Notion Press Old No. 38, New No. 6 McNichols Road, Chetpet Chennai - 600 031 First Published by Notion Press 2016 Copyright © Madanjit Singh Ahluwalia 2016 All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-1-945497-75-9 This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. No part of this book may be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Cover image: Indian Navy Contents Acknowledgements xiii Introduction xv 1. INS Khukri 1 2. Comments 25 3. Rebellion in East Pakistan 26 4. Pakistani Naval Submarine Ghazi 40 5. The Landings at Cox’s Bazaar 55 6. Kissa Enterprise Ka 65 7. Task Force Alfa 75 8. The Missile Boat Attacks on Karachi 78 9. Pakistan in 1971 110 10. Major Ian Cardozo, SM, 4/5 Gurkha Rifles, Reports for Duty 120 Conclusion 141 Those Who Made the Supreme Sacrifice 143 INS Khukri I reported on board Indian Naval Ship Khukri at Mumbai on 16 May, 1971. She was made fast to the caisson gate of the Cruiser Graving dock, inside the naval dockyard. A caisson gate is an awkward spot to berth a frigate. She had been put there since there was a shortage of alongside berths. Vessels that had been damaged, when INS Ranjit’s port manoeuvering valve blew in March 1971, still remained alongside, undergoing repairs. In addition, the dockyard was urgently attending to the needs of different vessels, trying to ensure the highest state of operational efficiency for a maximum number of units. Clouds of war were forming over our subcontinent. East Pakistan was in grim turmoil. Lakhs of its inhabitants had poured across the border and sought refuge in India from the Pakistani Army and razakars. A number of machinery spaces and compartments on the Khukri were cordoned off or tightly secured. Empty spaces marked the locations where equipment and machinery had been removed for repair. In other compartments, electrical consoles and machinery lay partially dismantled, their expensive electronic and hydraulic components exposed. The shore command staff and dockyard staff held regular meetings with their counterparts on the Western Fleet vessels. Since the dockyard was stretched so thin, at these meetings the more difficult repairs were identified and the machinery and boats then landed ashore. Most repair items, however, were earmarked for the ship’s staff to repair and replace. Some items were marked for repair on board with dockyard assistance. The crews of the fleet ships- engine room, electrical, gunnery, torpedo and anti- submarine, communication, navigation, supply and secretariat- slogged away, each in their own part-of-ship. Soon after I joined my vessel, I noted that there was a considerable amount of activity at the jetties on the western edge of the tidal basin. A squadron of sleek new missile boats had been berthed there. These were the fruits of Defense Minister Shri Y B Chavan’s and then Rear Admiral Nanda’s visits to the Soviet Union. They had just been inducted into the 2 Torpedoed at Sea Navy. Officers who had trained on these craft in the Soviet Union were determined to extract all that they could get from them. In Soviet naval doctrine, they were intended for the defense of Soviet harbours, to be used when the enemy’s vessels came within missile range of a harbour mouth or some other important position. They were ‘point defense’ weapons. The Indian Navy, however, had different plans for them. About three weeks after I had joined, Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla took command of the Fourteenth Frigate squadron comprising INS Khukri, INS Kirpan and INS Kuthar. Khukri was the squadron leader. The squadron had awaited Captain Mulla’s arrival, knowing quite well what to expect. The Captain was known for being a stern taskmaster- he drove himself hard and he expected his subordinates to do their best. However, this attitude did not set him apart in a highly professional navy, where most captains were like him. He was known then, also, for being a down- to-earth person- preferring always to call a spade a spade. He spoke his mind eloquently and freely, and made sure that everyone knew where he stood on a chosen issue. For this, he was held in high regard by the officers and men of the fleet. He was well-known, also, for his love of shiayree- Hindustani poetry- and could regale an audience late into the night. He had read extensively. He was proud that he came from a family of distinguished jurists and lawyers, and took a keen interest in the canons of law and their application in a naval court of law. Captain Mulla was highly