country, and made sure that we live - independent and free, each day. One such soldier of the soil - Brigadier Sawai Bhawani Singh MVC - also the Maharaja of Jaipur, fought bravely for the Nation, during the 1971 Indo - Pak war. So bravely, that the Nation decorated him with India's second highest gallantry award - the Maha Vir Chakra. Yet, when he died on April 17, 2011, his death went virtually un-noticed in the backdrop of  the cricket, the scams and the other problems that took precedence in this Country. Sawai Bhawani Singh Bahadur was born on October 22 1931 to Sawai Man "Jai" Singh II (Maharaja of Jaipur from 1911) and Marudhar Kanwar of Jodhpur, the first of his father's three wives (who would die when her son was 13). Given the nickname "Bubbles" by his British nanny because of the ...

This is a story about when the plane carrying the Prime Minister of India, crashed, and the Prime Minister walked out of it virtually unscathed! However, five members of the crew - the best aviators in the Indian Air Force, perished in the crash. November 4, 1977  The Prime Minister of India, Morarji Desai was scheduled to visit the North Eastern States of India, on an official tour. He was to fly from Delhi to Jorhat (Assam), and for this journey an aircraft of the Indian Air Force HQ Communications Squadron (also known as the  Comm Sqdn. or the VIP squadron), was to ferry the PM and his entourage to Jorhat, and return to Delhi.  Accompanying the PM were his son Kantibhai Desai, Mr. John Lobo(Chief of the Intelligence Bureau) and Mr. PK Thungon, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. The crew comprised of Wing Commander Clarence Joseph D'Lima, Squadron Leader Mathew Cryiac (pilot in command, and co-pilot respectively), Wing Commander Joginder Singh (...

1. Flight Lt. Vijay Kumar Wahi - 10144 F(P) Vikram Wahi was my class mate in Class V, in 1971. When the Indo-Pak war broke out in December 1971, our Class V final examinations were on. Many 'fauji' families had to grapple with the stress of these exams, with the war as a backdrop. There were two papers each day, and between them, during the break, I remember seeing the Air Force's fighers landing close by at Palam, after a Combat Air Patrol sortie... On the 7th of December, 1971, we - all 10 year olds were busy writing whatever we had crammed, in our answer sheets, when all of a sudden, we noticed some commotion at the back of the classroom. We saw Vikram Wahi, breaking down, and sobbing away inconsolably. We ten year olds did not quite comprehend the problem, and got back to our answer sheets. That was the last we saw of Vikram Wahi. Till this day, I do not know where Vikram went, and where he is. On the 6th of December, Vikram's family received the news t...

Physical and moral courage are seldom found in abundant measure, in the same person. Yet Lt. General Bhagat was an example of this. For the former, he won the Victoria Cross during the Second World War. For the second, it is said that there are innumerable instances to recount. P.S. Bhagat was born in 1918, and joined the 10th course at IMA in 1937. Although he was not able to attain the highest rank – that of the Army Chief, and retired as Army Commander, there is little doubt in Army circles even today, that if there was an officer deserving of this position, it was Prem Bhagat. Apart from a truly courageous soldier and and officer, both mentally and physically, Prem Bhagat was known to be a true soldier’s general. There are numerous instances that prove this – sometimes his behaviour extending to what may be termed as ‘carrying it a bit too far…’ In 1970 Prem Bhagat was GOC 11 Corps at Jullundar. One young Captain who as posted in the same Station, and who was newly married, was...

INS Khukri in 1971 INS Khukri, was a Type IV ASW Frigate belonging to the 14 Squadron of the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy during the 1971 War with Pakistan. She was the only Indian sea vessel that was destroyed by the enemy, and sank off the coast of Diu, on the night of December 9, 1971, taking down with her about 178 sailors and 18 officers including Khukri's Captain - Mahendra Nath Mullah. The sinking of INS Khukri continues to haunt the minds of military strategists and planners even today. Because, this was the only instance where the otherwise highly effective planning and tactics of the Indian Navy like those used to sink the Ghazi and for the Karachi attacks, did not come into play.     I have tried to put together, a few critical factors that led to this incident which was a huge irreparable loss: 1. Pakistan Navy's strength lay in her new "Daphne Class" submarines, three in number, acquired recently from France (and funded by the United States). The ...

Captain Mullah was commanding a sea vessel of the Indian Navy - a frigate "INS Khukri" during the war. His ship was part of a squadron that was tasked to seek and destroy Pakistani ships and submarines. On the night of December 9, 1971, INS Khukri was hit by torpedoes fired from a Pakistani submarine, and started sinking. Realizing this, Captain Mullah ordered to crew - some 300 officers and sailors - to abandon ship. He also realized that many men were trapped in the sinking vessel below the deck. Unmindful of this personal safety, and choosing to stay with the ship when he could have opted to save himself, he took it upon himself to personally supervise the rescue of the trapped men. As Genl Cardozo related the story - "being the man that he was, he knew that it was not right for him to save himself while his sailors went to a watery grave". In those final moments when the ship sank, Captain Mullah helped as many as he could, staying on the bridge of th...

It was the 14th of December 1971, a little over 39 years ago. Many of my generation cannot forget that year however. A war was on. At 8 am on that fateful day, the outlying OPs (observation posts) just outside the Srinagar airfield flashed a warning about an incoming air raid by Pakistani F-85 Sabre jets. A young Sikh Officer Nirmaljit, and his fellow fighter pilot Ghumman -both Gnat pilots,  were scrambled to intercept the incoming strike. Ten precious seconds were lost in getting ATC clearance which never came. Both pilots took off - four minutes after the first OP warning, and just when the first of the incoming Sabres was commencing its dive over the airfield. Ghumman was the first to become airborne followed by Nirmaljit, who almost immediately was out of visual contact of the ATC, obscured by the dust and smoke thrown up by the exploding Pakistani bombs. By now, Nirmaljit was overcome totally with raw courage. There were six sabres and he decided to take them on, while st...

In an earlier note, I wrote about moral courage and the ability to stand upright for what one believes is right. I am reminded of one Army officer - a General known for his moral courage. That officer was Lt. General Hanut Singh - PVSM MVC. Many many know of Lt. Genl. Hanut Singh, as the elder cousin of Jaswant Singh -the famed leader of the BJP. Genl Hanut Singh is described by many - as a 'complete soldier'. He epitomized courage - moral as well as physical, fair mindedness a very high standard of morality, discipline and professionalism. Born into a proud clan of 'Rathor' Rajputs from 'Jasol' in Rajasthan, Hanut Singh joined the Joint Services Wing (JSW in Dehra Dun in 1949, and was commissioned into the '17 Horse' popularly known as the 'Poona Horse' in 1952. Poona Horse - a coveted cavalry regiment, had the unique distinction of having won 4 Victoria Crosses and two Param Vir Chakras -one in the 1965 war a...

I have often wondered how easy - or hard it is to 'compress' an entire life of this soldier and General, into a few hundred words. This is a humble attempt - to pay tribute to one of India's finest soldiers - a distinguished General, leader and trainer, about whom very few outside the Army circles know.. Inderjit Singh Gill was born to a Sikh father and and English mother in 1919, in Chennai. His father was a Royal Medical Corps Doctor and Inder was one of four sons. After finishing School in Chennai, Inder went to England to complete his studies. It was because of the fact that he was half English biologically, and spent a good part of his life in England, that Inder was more of an Englishman, and less of a 'Sardar' That explained his clipped English accent, and absence of a turban and beard. Inder was a 'gora sa'ab' in more ways than one. Inder finished School in 1939 and had good enough grades to pursue Engineering at Edinburgh University. He howev...