Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 16
: India's defeat in the 1962 Chinawar followed by the delineation of the Kutch border "emboldened" Pakistan to try and take Kashmir by force and settle its political problems by"military action", Lt Gen N S Brar (retd) has said.
In his latest book "Drummers Call", Brar writesthat it was the 'Battle of Asal Uttar' that defined the 1965 war between Indiaand Pakistan.
Fought in early September, the battle of Asal Uttar (meaning fitting reply) was one of the largest tank battles fought during the 1965 war, which ultimately ended with the "decisive victory" for India.
"Post India's humilation in 1962, when Pakistan made incursions into Kutch in April-May 1965, India agreed to a delineation of the Kutch border by a three-member international tribunal. This emboldened Pakistan to attempt to take Kashmir by force," Brar writes in his anthology published by 'The Browser'.
"The Pakistan Army, boosted by its qualitative and quantitative superiority in artillery and armour, and believing the post-1962 expanded Indian Army to be ill-trained and ill-equipped to stand against them, considered it a very opportune time to settle its political problems with India by military action," he notes.
As per the book, buoyed by its sophisticated Americanw-eaponry, the Pakistan Army, on September 8, entered into Indian territory andcaptured the Indian town of Khem Karan, 5 kilometres from the International Border.
The Indian troops retaliated, and after a few days ofbitter fighting, the battle reached its climax on September 10, with the IndianArmy crushing its Pakistani counterparts.
"The decisive victory at Asal Uttar resulted in thedecimation of Pakistan's 1 Armoured Division and became a graveyard for themuch vaunted Patton tanks," he writes.
"The peaceful green countryside around Asal Uttargives no hint of the bloody battles in September 1965," he states.
The book, which is basically an anthology of militarywritings, comprises an eclectic mix of personal experiences, historical events,evolution of military customs, traditions and folklore.
It also offers an insight into what goes into the makingof a soldier and what his trade is all about. |
