papyrus: GOLDEN JUBILEE

50 YEARS BACK – THE 1971 WAR

THE WARRIORS

Unselfishly, you left your fathers and your mothers,

You left behind your sisters and your brothers.
Leaving your beloved children and wives,

You put on hold, your dreams-your lives.
To fight for those whose freedom you granted.
Without your sacrifice, their cause would be lost

But you carried onward, no matter the cost

The 1971 India-Pakistan war was the third war between the two countries after the partition of India in 1947. Though every year, a grateful nation pays tributes to our brave soldiers on the occasion of Vijay Diwas, the day which commemorates the Indian victory in the 1971 war; the year 2021 is especially important, as it marks the ‘Golden Jubilee’ of a glorious chapter in the history of independent India. For it was 50 years ago, that the Indian armed forces fought a war that led to the creation of an independent country Bangladesh, a war which gave freedom to more than 75 million people, a war in which our nation scored a decisive victory and took 93,000 Pakistanis as prisoners, including 57,000 uniformed soldiers, 18,000 para military personnel and hundreds of non-combatants.

176 Field Regiment with its 100 mm guns was one of those Artillery units which took part in 'Op Cactus Lilly' in the Western theatre. For those of us who have had the fortune to have served in 176 Field (now Med) Regt, we owe a debt of gratitude to the officers, JCO's and men who fought the war.

So it was only apt that the present CO, Col Shishir Srivastava and his team hosted a grand function to honour the veterans, the yodha's of the1971 war - - a war that was fought 50 years (half a century) back!Amongst the large number of JCOs and OR who graced the occasion, the veteran officers who joined the festivities were-

Lt Col H S Sarao, SM

Col B S Dhillon

Col Pritam Singh

Col R S Dhaul

Brig Raman Malhotra

Col D S Bawa

Col Suresh Ghai

Day 1 (04 Dec 2020)

Dinner at the officers mess, a lot of backslapping and handshakes as the veteran officers interacted with each other and the present lot. The music played, the wine flowed and we all swayed. The JCOs and OR were having their own celeberations, as the veterans waited for the Regimental Barakhana scheduled for 05 December when all would interact and share reminences of the fire and fury days. That special bonding which takes place when men have fought a war together.The officers and ladies of the unit were the perfect hosts. Lt Col HS Sarao, SM unveiled the grand souvenir commemorating the historic event. It was nice to have Brigs Gurbir and Heeru, who took time off from a busy schedule, to be present to greet the invitees.

A WELL DESERVED SALUTE

THE WARRIORS WITH THE TWO YOUNGSTERS- GURBIR AND SELF

THE CHARMING LADIES

BIKRAM HEERU AND SELF WITH OFFICERS OF THE UNIT:THE NEXT GENERATION

COL D S BAWA AND BRIG RAMAN MALHOTRA

GLIMPSES OF THE EVENING (BELOW)

THE SOUVENIR BEING UNVIELED (ABOVE)

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THE TIGERS, BUT SPACED BY HALF A CENTURY

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Day 2 (05 December 2020)

The day started with all of us meeting in the mess. A sumptous fare was presented,a Roman feast infact, and coffee did help in eliminating a minor nagging headache which most of us managed to hide from each other. After breakfast, there was an extremely interesting discussion as the veterans told us about their experiences and specially the operations and day to day activities as the war progressed and the guns boomed. Then it was a round of the unit, which was all spruced up -- wreath laying (a solemn ceremony), quarter guard, the lines, dining hall, office complex, parade/PT ground, equipment display and a well orchestrated deployment demo. And finally a Group Photograph, a treasured one for times to come.

OP CACTUS LILLY;THE PRESENTATION/DISCUSSION BEGINS

A ROUND OF THE UNIT

(BELOW)

VISIT TO THE QUARTER GUARD (ABOVE)

WREATH LAYING CEREMONY (ABOVE)

THE THEN SM, THE ERSTWHILE CO AND THE PRESENT CO IN A DISCUSSION (ABOVE)

(L TO R ABOVE) BIDHI CHAND, HAKU RAM, GURBHAJAN, SELF AND KALICHARAN ,THE BEST OF FRIENDS (ABOVE)

THE GODS OF WAR (ABOVE)

THE COMMANDING OFFICERS (ABOVE)

Then we were off for lunch, hosted by Brig and Mrs Gurbir in their house. The perfect hosts

LUNCH AT GURBIR'S

In the evening, a grand barakhana was attended by all. Bonhomie and good cheer was the order of the day as glasses clinked and the unit Jazz Band belted out numbers---aha, remember that popular Regimental Song?? "Bhala Sipaiah Dogaraya" ----it was there. And it was ingenius for Shishir to have organised a tele-conference link with Mrs Joseph and family, Col C M Bali, Col Balagouda Patil, Col T S Sidhu, Capt Pramod Nagarkar; all of who joined the festivities live, on the screen. A nice collage of photographs pertaining to Col OP Joseph presented by Mrs Joseph to the unit, was unveiled.

THE LADIES AT THE BARAKHANA (ABOVE)

WITH THE PARENTS OF COL SHISHIR (ABOVE)

THE JAZZ BAND IN ACTION (ABOVE)

Day 3 (06 December 2020)

After all the excitement a quiet breakfast ensued,with a twinge of sadness as we all prepared to depart. Col Shishir had another surprise item up his sleeve. As we all assembled in the unit area for the good byes and a cup of tea and hand shakes all around, we were presented with a lovely memento and a group photograph each.

Col Ram Distributing Sweets To The Men