6 June 1984: The Indian Army storms the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Called Operation Bluestar, the historic and unprecedented event ended the growing spectre of terrorism perpetrated by the extremist Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers once and for all. But it left in its wake unsolved political questions that continued to threaten Punjab's stability for years to come. How, in a brief span of three years, did India's dynamic frontier state become a national problem? Who was to blame: the central government for allowing the crisis to drift despite warnings, or the long-drawn-out Akali agitation, or the notorious gang of militants who transformed a holy shrine into a sanctuary for terrorists? First published two months after Operation Bluestar, The Punjab Story pieces together the complex Punjab jigsaw through the eyes of some of India's most eminent public figures and journalists. Writing with the passion and conviction of those who were involved with the drama, they present a wide-ranging perspective on the past, present and future of the Punjab tangle; and the truth of many of their'conclusions having been borne out by time.
The exploits of the 71 Mountain Brigade – “The Brigade of the Year” begins with its having the lush green hills of Nagaland to fight the war of Liberation of Bangladesh shoulder to shoulder with the Mukti Bahini. From the time it left its location in Limakong (MANIPUR) till it finally settled down in Barrackpore, it went through eight formations in a short period of seven months moving from place to place. The Brigade was the first to enter Bangladesh from the North and the first to take the surrender and return to India. This formation did the longest advance in the shortest possible time and according to the Pakistanis “the entire action went with the precision of a clock work and according to the Book”. It was the integral brigade of 9 Mountain Division, which was placed under command of 8 Mountain Division for insurgency operations. From there it moved to defend the 1,200 mile-long Siliguri Corridor and then with a stroke of luck got converted into the Independent Brigade Group for the duration of the war. It reverted to its original self and was looking after Calcutta in aid of civil authorities in 1972 after the war. Thereafter, it finally managed to be an integral part of 6 Mountain Division. This book is primarily addressed to the younger lot of officers, since at the brigade level small unit actions assume significance and bring out tactical lessons useful to the young officers. The author has made an endeavour to place the actions of the Brigade in its proper perspective by covering what was generally happening all around. This has been done in order to bring out that no actions are fought in isolation in a conventional warfare. In fact this may even be true for a nuclear war. This book, which is the only one of its kind as far as unit and sub-unit actions in Bangladesh were concerned, will be of interest to students of military history and to every unit of the Indian Armed Forces .
6 June 1984: The Indian Army storms the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Called Operation Bluestar, the historic and unprecedented event ended the growing spectre of terrorism perpetrated by the extremist Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers once and for all. But it left in its wake unsolved political questions that continued to threaten Punjab's stability for years to come. How, in a brief span of three years, did India's dynamic frontier state become a national problem? Who was to blame: the central government for allowing the crisis to drift despite warnings, or the long-drawn-out Akali agitation, or the notorious gang of militants who transformed a holy shrine into a sanctuary for terrorists? First published two months after Operation Bluestar, The Punjab Story pieces together the complex Punjab jigsaw through the eyes of some of India's most eminent public figures and journalists. Writing with the passion and conviction of those who were involved with the drama, they present a wide-ranging perspective on the past, present and future of the Punjab tangle; and the truth of many of their'conclusions having been borne out by time.
The exploits of the 71 Mountain Brigade – “The Brigade of the Year” begins with its having the lush green hills of Nagaland to fight the war of Liberation of Bangladesh shoulder to shoulder with the Mukti Bahini. From the time it left its location in Limakong (MANIPUR) till it finally settled down in Barrackpore, it went through eight formations in a short period of seven months moving from place to place. The Brigade was the first to enter Bangladesh from the North and the first to take the surrender and return to India. This formation did the longest advance in the shortest possible time and according to the Pakistanis “the entire action went with the precision of a clock work and according to the Book”. It was the integral brigade of 9 Mountain Division, which was placed under command of 8 Mountain Division for insurgency operations. From there it moved to defend the 1,200 mile-long Siliguri Corridor and then with a stroke of luck got converted into the Independent Brigade Group for the duration of the war. It reverted to its original self and was looking after Calcutta in aid of civil authorities in 1972 after the war. Thereafter, it finally managed to be an integral part of 6 Mountain Division. This book is primarily addressed to the younger lot of officers, since at the brigade level small unit actions assume significance and bring out tactical lessons useful to the young officers. The author has made an endeavour to place the actions of the Brigade in its proper perspective by covering what was generally happening all around. This has been done in order to bring out that no actions are fought in isolation in a conventional warfare. In fact this may even be true for a nuclear war. This book, which is the only one of its kind as far as unit and sub-unit actions in Bangladesh were concerned, will be of interest to students of military history and to every unit of the Indian Armed Forces .
