The war clouds that had been gathering over the subcontinent for over a year burst forth in December 1971. The ensuing third Indo-Pak conflict which was fought on two fronts resulted in a resounding victory for India and the birth of a new nation: Bangladesh.
This volume is a modest attempt to record the first-person accounts and reminiscences of a few veterans of the 1971 war who saw action on either of the two fronts. Personal accounts add flesh to the dry bones of history, and it is hoped that this small anthology will serve to assist future historians of South Asia in their work when they examine the momentous events of 1971 through their own lens.
Battle Tales: Soldiers’ Recollections of the 1971 War
Squadron Leader Rana T.S. Chhina (Retd) served in the Indian Air Force as a helicopter pilot. He is currently Secretary and Editor of the United Service Institution of India (USI) Centre for Military History and Conflict Research. The author of a number of books, he was Vice President of the Indian Military Historical Society (2004-2020), and the Government of India’s Archival Advisory Board. A recipient of the Macgregor Medal for best military reconnaissance, he was appointed an Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2016 and an Officer of the Belgian Order of Leopold in 2018.
