Indian Army: News & Discussion

ASPuar · Post by **ASPuar** » 09 Dec 2009 16:16

RayC, shall we have the pleasure of seeing Rum, Bum, and Mouthorgan anytime soon?

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 09 Dec 2009 17:30

RayC wrote:I think the Army has made a Appellate Tribunal composed of non military legal personnel and Judges and military personnel, so that Justice is seen not to be only delivered but actually delivered!

If I am not mistaken one such tribunal has started functioning in Kochi, Kerala. This tribunal will have retired judges also along with military legal personnel. Earlier the Court Martials could be appealed against at the High Courts (civil judiciary). Now those cases would all be heard by the Appellate Tribunal. All pending appeals in Southern India, would get moved to the Appelatte Tribunal. It is also seen as a way to speed up the process.

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 09 Dec 2009 18:19

Sachin wrote:
RayC wrote:I think the Army has made a Appellate Tribunal composed of non military legal personnel and Judges and military personnel, so that Justice is seen not to be only delivered but actually delivered!
If I am not mistaken one such tribunal has started functioning in Kochi, Kerala. This tribunal will have retired judges also along with military legal personnel. Earlier the Court Martials could be appealed against at the High Courts (civil judiciary). Now those cases would all be heard by the Appellate Tribunal. All pending appeals in Southern India, would get moved to the Appelatte Tribunal. It is also seen as a way to speed up the process.

Sorry sir,
The southern region is covered by the Chennai bench apart from Kochi, which is already in place apart from benches in Delhi, Jaipur and Chandigarh. The number of benches and locations have been seemingly worked out on the basis of court cases pending in various High Courts.

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 09 Dec 2009 21:32

ASPuar wrote:RayC, shall we have the pleasure of seeing Rum, Bum, and Mouthorgan anytime soon?

No publisher as yet.

Too niche they tell me!

But if you are interested to read them, then I will PM my e mail ID and you can state where to send them. However, if you are a BRF jingo, you won't appreciate the fun I have made of the organisation and my life in it!

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 09 Dec 2009 21:38

nelson wrote:
Sorry sir,
The southern region is covered by the Chennai bench apart from Kochi, which is already in place apart from benches in Delhi, Jaipur and Chandigarh. The number of benches and locations have been seemingly worked out on the basis of court cases pending in various High Courts.

A Tribunal and a Bench are different things!

Or so I understand!

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 09 Dec 2009 23:49

from chindits.

http://chhindits.blogspot.com/2009/12/o ... roval.html

OTA Gaya Gets CCS Approval.
The country's second Officers Training Academy (OTA), which was approved in principle earlier this year by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), has been given the green signal by the Cabinet, so as to begin functioning by next year. This is one of the projects the current Army Chief, also the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Deepak Kapoor is personally interested in, as an achievement during his tenure before he hangs his boots on March 31, 2010.
................

The academy would house around 750 cadets, beginning with 150 initially, while the present OTA based in Chennai has a strength of 500. The Dehradun-based Indian Military Academy (IMA) trains around 2000 cadets in all kinds of entries put together.
......................

Last month's Army Commanders Conference, held in Delhi, deliberated on increasing the infrastructure and facilities of IMA and the Chennai-based OTA, like accommodation, training faculty, firing range, classrooms so as to facilitate the increased strength. the idea is to make it an academy with world class facilities. An officer said that the academy would have state of the art infrastructure and facilities on the lines of the new naval academy which has come up in Ezhimala, Kerala. It is an approximately Rs 500 crore project.

ASPuar · Post by **ASPuar** » 10 Dec 2009 01:27

RayC wrote:
ASPuar wrote:RayC, shall we have the pleasure of seeing Rum, Bum, and Mouthorgan anytime soon?
No publisher as yet.

Too niche they tell me!

But if you are interested to read them, then I will PM my e mail ID and you can state where to send them. However, if you are a BRF jingo, you won't appreciate the fun I have made of the organisation and my life in it!

I'd be delighted if you would PM me the appropriate place to send my contact. I have read some of them previously, and enjoyed them enormously, especially where the protagonist takes the mickey off of some character or the other!