IN THIS VOLUME IDR COMMENT PUNJAB • PAKISTAN • SUPERSESSIONS Interview with Admiral R.H. Tahiliani The Battlefield Environment in AD 2000 – IDR Research Team Infantry in the Battlefield of AD 2000 – Brigadier O.P. Kaushik, VSM Lessons from Sri Lanka: A Sub-continental Experiment in Power Projection – IDR Research Team The Siachen Impasse – Captain S.S. Ahlawat The India-China Syndrome: The Second Round – IDR Research Team Studies in Low-intensity Conflict: The Tibetan Rebellion – IDR Research Team Cutting the Army Down to Size: A Large Standing Army vs A Small, Mobile, Hard-hitting Force – Brigadier S.B.L. Kapoor Operational Art: An Important Component of Military Art – Brigadier Jasbir Singh Nagra Frank Carlucci's Visit to India and India's Options – Lt Gen H. Kaul, PVSM, AVSM Joint Air attackteams: Integration of AAH and FGA Missions as a Combat Force Multiplier – Major Gurmeet Kanwal The Cyclic Nature of Artillery Tactics: Some Relevant Lessons from Military History – Major P.K. Gautam Manpower Planning and Career Management – Air Marshal Vir Narain, PVSM Cadre Reviews: A Psychosis of Rank – Brigadier N.B. Grant, AVSM The Threat from Within: A Perspective of Insurgency in India – Brigadier Vivek Sapatnekar Peasant Agitation and Internal Security – Lieutenant Colonel Shyam Singh Training for War: Myth and Substance – IDR Research Team The Indian Soldier: Cornerstone of our Democracy – Colonel C.L. Proudfoot Weapons and Equipment State: Are we Getting our Money's worth? – IDR Research Team Armour Update – IDR Research Team Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle for AD 2010 – Colonel NA Ansari IDR Mail • General Sundarji: Media Myth or Military Hero? The Kiss of Death and the Sundarli Inheritance
Jews who have made India their home have flourished without adverse discrimination. Of this, the Baghdadi Sephardic community is very small in number but has produced one of India's greatest contemporary soldiers, Lt Gen. Jack Jacob. This is his fascinating story. As a small boy, Jacob, who was from a business family, was sent to a residential public school in Darjeeling along with his two brothers. When the Second World War broke out, Jacob without informing his family joined the army in 1941 to fight against the Nazis! After Independence, Gen. Jacob became a gunnery instructor for some time and subsequently was trained in an advanced Artillery and Missile course at Fort Sill in the US. A quick learner, he commanded infantry and artillery brigades, headed the artillery school, and finally the Eastern Army. Rubbing shoulders with some of the stalwarts who strode the Indian political and military arena in those times, Gen. Jacob sometimes fell foul of his bosses and twice came close to resigning. But he stuck on and the pinnacle of his career came in 1971, when he planned and oversaw operations leading to the fall of Dacca and obtained an unconditional public surrender, the only one in history, of Gen. Niazi and his army of 93,000. Written lucidly, this autobiography comes to life as a historical document recapitulating some of the most important events of the 1960s to the 90s - from the defeat of the Naxalites in West Bengal, to the problems of Nagaland and Sikkim and the politics of Goa and Punjab. This is not only the story of the life of one great soldier, but provides glimpses of some of the most influential and colourful personalities who wrote the history of those tumultuous times.
The Indian Defence Review is a fledging effort towards keeping the public Informed on defence and related issues. As a start we intend to publish the Review biannually, in January and July each year. We have been able to enlist the support of contributors of the highest prestige and qualifications as evident from the list of contents in this, the inaugural issue, we expect to maintain this high quality and further broaden the scope of coverage. We would welcome articles on defence and related subjects from defence planners and scientists for subsequent issues of the Review. Letters to the Editor with regard to the contents of the Review and the views expressed therein will be carried beginning with the July 1986 issue. In this Volume India’s Nuclear Options in the 1990s and its Effect on India’s Armed Forces — Lt Gen EA Vas Higher Defence Organisation in India — Lt Gen SK Sinha Introduction of National Service in India for Defence and Development — Lt Gen Dr ML Chibber Towards Deterrence: Conventional Air Power in the 1990s — Air Cmde Jasjit Singh The Rapid Deployment Force for India: A new concept in First Strike Strategy — Lt Gen Mathew Thomas A Doctrine for Mechanised Warfare in the Indian Subcontinent — Lancer The Poor Bloody Infantry — Footslogger The Airborne Assault Operations at Tangail—Indo-Pak Conflict 1971 — Lt Gen Mathew Thomas The War in Afghanistan: A view on current Soviet Weapons and Equipment — Observer Decision making process in the Defence Services — Air Cmde RJM Upot An Officer and a Gentleman: Changing Pattern of Military Leadership Values — Brig NB Grant Artillery as a Combat Support Arm in the Battlefield milieu of the 1990s — Maj Gurmeet Kanwal Insurgency and Counter Insurgency: The Anatomy of an Insurgent Movement and Countermeasures — Pegasus Intelligence—Problems and Possible Solutions — Lt Gen PN Kathpalia Rationalisation of Security Forces in India —Jaswant Singh
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