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Pak army author says Sikhs were
reason for Pak's defeat in 1971
WSN Network
 In a rare
exposition of the Sikhs' role in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, Lt Col
S S Sohi (Retd) has said that the book Crisis of Leadership,
authored by Maj Gen Mukesh Khan of the Pakistan Arm, has correctly
made a special mention of the bravery of Sikhs in the Indian Army.
He writes that
Sikhs formed a formidable force and were the reason behind their
defeat. On December 3, 1971, the infantry brigade of the Pakistani
forces attacked the Indian Army near Hussainiwala border.
With their
brigade comprising the powerful Punjab regiment and Baloch regiment,
the Indian Army was forced to retreat. As the Pakistani Army reached
near the Kausre-Hind post (Kasure), they were halted by a small
segment of the Indian Army belonging to the Sikh Regiment.
With slogans of
Bole so Nihal reverberating in the air, the Sikh soldiers went on
the roof and persistently opposed them. The entire night they
showered fire on Pakistani soldiers and it was on the following day
when Pakistani tanks bombed the post that some Sikhs were martyred.
The remaining brave soldiers then destroyed the Pakistani tanks.
Fighting with great bravery, they marched forward and thus our Army
lost its foothold, the author wrote in the book.
"Alas! A handful
of Sikhs converted our great victory into a big defeat and shattered
our confidence and courage. The same thing happened in Dhaka,
Bangladesh. In the battle of Jassur, the Singhs opposed the
Pakistani Army so fiercely that our backbone and foothold were lost.
This became the main reason for our defeat and Sikhs’ strength and
safety and honour of the country became the sole cause of their
victory,” the Pakistani author records in his book.
It is sad that
the Indian government hardly recognised the contribution and the
bravery of the community, and what the Sikhs instead got now are
harsh and bitter memories of the 1984 Army attack on the
Golden
Temple.
5
August 2009
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