POW 1971 A SOLDIER?S ACCOUNT OF THE HEROIC BATTLE OF DARUCHH IBD

Sinopse

DescriptionThe war with Pakistan in December 1971 lasted barely two weeks. Itconcluded on 16 December with a victory for India and the formationof Bangladesh. But there is a lesser known side to this epic militaryconfrontation-that of the western front, namely Jammu and Kashmir. Whilemany contests on this side of India?s border were won, some battles were illfated.The heroic battle at Daruchhian in the Poonch Sector was one of them.A cone-shaped feature, approximately 1,000 metres in height, Daruchhianwas of great tactical significance. The fierce clash on its slopes on the night of13 December, however, could not ensure its capture. Many Indian soldierswere martyred, and the survivors taken prisoner, including Brigadier (thenMajor) Hamir Singh, VrC. Heavily injured in battle, he underwent a prolongedrecovery at the Command Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, followed by aninternment at the POW camp in Lyallpur. Hamir Singh?s eyewitness account,recorded by the author, his son Maj Gen Vijay Singh, narrates in riveting detailwhat took place on that fateful night and what followed.From battle plans that were too perfect to succeed, to soldiers who didn?tgive up, enemies who honoured each others? professionalism, Pakistanisnostalgic about pre-Partition India, and the shared sorrow and joy thatdissolve boundaries of nation and religion, POW 1971 gives us a view of war,valour and humanity that is as heart-wrenching as it is moving.