Praveen Davar | In 1971 War, the battles on western front were decisive
Deccan ChronicleOn Republic Day in January 1972, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi drove in an open jeep to the saluting base at Rajpath to receive the President. Four Param Vir Chakras were awarded in 1971 — Maj. Hoshiar Singh, Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, 2/Lt Arun Khetarpal and L/Nk Albert Ekka. At that time there was no Northern Command, and Lt. Gen. Candeth’s area of responsibility was the huge canvas stretching from Jammu and Kashmir through Punjab till northern Rajasthan. While the Western Command had 11 infantry divisions and one armoured division over its vast stretch, the Southern Command had only two infantry divisions, an artillery brigade and less than two regiments of armour. To mention only a few, in the battle of Chhamb, 9 Horse destroyed 34 enemy tanks on the Manawar Tawi river; in the battle of Basantar, 2/Lt Arun Khetarpal, 20, of Poona Horse, posthumously won the PVC with his commanding officer, