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a country at war

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PEOPLE Yuvraj Singh’s new innings BOOKS & IDEAS Valmik Thapar on wildlife conservation THE GOOD LIFE Traditional dishes get a quirky makeover SPORTS Are top batsmen retiring early due to superior bowling? 15 AUGUST 2015 ii iii iv vi “ P ak troops on the run.” “Fleeing raiders exterminated.” “Pakistani soldiers utterly demoralised.” The headlines in Sainik Samachar left nothing to the imagination. As India waged a furious battle on its western front, the official publication of the defence ministry worked hard to ensure that morale stayed high and India’s image remained one of glory. A fascinating narrative of the war unfolds in the yellowing pages of the 1965 editions of Sainik Samachar,a journal of the Indian armed forces that was born in 1909 and is today published in 13 languages every fortnight. While the war was on, Sainik Samachar was brought out every week. Words like “loyal”, “united”, “glorious” and “brave” leaped out of its pages as the publication scripted a narrative that exalted the achievements of India at war. It captured every significant speech of (then) President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Defence Minister Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan, and Information & Broadcasting Minister Indira Gandhi. Niceties were discarded and it openly called Pakistan the cunning aggressor. Every little report that even remotely hinted that a certain assault might have found India on the backfoot was aggressively countered. And every tiny slip by Pakistan was celebrated. It drew attention to how the nation stood as one in this testing time, with film stars like Balraj Sahni, Sunil Dutt and Mala Sinha going all out to keep the soldiers pepped up. It tapped into news agency and newspaper reports, reprinting dispatches from the front, splashing on its pages pictures of captured infiltrators, tanks and ammunition, and published letters and documents to show that the infiltration was orchestrated not by civilians but by the Pakistan government under Operation Gibraltar. It was the first draft of the history of the 1965 war. Carefully bound old editions of Sainik Samachar are kept in high-security North Block. Old issues of the magazine, dated and bound in the same shade of red, line the shelves of a grey steel and glass cupboard. Rummaging through the shelf, the heart skips a beat on realising that while the January-June editions are available, the critical July-December collection is missing — it was during this period, from August 5 to September 22, that the war was fought. A helpful employee finally finds the collection tucked away in one corner. Some of the pages have come loose and there are notings on others. The cover pages of some war editions have “record copy” scribbled on them. “These are treasures,” says Hasibur Rahman, the magazine’s editor-in- chief. “We don’t allow these copies to go out of this office.” I n its edition of May 9, Sainik Samachar carried the first report of hostilities between the two neighbours. It was called “Pak Aggression on Kutch-Sind Border: Jawan Shows His Mettle”. Staking claim to large parts of the Rann of Kutch, Pakistani forces intruded in massive strength in April 1965. “The police pickets this time had something much more formidable on their hands than smugglers, innocent stragglers or unwary patrolmen,” Sainik Samachar said. Pakistan’s plan was to take India by surprise and get it to concede the disputed 3,500 square miles of the region. The forces came with Patton tanks and 106 mm recoilless guns. Drawing from a report by a special correspondent of The Hindu, the journal soon proclaimed: “The Pakistani gamble in Kutch has failed.” It quoted this dispatch of the correspondent from the Rann of Kutch: “A visit to the operational area dispels from one’s mind any wrong notion or apprehension that Pakistan has taken complete control possession of any area of particular length or breadth.” Lauding the armed police force manning the pickets, the report said: “The heroic defence of the Central Reserve Police, inflicting heavy casualties on them in the very first attack was a bad blow to Pakistan.” That event, which took place on the night of April 9 when CRPF’s Sardar Post in Kutch came under heavy shelling, is today celebrated as Valour Day by the paramilitary force. There were, however, reports that India suffered an initial setback and fell back in the Biar Bet and Point 84 sectors of Kutch. Sainik Samachar countered this vehemently in an article titled “Jawan foils Pakistan’s plans”. “At the border, the Rann of Kutch is overlooked by a rim-like formation 100 feet to 150 feet high. Attacking forces at the height are in an immeasurable superior position,” it said. “Pakistan,” it added, “whipped up worldwide political propaganda that the Indian army had been disgraced in battle. This is not true… With the odds so heavy against them, the forces could only employ attrition tactics… This has been accomplished and the enemy has suffered heavy casualties.” Speaking about the aggression in Kutch, Defence Minister Chavan informed Lok Sabha on April 26 that the morale of “our people and the forces is high and they are determined to resist any affront to our sovereignty and territorial integrity at any cost”. To buttress the point, Sainik Samachar carried a small agency report on the same page as Chavan’s Lok Sabha statement. “Servicemen throughout the country have made requests to Army Headquarters here that they be posted along the Kutch-Sind border… There is said to be unprecedented enthusiasm to go to the ‘front’ to ‘roll back’ the Pakistani aggressors.” This spirit was reiterated in an interview done by the Press Trust of India with the commanding officer of a battalion stationed in Kutch — of course, he wasn’t named. “We swatted them like flies, nearly 150 of them were down, killed or wounded,” he said. The Pakistanis, added the report, were taken aback by Indian firepower and threw in more tanks, six of which went up in flames. Another report talked about “a brave lieutenant colonel and his equally courageous second-lieutenant son” who fought shoulder-to-shoulder in Kutch. And then there were reports, almost hilarious, of inaccurate shelling by Pakistan artillery: “Pakistani shells, more often than not, pounded the sand of the Rann of Kutch and incidentally helped to dig up the earth which our Jawans subsequently used for bunkers.” In Kutch, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson finally succeeded in persuading the warring countries to end hostilities and resolve the dispute. Pakistan would eventually get 910 square km of the Rann of Kutch against its claim of 9,100 square km. AT WAR A COUNTRY Fifty years ago, India and Pakistan fought a short but bloody war. Veenu Sandhu finds out how Sainik Samachar, the defence ministry’s journal, reported it (Anti-clockwise from left) Indira Gandhi in a bunker; Defence Minister Y B Chavan with jawans in the Khem Karan sector; captured Pakistani officers Captain Mohammad Sajjad and Captain Ghulum Hussain; Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in front of a knocked out Pakistani Patton tank somewhere in the Lahore sector Balraj Sahni recording Vividh Bharati’s Jayamala programme for the armed forces in the studio of All India Radio, Delhi. It was aired on October 16, 1965 IMAGING: AJAY MOHANTY > CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 PHOTOS: COURTESY SAINIK SAMACHAR

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A story about how a country goes at war.

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Page 1: A Country at War

PEOPLEYuvraj Singh’snewinnings

BOOKS & IDEASValmikThaparonwildlife

conservation

THE GOOD LIFETraditionaldishesgeta

quirkymakeover

SPORTSAre top batsmen retiring early

due to superior bowling?

15 AUGUST 2015

ii iii iv vi

“Paktroopsontherun.”“Fleeingraidersexterminated.”“Pakistanisoldiersutterlydemoralised.”TheheadlinesinSainikSamachar leftnothingtotheimagination.AsIndiawagedafuriousbattleonits

westernfront,theofficialpublicationofthedefenceministryworkedhardtoensurethatmoralestayedhighandIndia’simageremainedoneofglory.

Afascinatingnarrativeofthewarunfoldsintheyellowingpagesofthe1965editionsofSainikSamachar,ajournaloftheIndianarmedforcesthatwasbornin1909andistodaypublishedin13languageseveryfortnight.

Whilethewarwason,SainikSamacharwasbroughtouteveryweek.Wordslike“loyal”,“united”,“glorious”and“brave”leapedoutofitspagesasthepublicationscriptedanarrativethatexaltedtheachievementsofIndiaatwar.Itcapturedeverysignificantspeechof(then)PresidentSarvepalliRadhakrishnan,PrimeMinisterLalBahadurShastri,DefenceMinisterYashwantraoBalwantraoChavan,andInformation&BroadcastingMinisterIndiraGandhi.

NicetieswerediscardedanditopenlycalledPakistanthecunningaggressor.EverylittlereportthatevenremotelyhintedthatacertainassaultmighthavefoundIndiaonthebackfootwasaggressivelycountered.AndeverytinyslipbyPakistanwascelebrated.

Itdrewattentiontohowthenationstoodasoneinthistestingtime,withfilmstarslikeBalrajSahni,SunilDuttandMalaSinhagoingallouttokeepthesoldierspeppedup.

Ittappedintonewsagencyandnewspaperreports,reprintingdispatchesfromthefront,splashingonitspagespicturesofcapturedinfiltrators,tanksandammunition,andpublishedlettersanddocumentstoshowthattheinfiltrationwasorchestratednotbyciviliansbutbythePakistangovernmentunderOperationGibraltar.

Itwasthefirstdraftofthehistoryofthe1965war.CarefullyboundoldeditionsofSainikSamachararekeptinhigh-securityNorthBlock.Oldissuesofthemagazine,datedandboundinthesameshadeofred,linetheshelvesofagreysteelandglasscupboard.

Rummagingthroughtheshelf, theheartskipsabeatonrealisingthatwhiletheJanuary-Juneeditionsareavailable,thecriticalJuly-Decembercollectionismissing—itwasduringthisperiod,fromAugust5toSeptember22,thatthewarwasfought.

Ahelpfulemployeefinallyfindsthecollectiontuckedawayinonecorner.Someofthepageshavecomelooseandtherearenotingsonothers.Thecoverpagesofsomewareditionshave“recordcopy”scribbledonthem.“Thesearetreasures,”saysHasiburRahman,themagazine’seditor-in-chief.“Wedon’tallowthesecopiestogooutofthisoffice.”