AdityaM · Post by **AdityaM** » 10 Dec 2009 01:57

^ RayC, send them to ReaderDigest for humour in uniform section. You can make some bucks out of it!

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 10 Dec 2009 04:20

AdityaM wrote:^ RayC, send them to ReaderDigest for humour in uniform section. You can make some bucks out of it!

No.
It has to be a book.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 11 Dec 2009 03:43

Army to use Zanskar ponies to carry supplies in higher reaches

...
...
The Army plans to gradually replace mules with Zanskar ponies -- one of the indigenous breeds of equines whose native tract is the Zanskar Valley in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir -- to ferry supplies, arms and ammunition to soldiers manning forward posts in the area.

"We have undertaken `in situ' breeding of Zanskar ponies in Ladakh region. These ponies are better suited than mules for snow-bound high-altitude areas,'' said Army's Remount Veterinary Corps (RVC) director-general Lt-General J K Srivastava on Thursday.

"These ponies, with a lifespan of 25 years, can each carry 50-60 kg. We plan to supply Army formations in the region with 300 of these ponies as pack animals,'' he added.
...

Brando · Post by **Brando** » 11 Dec 2009 05:07

Its always surprising to see that even in this day and age, pack animals are still in use, just like they have been used for thousands of years through out human history. I hope the IA doesnt think that these pack animals will really be useful as a long term solution to supplying forward posts. Animals can be killed and they take time to grow and expend valuable food and water in those inhospitable regions. They should rather be investing in building something more substantial.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 11 Dec 2009 05:51

Another senior Army officer under scanner over purchases for UN troops

...
One of the cases being investigated is the purchase of two types of boots for UN troops that allegedly caused a loss of Rs 2.82 crore to the exchequer.
..
...
This has put a senior serving officer, Maj Gen G S Narula, under the scanner given that he was responsible for UN purchases as an Additional Director General (ADG) at Army HQ during the period mentioned in the inquiry. The officer is also in consideration for promotion to the top rank of Master General of Ordnance (MGO) at Army HQ.

...
...
Sources said that the inquiry was ordered after a sitting Lok Sabha member, Indian National Congress MP Harsh Vardhan, wrote to Defence Minister A K Antony earlier this year, highlighting a series of irregularities in the procurement of supplies for troops on UN missions.

...
The letter said as the ADG ( CN and A) at Army HQ, Maj Gen Narula bought two types of boots — Disruptive and Black Formals — at double the market price. While the Army paid Rs 1,700 each for the two types of boots, the same were available for half the price in the market. With a total procurement of 32,000 boots, the loss to the Army was Rs 2.82 crore, the letter said.

Various other charges against the officer, including violation of CVC guidelines, filing a false affidavit in court as well as favouring a particular company for purchases, that were mentioned in the letter are also being probed by the Army’s COI.

rohitvats · Post by **rohitvats** » 11 Dec 2009 15:25

Brando wrote:Its always surprising to see that even in this day and age, pack animals are still in use, just like they have been used for thousands of years through out human history. I hope the IA doesnt think that these pack animals will really be useful as a long term solution to supplying forward posts. Animals can be killed and they take time to grow and expend valuable food and water in those inhospitable regions. They should rather be investing in building something more substantial.

Brando, you're dispplaying lack of understanding with respect to the use of pack animals in the IA. IA knows exactly what it is doing. There is nothing surprising about their use.The terrain where these animals are used is such that nothing 'substantial' that IA puts in can alleviate the situation. Use google images and take one look at the terrain in Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh (HP) and higher reaches of Ladakh. There are only that many roads that you can build and only upto a point. Do bear in mind that terrain in Ladakh Sector is very different from that in HP or Uttarakhand.

Please click here to get an idea of their usage and then comment on what 'susbtantial' things IA could have been done:

http://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTempl ... sSPEDQpyI=

And I qoute this on medical evacuation from one of the manual available online:

On occasions especially jungle and mountainous country or in the deserts, roads either do not exist or are so poor that mechanical transport cannot be brought forward to evacuate casualties.

tsarkar · Post by **tsarkar** » 11 Dec 2009 17:39

Here's what uncle sam is doing

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... ory?page=1

"Sgt. Chad Giles sat on his horse and watched the two 20-year-olds coax and cajole Annie. He urged persistence but admonished against rude language, saying they should talk to her as they would a woman they loved."

