Veterans of 1971 war remembered on Vijay Diwas

Senior serving and retired officers of the armed forces converged at the National Military Memorial (NMM) here, on Sunday, for a commemoration ceremony organised by the Department of Sainik Welfare.

The officers, along with veterans of 1971 war, placed wreaths at the statue of an Unknown Soldier, as bugles sounded the last post, observing a two minute silence, on the occasion of Vijay Diwas, in honour of the martyrs who laid down their lives during the Indo-Pak war of 1971.

Vijay Diwas is observed on December 16 every year to remember soldiers of the Indian armed forces, who died in the course of war.

The day also marks the largest military surrender after World War-II, when General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command, Lt General Jagjeet Singh Arora accepted the instrument of surrender from Lt General AAK Niazi of Pakistan Army at
Dhaka.

Recollecting their experiences during the liberation of East Pakistan (Bangladesh), war veterans said the war was a perfect example of joint-manship in which all the three forces fought together to achieve victory.

Sacrifices

Noting that the country lost several of its brave soldiers to liberate East Pakisation, Commander L Ganesh said: It was worth it, as we managed to overthrow a murderous regime there. He, however, expressed unhappiness over the fact that India fell short in sorting out a few matters with Pakistan despite such a “spectacular victory.”

“We were overgenerous. Many things could have been sorted out then but we did not,” he observed.

A wreath laying ceremony was also held at the Headquarters  Training Command War Memorial.