Today We Remember

300-plus Videos of the 1971 War

Please visit my YouTube channel 1971 War Book Series for videos on military history regarding the 1971 war.

Lt Col Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore, PVC(P)
- Birth Centenary

Tank Commander Wins Grand Slam

Indian Army officer (17 Poona Horse), and a veteran of the World War who saw action in the Middle East with Hyderabad Lancers, he was in command of Poona Horse in Sialkot sector when Pakistan launched Operation Gibraltar (Aug 1965).

He studied in Sardar Dastur School in Pune. Selected for Officers' Training School, he was commissioned in the 7th Hyderabad in 1942, later transferred to the 1st Hyderabad Lancers and deployed in the Middle East during World War II.

After independence, he joined 17 Poona Horse, was deputed to the UK for training on the Centurion tanks and was commanding the regiment during the 1965 War with Pakistan.

On 01 Sep, Pakistan launched Operation Grand Slam, to capture Akhnoor and cut India's link with Jammu. The Indian Army retaliated with a counter on 05-06 Sep, with a thrust in the Sialkot Sector in Punjab spearheaded by 1st Armoured Division.

That led to fierce tank-vs-tank battles, where leading from the front, the regiment is credited with destroying 60 enemy tanks at a cost of only 9 tank casualties, during a period of six days (11-16) when he was mortally wounded. Eventually, Indian Army captured Phillora, Chawinda, Jassoran and Butur-Dograndi.

The Battles of Phillora and Chawinda where he was involved, and the Battle of Asal Uttar demolished the plans of the enemy with heavy losses. The ceasefire was declared on 23 Sep 1965.

Lt Col AB Tarapore was awarded Param Vir Chakra (posthumous) for "heroic action, which lasted six days, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Indian Army".

Legacy: Road adjacent to Sardar Dastur Hoshang Boys' School. Tarapore Gardens, and Tarapore Towers in Mumbai.

Kranthiveera Sangolli Rayanna

Army Chief of the Kingdom of Kittur

Indian general, he was the army chief of the kingdom of Kittur in Belgaum (Belagavi), Karnataka, and fought alongside Rani Chennamma. Defeated, he carried on a guerrilla war against the British until his capture by treachery, and death by hanging.

He was the son of a shepherd from Sangolli village, the original location of which was submerged by the Malaprabha irrigation project on the Krishna River basin commissioned in the year 1973.

Growing up, he was vexed by the prevalent taxation system imposed by the British EIC, which took away most of the earnings of the local people. So he gathered a small force and began a Robin Hood style campaign, plundering treasuries.

Meanwhile, Rani Chennamma of Kittur came under the "Doctrine of Lapse". The British attempt to take over the kingdom resulted in the death of their agent, St John Thackeray in Oct 1824. An all-out war followed, in to which Rayanna joined, and was soon promoted to lead the Rani's army. The Rani was captured and imprisoned at Bailhongal Fort, where she died in Feb 1829.

Rayanna escaped and persisted with his guerrilla war, until he was betrayed and captured. He was hanged to death from a banyan tree in Kasaba Nandgad. His samadhi (grave) in the village of Nandgad is marked by a massive banyan tree, which is believed to have been planted over his grave, by an associate. Today, there is a small temple with a statue, and it is a place of pilgrimage.

Legacy: Bangalore City railway station was officially named after him, and a statue by sculptor Prabhakar Dongre installed.

Legacy: Sangolli Rayanna Sainik School in Sangolli, Belgaum.

Film: Sangolli Rayanna (2012) had Darshan enacting the role of Sangolli Rayanna, and Jayapradha as Kittur Rani Chennamma.

INS Sindhurakshak Accident
Event: 14 Aug 2013 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Stephanie Louise Kwolek
- Birth Centenary
American chemist with DuPont for over forty years (1946-86), she is credited with developing Kevlar (1965), which is five times stronger than steel by weight, and is extensively used in bullet-proof vests and body armour, in addition to many other applications that needs strength and has to be light-weight - including cellular telephones - Motorola's Droid RAZR has a Kevlar back plate.

She is the 4th woman in the National Inventors Hall of Fame (USA), out of the 582 inventors who have been inducted, as of 2019.

Fg Offr Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon PVC(P)

The Flying Hero and Only PVC of the IAF

Indian Air Force pilot (1967) with No 18 Squadron, he took on a Flight of six Pakistani Sabre fighter jets in an unequal combat, and earned India's highest wartime medal for gallantry, the Param Vir Chakra posthumously.

Son of an Air Warrior - Master Warrant Officer (Honorary Flight Lieutenant) Tarlok Singh Sekhon, he joined the 97th Course and was commissioned in the fighter stream in 1967.