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 12 Dec 2009 03:00

brandobhai

rohitvats explains it well. to get a feel for it, try trekking in very thick forested mountains and see how practical it will be for motorised transport. there are plenty of places to be defended where even four legged animals cannot carry loads

sumshyam · Post by **sumshyam** » 12 Dec 2009 16:03

I was today surfing the net...and accidentally wondered to a site...where Indian army doctrine of year 2004 was stored....I download them [three files: pdf].....still wondering...if they are true documents or just a mock up...!

they are widely available on net....it is claimed that they were leaked....!

AdityaM · Post by **AdityaM** » 12 Dec 2009 16:58

Sources said that the inquiry was ordered after a sitting Lok Sabha member, Indian National Congress MP Harsh Vardhan, wrote to Defence Minister A K Antony earlier this year, highlighting a series of irregularities in the procurement of supplies for troops on UN missions.

And we thought the politicians pay no interest in the workings of our army.
wonder where they get all these inside info.

Naidu · Post by **Naidu** » 13 Dec 2009 09:20

AdityaM wrote:
Sources said that the inquiry was ordered after a sitting Lok Sabha member, Indian National Congress MP Harsh Vardhan, wrote to Defence Minister A K Antony earlier this year, highlighting a series of irregularities in the procurement of supplies for troops on UN missions.
And we thought the politicians pay no interest in the workings of our army.
wonder where they get all these inside info.

All details come from the losing bidder, of course!

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 13 Dec 2009 09:50

Brando wrote:Its always surprising to see that even in this day and age, pack animals are still in use, just like they have been used for thousands of years through out human history. I hope the IA doesnt think that these pack animals will really be useful as a long term solution to supplying forward posts. Animals can be killed and they take time to grow and expend valuable food and water in those inhospitable regions. They should rather be investing in building something more substantial.

Animal Transport is used by the Army including yaks (though not owned by the Army but hired). This are used for posts in areas where there is no roads and are accessible by animal trails. These areas are rugged where neither vehicles nor helicopters can land.

I hope this image will convey why Animal Transport is used

Animal can get killed as helicopters can crash and vehicles topple off mountain roads.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 13 Dec 2009 10:07

Brando wrote:Its always surprising to see that even in this day and age, pack animals are still in use, just like they have been used for thousands of years through out human history. I hope the IA doesnt think that these pack animals will really be useful as a long term solution to supplying forward posts. Animals can be killed and they take time to grow and expend valuable food and water in those inhospitable regions. They should rather be investing in building something more substantial.

Kilogram for kilogram an animal in mountainous terrain is more valuable and requires less maintenance than any vehicle yet invented. The only surprising thing is that you did not know this.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 13 Dec 2009 10:58

Yeah and when marooned, you can't eat your snowmobile or jeep.

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 13 Dec 2009 12:16

The Gen Chandrashekhar Committe reduced Animal Transport to cut costs and earn a medal!

In the Kargil War, we were in dire straits to lift the stores and civilians from Jammu were brought in as porters.

Some died and fled!

The IA was up a gum tree!

As said by Snajaykumar you cant eat a snowmobile.

My father in the Battle of the Admin Box in Burma when surrounded by the Japanese, had to exist on mule meat!

sanjaychoudhry · Post by **sanjaychoudhry** » 13 Dec 2009 20:21

Indian Army set to upgrade its weapon locating radar systems
http://www.business-standard.com/india/ ... ms/378832/

sanjaychoudhry · Post by **sanjaychoudhry** » 13 Dec 2009 20:26

"Indian Army prefers youth from rural areas"
http://www.zeenews.com/news586599.html

Rony · Post by **Rony** » 14 Dec 2009 11:28

Army and IAF face off over new war plan

The army and air force are battling it out over how to beat Pakistan in a flash war if and when that happens.

The Indian Air Force is not convinced about its role in the army's "cold start doctrine" for a future Indo-Pak war.

The strategy envisages the air force providing "close air support", which calls for aerial bombing of ground targets to augment the fire power of the advancing troops.

The growing tension between the two services is evident in a statement of air vice-marshal (retd) Kapil Kak, deputy director of the air force's own Centre for Air Power Studies.

