1971 War: 50 Years On, A Daughter Remembers

Residents of Dhaka cheer as Indian troops enter the city after the surrender of Pakistani forces on December 16, 1971 | Photo: Getty

India is celebrating 50 years of 1971 War. The war that started on December 3, 1971, ended with the surrender of the Pakistan army in East Pakistan and formation of a new nation, Bangladesh, on December 16, 1971. There is a lot written about and material available on the why and how of the war in the  military records, news reports, books and films on different battles, incidents and human costs.

Here is my Dad’s story — also mentioned in an Army book.  

Then a Lt Col, my dad, Vishnu Datta, took over as commanding officer (CO) of 610 EME Battalion in the summer of 1971. He was stationed at the border, in Cham Jorian around Akhnoor in Jammu. 

When it seemed the war was going to happen, the Army got all the border villages evacuated. The civilians were moved back. Before they left, they were asked to flood their fields.

As told to me by Dad’s senior officer, my Dad told him that Pakistan will open with their Air Force, and sure enough, on December 3, PAF attacked India. The war was declared.

My father was an EME officer. EME Corps has to do with all things electrical and mechanical in terms of developing, designing, trails, upkeep, inspection and refit of weapon systems and equipment, repairs — all. They also provide technical advice to units and conduct recovery operations in peace and war. 

Western front opened up. Heavy guns were booming. From Rajasthan, Punjab till J&K.

There was an Indian infantry unit and they had some equipment stuck somewhere, so Dad and the CO of that infantry unit had to go to the border.  They went in a jeep to inspect it — the CO drove and Dad sat in the co-driver’s seat. 

They reached the border and then walked up to the spot to inspect it. As expected, they were spotted and firing started, so they had to duck and run back. Soon, heavy guns opened up too. Both these officers would run when they heard the gun blast and duck and take cover when there was silence — just before the bomb fell. 

Now every time they moved from point A to point B, a bomb would fall on point A where Dad had taken cover previously. After a few times of this, the CO joked with Dad, saying ‘Vishnu, not your day today’. 

They reached their jeep and left. The CO of the infantry told Dad that he would drop him and then head back to his HQ as his second-in-command was at Dad’s place. When they reached there, he told his junior to drive and he sat where my Dad was sitting all day, and they left saying bye to Dad. 

Barely out of the gate, there was only one shot fired and the CO Infantry was killed with a bullet hitting his head.  

 

Lt Col Vishnu Datta (second from left) in front of one of the Pakistani tanks, his troops capture during the 1971 war. Photo Courtesy: Geeta Datta

 

The Chinese Tanks

A few days later, Dad got a call that five Pakistani tanks were stuck in a flooded field. There was to be an operation to recover the enemy tanks. Led by Dad, a team of him and a few jawans reached those tanks. They climbed into each tank to check them. They found them loaded with ammunition and food. Dad had told me they found rotis and channas packed. They found two tanks were in a working condition and so they decided to offload the big shells of the other tanks into the two working tanks and drive away with them. 

So, one by one, the shells, each weighing 20 kg or more, were taken out of the tanks by hand and  then loaded on to the two working tanks. 

This was done in broad daylight. The enemy was close. All this was happening in the enemy’s rifle firing range. They were sitting ducks — targets of both rifles and big artillery guns. 

They were targeted. They came under heavy fire. 

Dad returned to his unit with two Pakistan tanks loaded with ammunition. India had with them two T54 tanks with Chinese number plates. Right through the war, China had adopted the non-intervention policy officially, while supporting Pakistan on all international forums like the UN.  But now India had with them 2 Tanks of Chinese make, made in china – physical evidence that they were also supplying them military hardware.

The two tanks were brought to Delhi and shown around to all from the PM downwards. 

Dad kept the two Chinese number plates. After a few years, he presented it to the EME Museum in Secunderabad.

(Geeta Datta is a broadcast journalist, content creator, and commentator)

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