1971 Indo-Pak War: Attached with No 18 Squadron (Flying Bullets) and based in Srinagar, they were primarily tasked for the air-defence of Srinagar, but had also escorted bombing missions.

On the morning of 14 Dec, the airfield was attacked by six Sabre aircraft from No 26 PAF Squadron - three in bombing role and three providing CAP. Flt Lt BS Ghumman (later Air Cmde) and Sekhon rolled onto the runway, and took off, just as the first two Sabres dropped their bombs, and rushed past the 2 Gnats,

Extract from the PVC citation - In the fight that ensued, he secured hits on one aircraft and damaged another. By this time the other Sabre aircraft came to the aid of their hard-pressed companions and Flying Officer Sekhon's Gnat was again outnumbered.

Sekhon engaged the enemy in an unequal combat. In the fight that followed, at treetop height, he almost held his own, but was eventually overcome by the sheer weight of numbers. His aircraft was shot down by a gunfire of one of the Sabres and he was killed.

His 'supreme gallantry' in 'the face of certain death' was acknowledged with the Param Vir Chakra, the first and only recipient of the PVC for the Indian Air Force.

LEGACY: Statue at IAF Museum in Palam, AFA and Ludhiana. Bust at National War Memorial, and National Defence Academy.

India in Paris on 14 July 2023
Video from President Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron on Twitter “इस 14 जुलाई को, भारत के सैनिक और रफ़ाल लड़ाकू विमान हमारे सैनिकों के साथ परेड में शामिल हैं। हम उन लोगों की स्मृति का...

Gulzari Lal Nanda
- 125th Death Anniversary
Interim Prime Minister of India

Indian freedom fighter and trade union leader, he was the first Minister for Labour in the Maharashtra government. Later elected to the Lok Sabha (1 to 5), he held important portfolios as Union Minister (1952-71), and was twice appointed Interim Prime Minister following the death of Nehru (1964) and Shastri (1966). In 1997, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna.

He was Professor of Economics at the National College, when he joined the freedom movement in 1922 and became the Secretary of the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association. Went to prison twice, in 1932 and 1942-44. In 1937, he was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly, and as Labour Minister (1946-50), piloted the Labour Disputes Bill.

Closely associated with Labour, he was a founding member of the Indian National Trade Union Congress, attended ILO conferences, and after his election to the Lok Sabha in 1952, became the Union Minister for Labour and Employment and Planning, Home (1963-66) and Railways (1970–71), along with a tenure as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.

During his long career, he was closely associated with Kurukshetra in Haryana, and set up Kurukshetra Development Board in August 1968. A statue stands at the Kurukshetra University in memory of his immense contributions to the region.

And, Gulzarilal Nanda Institute of National Integration and Peace near Sannehit Sarovar was opened in 2006, by Haryana Governor, Dr AR Kidwai in the presence of his daughter Dr Pushpa Naik.

His grandson, Dr Tejus Naik has a lovely "Home Museum", located Opposite Orchid Mall in Ahmedabad, where the Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan is displayed.

Film: A Dedicated Worker - Shri Gulzarilal Nanda (1999).

Brigadier M Usman MVC(P)
on his 75th Death Anniversary

To everyman upon this Earth
Death cometh soon or late
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his father
And the temples of his Gods.

Indian Army officer (50 PARA) and a veteran of World War II, he elected to remain in India during Partition, and his exploits in the 1947-48 Kashmir War earned him the title 'Lion of Naushera' and the Maha Vir Chakra (posthumous) for exceptional bravery.

After schooling in Varanasi, he went to Sandhurst, and was commissioned in 1934. Then deployed in the North-West Frontier Province for the campaign against the Mohmand Tribes.

During World War II, he was in Burma, Mentioned in Dispatches, and commanded the 14/10 Baluch Regiment.

After Independence and Partition, he was promised out-of-turn promotions and even the office of the Army Chief of Pakistan, by Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan but he choose to remain in the Indian Army. His Baluch Regiment was allotted to Pakistan, and he was thus transferred to the Dogra Regiment.

Then, appointed, Brigade Commander of the 50 (Independent) Parachute Brigade, and deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, he made a tactical withdrawal from Jhangar in order to defend Nowshera, and repulsed multiple attacks (Jan-Feb 1948) to earn the nickname 'Lion of Nowshera'.

Jhangar was recaptured by end March. An exasperated Pakistan even declared a princely award of Rs 50,000 for his head.

Death: He has just stepped out from the command post, after the routine meeting with his staff, when a 25-pounder shell landed next to him and exploded - killing him almost instantly. Brig Usman died 12 days short of his 36th birthday.

His funeral was attended by Prime Minister Nehru and his cabinet colleagues, and he was laid to rest in a grave in the Jamia Millia Islamia campus in New Delhi.

Brijmohan Lall Munjal

Founder of

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