"There is no question of the air force fitting itself into a doctrine propounded by the army. That is a concept dead at inception," Kak said.

A senior army officer disputes the notion of a conceptual difference between the two services. "The air force is supposed to launch an offensive under the doctrine by hitting targets deep inside enemy territory," he said. But he admitted the air force was hesitant about 'close air support'. 'Cold Start' is a post-nuclearised doctrine that envisages a "limited war" in which the army intends to inflict substantial damage on Pakistan's armed forces without letting it cross the threshold where it could think of pressing the nuclear button.

The doctrine intends to accomplish the task before the international community led by the US and China could intercede to end hostilities. Kak said, "The air force has the primary task of achieving 'air dominance' by which Pakistan's air force is put out of action allowing the army to act at will."

But he sees little necessity for the air force to divert frontline fighter aircraft for augmenting the army's fire power, a task that, in his opinion, can be achieved by the army's own attack helicopters and multiple rocket launchers that now have a 100-km range.

But he agrees the two services should work according to a joint plan. It means the air force would launch 'battlefield air strikes' to neutralise threats on the ground based on an existing plan. But that would be different from an army commander calling for air support on the basis of a developing war scenario.

That is not the only problem facing the doctrine. In the past few weeks, many have expressed doubts about the army's ability to launch operations on the basis of the new doctrine.

There are also apprehensions about the army's incomplete deployment of forces, lack of mobility and unattended infrastructure development.

But senior officers say the army has identified the units, which would constitute the eight division-strong independent battle groups out of its three strike corps. These battle groups would comprise mechanised infantry, artillery and armour.

"The forces have exercised as constituted battle groups at least six times since 2004. Each of the identified unit knows where they will be deployed," a senior General said.

According to him, the time for deployment has been cut down to "days". "No longer will the movement of troops require three months like it did when Operation Parakram was launched after the attack on Parliament in 2001," he said.

The army also debunks the idea that the troops lack mobility. Some armed forces observers have said only 35 per cent of the army is mobile inside the country.

They have, thus, concluded that even less numbers would be mobile inside the enemy territory.

The army officials, however, pooh pooh the criticism claiming 100 per cent of the Indian troops are mobile.

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 14 Dec 2009 19:22

Nepal Army chief is honorary General of Indian Army

Sanju · Post by **Sanju** » 14 Dec 2009 22:57

"The forces have exercised as constituted battle groups at least six times since 2004. Each of the identified unit knows where they will be deployed," a senior General said.

According to him, the time for deployment has been cut down to "days". "No longer will the movement of troops require three months like it did when Operation Parakram was launched after the attack on Parliament in 2001," he said.

I thought it was 45 days or so - not 3 months. Haven't there been studies wherein the US Army said that they would take the same amount of time for a similar force strength.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 16 Dec 2009 09:31

From the pages of History....The LIberation of Goa.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/de ... or-war-goa

From the archive: Troops ready for war – and jets over Goa
Originally published on 16 December 1961

The Guardian, Wednesday 16 December 2009

Indian forces have taken up positions along the Goa border, and, according to observers of Belgaum, near the frontier, were yesterday posted in sufficient strength to overrun the territory of 1,300 square miles in a matter of days, if not hours.

There were increasing signs that a military showdown was imminent, awaiting only the results of this week's diplomatic moves. The Indian authorities were making little effort to conceal that they were putting the finishing touches to "operation Goa."

On the Goan side, Portuguese troops, estimated at between 8,000 and 12,000 men, were concentrated at strategic points. They had, according to Indian officials, set up gun emplacements on hilltops and mined a wide strip of the territory.

Although there has been reports of diplomatic moves by the United States, Britain and Brazil to bring about a peaceful settlement of the problem, there was little hope of Portugal agreeing to abandon her possessions without a fight.

In New Delhi, the US Ambassador, Professor Galbraith, discussed the situation with Mr Nehru, who, according to authoritative sources there, received a letter from President Kennedy early this week expressing the hope that war would be avoided. US Embassy officials said Washington was also putting pressure on Portugal.

India had, in a reply to the latest Portuguese Note, rejected the Portuguese proposal that international observers be sent to Goa. Indian papers yesterday showed irritation over Britain's support for this suggestion.