InitseditionofMay9,SainikSamacharcarriedthefirstreportofhostilitiesbetweenthetwoneighbours.Itwas

called“PakAggressiononKutch-SindBorder:JawanShowsHisMettle”.

StakingclaimtolargepartsoftheRannofKutch,PakistaniforcesintrudedinmassivestrengthinApril1965.“Thepolicepicketsthistimehadsomethingmuchmoreformidableontheirhandsthansmugglers, innocentstragglersorunwarypatrolmen,”SainikSamacharsaid.Pakistan’splanwastotakeIndiabysurpriseandgetittoconcedethedisputed3,500squaremilesoftheregion.Theforcescamewith

Pattontanksand106mmrecoillessguns.DrawingfromareportbyaspecialcorrespondentofThe

Hindu, thejournalsoonproclaimed:“ThePakistanigambleinKutchhasfailed.”ItquotedthisdispatchofthecorrespondentfromtheRannofKutch:“Avisittotheoperationalareadispelsfromone’smindanywrongnotion

orapprehensionthatPakistanhastakencompletecontrolpossessionofanyareaofparticularlengthorbreadth.”

Laudingthearmedpoliceforcemanningthepickets,thereportsaid:“TheheroicdefenceoftheCentralReservePolice, inflictingheavycasualtiesonthemintheveryfirstattackwasabadblowtoPakistan.”Thatevent,whichtookplaceonthenightofApril9whenCRPF’sSardarPostinKutchcameunderheavyshelling,istodaycelebratedasValourDaybytheparamilitaryforce.

Therewere,however,reportsthatIndiasufferedaninitialsetbackandfellbackintheBiarBetandPoint84sectorsofKutch.SainikSamacharcounteredthisvehementlyinanarticletitled“JawanfoilsPakistan’splans”.“Attheborder,theRannofKutchisoverlookedbyarim-likeformation100feetto150feethigh.Attackingforcesattheheightareinanimmeasurablesuperiorposition,”itsaid.

“Pakistan,”itadded,“whippedupworldwidepoliticalpropagandathattheIndianarmyhadbeendisgracedinbattle.Thisisnottrue…Withtheoddssoheavyagainstthem,theforcescouldonlyemployattritiontactics…Thishasbeenaccomplishedandtheenemyhassufferedheavycasualties.”SpeakingabouttheaggressioninKutch,DefenceMinisterChavaninformedLokSabhaonApril26thatthemoraleof“ourpeopleandtheforcesishighandtheyaredeterminedtoresistanyaffronttooursovereigntyandterritorial integrityatanycost”.

Tobuttressthepoint,SainikSamacharcarriedasmallagencyreportonthesamepageasChavan’sLokSabhastatement.“ServicementhroughoutthecountryhavemaderequeststoArmyHeadquartersherethattheybepostedalongtheKutch-Sindborder…Thereissaidtobeunprecedentedenthusiasmtogotothe‘front’to‘rollback’thePakistaniaggressors.”

ThisspiritwasreiteratedinaninterviewdonebythePressTrustofIndiawiththecommandingofficerofabattalionstationedinKutch—ofcourse,hewasn’tnamed.“Weswattedthemlikeflies,nearly150ofthemweredown,killedorwounded,”hesaid.

ThePakistanis,addedthereport,weretakenabackbyIndianfirepowerandthrewinmoretanks,sixofwhichwentupinflames.Anotherreporttalkedabout“abravelieutenantcolonelandhisequallycourageoussecond-lieutenantson”whofoughtshoulder-to-shoulderinKutch.

Andthentherewerereports,almosthilarious,ofinaccurateshellingbyPakistanartillery:“Pakistanishells,moreoftenthannot,poundedthesandoftheRannofKutchandincidentallyhelpedtodiguptheearthwhichourJawanssubsequentlyusedforbunkers.”

InKutch,BritishPrimeMinisterHaroldWilsonfinallysucceededinpersuadingthewarringcountriestoendhostilitiesandresolvethedispute.Pakistanwouldeventuallyget910squarekmoftheRannofKutchagainstitsclaimof9,100squarekm.

AT WARACOUNTRY

Fifty years ago, India and Pakistan fought a short butbloodywar.Veenu Sandhu finds out how SainikSamachar, the defenceministry’s journal, reported it

(Anti-clockwise from left) IndiraGandhi inabunker;DefenceMinisterYBChavanwith jawans in theKhemKaransector; capturedPakistani officersCaptainMohammadSajjadandCaptainGhulumHussain;PrimeMinisterLalBahadurShastri in frontof aknockedoutPakistaniPatton tanksomewhere in theLahore sector

Balraj Sahni recordingVividhBharati’s Jayamalaprogrammefor thearmed forces in the studioofAllIndiaRadio,Delhi. ItwasairedonOctober 16, 1965

IMAG

ING

:AJAY

MOH

ANTY

> CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

PHOTO

S:CO

URTESY

SAINIK

SAMACH

AR

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