sought after by naval officers who were facing a court-martial, to act as their defense counsel. I never had the opportunity to observe him in court but he must have appeared formidable to the witnesses that he cross-examined. He was well-built, had a deep voice, and stood over six feet tall. The repairs and maintenance continued for the next couple of weeks. Machinery that had been landed ashore was brought back, installed and tested. Finally we were ready! In the second week of June we sailed out of Mumbai with other units of the Western Fleet. I was the Foc’sle (forward part of ship) Officer and stood in the eyes (the forward most portion) of the vessel as we left harbour. A heavy, undulating swell- the distinguishing mark of the South-West monsoon at sea- waited for us about Bombay Floating Light. For a week, with other surface units, we carried out combined anti-submarine exercises Rebellion in East Pakistan Emblematic of the difficulties that sprang to the fore in Pakistan, within a few years of its formation, is the career of Mohammad Ataul Ghani Osmany. On successful completion of his training at the Military Academy in Dehra Dun, he was commissioned a second lieutenant into the British Indian Army in 1940. When the subcontinent attained independence in 1947, he was a lieutenant colonel. He chose to join the Pakistani Army, like most officers from East Bengal. He was promoted to Colonel in 1956. When he retired in 1967, he was still a colonel. One does not have to look far for the roadblock that ended his advancement. In October, 1951, he had taken over command of 1st East Bengal Regiment, stationed then in Jessore. He worked long and hard at his command and moulded his men into one of the most effective units of the Pakistani army. The standards of excellence he established resulted in the 1st East Bengal winning seventeen gallantry awards in the 1965 war with India, the most of any unit. He chose also to rally his men with Bengali marching songs. He selected “Chal Chal Chal” by Kazi Nazrul Islam, “Gram Chara oi ranga matir path” by Rabindranath Tagore, and “Dhano Dhaney Pushpa Bhora” by Dwijendralal Ray. He introduced Guru Shodoy Dutt’s Brotochari nritto, a vigorous fusion of martial fervour and rhythmed dance. This very ready acceptance of Hindu culture forms by a Pakistani military commander and their elevation to the stuff from which regimental esprit de corps is formed- it was too much for the Punjabi generals. To them, all units in Pakistan’s army had to draw their inspiration and strength solely from the deeds of Aurangzeb, Alauddin Khilji and Mohammed bin Tughlak. Those twentieth century generals paid no attention to the fact that the capital cities of these rulers were not inside Pakistan. Neither were those men, then or now, representative of the worshippers of Islam in their entirety. There were, and are, a large number of Muslims who preached and practiced tolerance and respect for other religions. In any case, it is difficult to make bonafide Pakistani national heroes out of men whose lives and careers occurred in localities outside Pakistan. The Punjabi generals, Madanjit Singh Ahluwalia 27 however, saw things differently. They were stuck in a mindset shaped by distant events and remote times. Mohammad Osmany was destined, then, to remain a colonel in the Pakistani Army. There were many other reasons for East Pakistan’s dissatisfaction. It contributed handsomely to the nation’s treasury with its exports of jute and tea. However, most of the foreign exchange earned was allocated to West Pakistan. Even though most of the tea, paper, textiles, and sugar consumed within Pakistan came from East Pakistan, at Budget time it received less than a third of the development funds allocated to agriculture and industry. Only fifteen percent of Central Government employees came from the Bengali population. East Pakistan’s share in armed forces enrollment hovered at five percent. In 1948, the Pakistani government declared Urdu to be the national language. This ignited the Bhasha Andolan, Language Movement, in the East. Agitations and demonstrations followed on a regular basis. On 21 February, 1952, students leading a demonstration in Dhaka University were shot dead. Widespread civil unrest followed. It took four years for the Pakistani government in Pakistan to relent and grant an official status to the Bengali language. During that time the feeling that East Pakistan’s distinctive Bengali identity was under siege took root. In 1962, the Swadhin Bangla was formed.