Our Bombay correspondent writes: The conference at Belgaum on Thursday of the Chiefs of the Army and Air Force with the military commanders on the spot is taken as confirmation that the Indian Army is only awaiting orders to move. Civil airline flights passing near Goa were cancelled from yesterday.

Six hundred white women and children have already been evacuated by plane and ship from Goa to Karachi, and Indian sources claim there is an increasing demoralisation of the Portuguese officials and police. Many Goans enlisted in the Portuguese forces are reported to be refusing to fight.

Underground activity in the territory, it is said, has become increasingly bold to the point in some areas where armed action is not even necessary. Members of the underground were reported yesterday to have stopped a petrol lorry and in a strictly Ghandian manner transferred its supplies to cans for their own use.

ASPuar · Post by **ASPuar** » 16 Dec 2009 09:51

Ironic that it takes the Guardian, a British news outlet to remind us of the 38th anniversary of the Goa Liberation. Our own newspapers have ZERO on it

Sometimes, I think that as a people, we just beg to be mistreated by all and sundry, by insisting on weakening ourselves.

Jagan · Post by **Jagan** » 16 Dec 2009 09:56

Aspaur,

16 Dec 1971 trumps 16-19 Dec 1961.

Can you blame them?

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 16 Dec 2009 10:42

Vijay Diwas is being celebrated in Kolkata for the last three days.

Nothing much is being mentioned in the newspapers.

sumeet_s · Post by **sumeet_s** » 16 Dec 2009 11:36

For all those in PUNE....

Vijay Diwas function today evening at National War Memorial, Southern Command, Pune Camp.

and an interaction session with 1971 War Vetrans at Garware College at 10.00am

AdityaM · Post by **AdityaM** » 16 Dec 2009 13:36

Is the GOI marking the anniversary today?
After all this was not BJPs war.

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 16 Dec 2009 15:38

Appointment of CDS

ASPuar · Post by **ASPuar** » 16 Dec 2009 15:59

Jagan wrote:Aspuar,

16 Dec 1971 trumps 16-19 Dec 1961.

Can you blame them?

Jagan, I see even less in the news about Vijay Diwas... arguably Indias greatest victory in the last 500 years!

ASPuar · Post by **ASPuar** » 16 Dec 2009 16:00

Jamal K. Malik wrote:Appointment of CDS

Rather a cryptic report... in essence it says nothing. But why did it make it to PIB, if there is not reason for it to? I wonder whats brewing....

Anabhaya · Post by **Anabhaya** » 16 Dec 2009 16:43

Because it was a reply from the Raksha Mantri to an M.P's question in Rajya Sabha. Most of the responses from R.M make it to the PIB usually.

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 16 Dec 2009 18:00

Indian weapons are fully secure: Army chief

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) With intelligence inputs suggesting that terrorists were planning to attack country's nuclear installations, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor today said Indian weapons were "fully secure" and that there was no doubt about their safety.

"As far as Indian nuclear weapons are concerned, I can assure you that whatever weapons we have, they are fully secure and there is no doubt about their safety," he told reporters here.

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 16 Dec 2009 21:32

Vajra Corps celebrates Vijay Diwas

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 16 Dec 2009 21:39

1971 War: 'I will give you 30 minutes'.

Thirty-eight years ago today, on a blustery late afternoon in Dhaka, the commander of the Pakistani forces in East Pakistan, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi publicly surrendered to the Indian Army, represented by Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora.

In that now famous picture of the surrender of December 16, 1971 at the Ramna Race Course, there is a man standing on the right, behind Niazi, with his head proudly up, gazing at something over the horizon.

He was the man who had masterminded the public surrender.

I first met General Jacob-Farj-Rafael Jacob (Jake to his friends) in November 2006, at his tiny apartment in Som Vihar, New Delhi. I was trying to put together a series on the 13-day war.

The first thing that stuck me was the vitality of the man. Age (he was on the wrong side of 80 then) had failed to dim the twinkle in his eyes, or dampen his zest for life. His grip was like a vise, and his voice used to command. In an incisive, crisp style, he put the war into perspective for me very quickly.

