On Friday 22 Aug 2008 6:47:59 am Bonobashi wrote: > The open territory in Rajasthan, facing Multan, has never been tested > seriously in battle. On one occasion, a Pakistani armoured sweep failed to > focus on its objectives, and was caught at dawn by a squadron of Hawker > Hunters, which then started behaving as if Christmas had come early. Indian > Army myths about heroic resistance at isolated border outposts have been > enshrined in those repositories of undisputable integrity, war films, but > unfortunately, a mad Major General, entrusted with investigation into the > incident, keeps bobbing up at Army conferences and has had to be asked to > shut up and sit down.
A cousin of mine (now no more) was one of 11 fighter pilots who flew those Hunters. He wrote his about his experiences and the article is online http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1971War/Suresh.html The real story was a victim of retired armed forces officers' efforts to corner glory in the twilight of their lives. Of course that Pakistani armored thrust would certainly have bitten off the "hump" of Rajasthan that juts into Pakistan. A DVD has surfaced recently that attempts to tell the real story. But once an event passes into history - the historians become the owners. I am myself in the process of making a purely propaganda video of this battle to be placed on YouTube - an act that combines my interest in military aviation with my love of video creation and editing. shiv
