Winter of valour: KS Nair’s ‘December in Dacca’ narrates 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War

Express News Service

To say that KS Nair’s December in Dacca: The Indian Armed Forces and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War is a fascinating read would be a gross understatement. The story of the battle that led to the formation of a new country, thereby changing the political geography of the entire subcontinent, is told in gripping detail.

It captures, with authenticity, the intricacies of the military campaign that saw the mobilisation of armies across the western and eastern borders, but what makes the book memorable are the numerous anecdotes and the intimate vignettes that embellish the author’s storytelling.

For instance, the story of Major Ashok Tara, who as a young company commander displayed outstanding courage in disarming the Pakistani soldiers, who held the family of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hostage in Dacca, even after the surrender of the Pakistani forces because they had not received information of the surrender.

One of the family members of the Sheikh rescued that day by Major Tara was, of course, his daughter Sheikh Hasina who, later, as Prime Minister, conferred the Friend of Bangladesh Award on Colonel Tara.

Nair also succeeds in bringing to life and adding perspective to the extraordinary genius behind campaigns by gifted generals such as General Sagat Singh, the GOC of IV Corps, who spearheaded the helicopter-borne assault into Sylhet at such a blistering pace that left logistic supply chains gasping in their wake. Innovating brilliant military strategies in their advance from east to the west saw over a dozen helicopter crews flying early Soviet helicopters engaging in audacious operations.

With no navigation or night-flying aids, these helicopter assets carried out nearly 40 sorties at night on a stretch of rural Bangladesh with no ambient light––and got it right every time. Improvisation in the use of multiple halo lifts to move an entire brigade of paras across a major water obstacle, piecemeal, is a sheer stroke of military genius that reminds one of the exploits of the Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel (German field marshal during World War II).

The Air Force proved a game-changer in both the western and eastern sectors of the war. From the desert battle fought over Longewala, made famous by the film Border, to hunter aircraft from Jaisalmer air base that made repeated attacks on the Pakistani armoured columns and destroyed dozens of US-made Sherman tanks and Chinese armour, the air campaigns are described rivetingly.

The exploits of the Indian Navy in attacking Karachi harbour and crippling 60 per cent of the enemy capability overnight just days after the declaration of war are written about in captivating details. Nair does not claim to have written a comprehensive history of the war and it would be improper to view this book as such.

The author, however, does put across his disappointment over the way subsequent narratives by crucial stakeholders seem to betray the outcome of an otherwise brilliant military and diplomatic campaign. First, Nair explains what went wrong for India, and why it failed to incorporate into national memory the humanitarian and ethical justifications for waging the war.

The author considers this a monumental tragedy. “We are at risk of celebrating the victory without internalising what our adversaries did wrong, without holding them to account for their wrongs, and ourselves to the higher standards we upheld then, and without reaffirming India’s values and strengths,” he writes.

Nair is also critical of India’s decision to send back “tens of thousands of Pakistani POWs, without holding the few 100 of them who had been identified as war criminals to account for their genocide”.

Pakistan was also not held accountable for the terrible crimes it committed against its own people. Nair laments that this war should be better, and in some ways differently remembered, from the way Second World War is. He highlights that it was one of the last “just wars” of the 20th century. India went to war for its commitment to values of freedom, democracy, pluralism, and justice.

Nair has a flair for telling the military history and his books ––Ganesha’s Flyboys: The Indian Air Force in the Congo, 1960-62 and The Forgotten Few: The Indian Air Force in World War II are testimony to his storytelling skills, but his latest work is his best yet.

<br /> To say that KS Nair’s December in Dacca: The Indian Armed Forces and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War is a fascinating read would be a gross understatement. The story of the battle that led to the formation of a new country, thereby changing the political geography of the entire subcontinent, is told in gripping detail.</p> <p>It captures, with authenticity, the intricacies of the military campaign that saw the mobilisation of armies across the western and eastern borders, but what makes the book memorable are the numerous anecdotes and the intimate vignettes that embellish the author’s storytelling.</p> <p>For instance, the story of Major Ashok Tara, who as a young company commander displayed outstanding courage in disarming the Pakistani soldiers, who held the family of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hostage in Dacca, even after the surrender of the Pakistani forces because they had not received information of the surrender.</p> <p>One of the family members of the Sheikh rescued that day by Major Tara was, of course, his daughter Sheikh Hasina who, later, as Prime Minister, conferred the Friend of Bangladesh Award on Colonel Tara.</p> <p>Nair also succeeds in bringing to life and adding perspective to the extraordinary genius behind campaigns by gifted generals such as General Sagat Singh, the GOC of IV Corps, who spearheaded the helicopter-borne assault into Sylhet at such a blistering pace that left logistic supply chains gasping in their wake. Innovating brilliant military strategies in their advance from east to the west saw over a dozen helicopter crews flying early Soviet helicopters engaging in audacious operations.</p> <p>With no navigation or night-flying aids, these helicopter assets carried out nearly 40 sorties at night on a stretch of rural Bangladesh with no ambient light––and got it right every time. Improvisation in the use of multiple halo lifts to move an entire brigade of paras across a major water obstacle, piecemeal, is a sheer stroke of military genius that reminds one of the exploits of the Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel (German field marshal during World War II).</p> <p>The Air Force proved a game-changer in both the western and eastern sectors of the war. From the desert battle fought over Longewala, made famous by the film Border, to hunter aircraft from Jaisalmer air base that made repeated attacks on the Pakistani armoured columns and destroyed dozens of US-made Sherman tanks and Chinese armour, the air campaigns are described rivetingly.</p> <p>The exploits of the Indian Navy in attacking Karachi harbour and crippling 60 per cent of the enemy capability overnight just days after the declaration of war are written about in captivating details. Nair does not claim to have written a comprehensive history of the war and it would be improper to view this book as such.</p> <p>The author, however, does put across his disappointment over the way subsequent narratives by crucial stakeholders seem to betray the outcome of an otherwise brilliant military and diplomatic campaign. First, Nair explains what went wrong for India, and why it failed to incorporate into national memory the humanitarian and ethical justifications for waging the war.</p> <p>The author considers this a monumental tragedy. “We are at risk of celebrating the victory without internalising what our adversaries did wrong, without holding them to account for their wrongs, and ourselves to the higher standards we upheld then, and without reaffirming India’s values and strengths,” he writes.</p> <p>Nair is also critical of India’s decision to send back “tens of thousands of Pakistani POWs, without holding the few 100 of them who had been identified as war criminals to account for their genocide”.</p> <p>Pakistan was also not held accountable for the terrible crimes it committed against its own people. Nair laments that this war should be better, and in some ways differently remembered, from the way Second World War is. He highlights that it was one of the last “just wars” of the 20th century. India went to war for its commitment to values of freedom, democracy, pluralism, and justice.</p> <p>Nair has a flair for telling the military history and his books ––Ganesha’s Flyboys: The Indian Air Force in the Congo, 1960-62 and The Forgotten Few: The Indian Air Force in World War II are testimony to his storytelling skills, but his latest work is his best yet.<br />