I soon discovered that we had both studied in Darjeeling (in different schools, in different eras), and that among other things, he was a very keen student of military history. Which perhaps explains why he did what he did in 1971.

The son of a Baghdadi Jew who ran a reasonably prosperous business in Kolkata, young Jake went against his father’s wishes to join the British Indian Army when he was just 18.

It was 1941, and World War II was in full swing. His first posting was to Iraq, and then North Africa, where his unit arrived too late for any real action. He was then shifted to Burma to fight against the Japanese, and then to Malaysia. When the war ended, he went on to take an advanced artillery course in the UK, before returning to an Independent India.

His experience came in handy during the India-Pakistan wars. He was promoted to Brigadier in 1963, and fought against the Pakistanis in the deserts of Rajasthan during the 1965 war. By 1967, he was a brigadier, and two years later he was promoted to Major General.

In 1969, another World War II veteran, Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, was appointed chief of the Indian army, and one of the first things he did was to name Jacob as Chief of Staff, Eastern Army Command.

War clouds were looming once again, with India struggling to cope with the huge influx of Bengali refugees from East Pakistan fleeing persecution by migrants and the military from the western wing, bent on imposing Muslim law and Urdu as the national language.

India under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had not only planned and prepared for this war, it also armed and trained the Mukti Bahini (or Liberation Army) --which wanted freedom from West Pakistan - for quite a while.

War was officially declared on December 3, 1971, after Pakistani aircraft strafed some 11 Indian Air bases in the west in an attempted pre-emptive strike. As India engaged with the Pakistanis in the east and the west, The Soviet Union and the United States took sides. The US , under President Richard Nixon, chose Pakistan.

But before the two nuclear powers and Cold War rivals could get really get actively involved, Pakistan's eastern wing surrendered to the Indian forces. The war was over. Bangladesh was born.

Weeks later, Pakistan's Chief Justice Hamidur Rahman was asked to head a War Inquiry Commission, to examine the reasons for the debacle. On being asked by the commission why he had accepted such a shameful unconditional public surrender ,when he had 26,400 troops in Dacca and the Indians only a few thousand outside, General Niazi replied: " I was compelled to do so , as I was blackmailed by Jacob into surrendering." He repeats this in his book "Betrayal of East Pakistan."

In Crossed Swords, his authoritative book on the Pakistani military, Pakistani American writer Shuja Nawaz notes that "....in the words of a later Pakistan National Defence College study of the war, the Indians planned and executed their offensive against East Pakistan in a text book manner. It was a classic example of thorough planning, minute coordination, and bold execution. The credit clearly goes to General Jacob's meticulous preparations in the Indian eastern command."

It was Jacob who insisted that he could not strike Bangladesh until the rains ended, which also gave him time to make preparations for the war. And when the war did begin, one of things General Jacob did was to blatantly ignore orders to take Khulna and Chittagong and consolidate. Instead, he made a beeline for Dacca.

When he reached the outskirts of the capital, he had 3,000 men. Niazi had nearly 30,000. But Niazi also knew that the Bengali people were against him and his men, sought a ceasefire under UN auspices.

On December 16, armed with nothing but a surrender document drafted by him but yet to be cleared by the Indian high command, Jacob entered Dacca, and headed for Niazi's headquarters. Fighting was going on in the streets of the capital between the Mukti Bahini and the Pakistani army.

Niazi tried to bluster, but Jacob was firm.

"General, I assure you if you surrender in public, accept these terms, we will look after you and your men. The Government of India has given its word and will ensure your safety and that of your civilians. If you do not, then we can take no responsibility," Jacob recalls telling Niazi. "He (Niazi) kept talking until I said, General, I cannot give you any better terms. I will give you 30 minutes. If you don’t comply I would have no option but to order resumption of hostilities."

He walked out, and paced up and down outside Niazi's office.

On his return, Niazi kept quiet. "I walked up to him. The document was on the table and I asked him: General, do you accept this document? I asked him three times but he didn't answer. So I picked it up. I said, I take it as accepted."

Thus was the first and perhaps only public surrender in modern military history won. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sadly, we do not learn from our history. Today, as the nation celebrates 'Vijay Diwas', it is worth pondering that General Jacob is not on any official invitation list.

Is this how we treat our heroes?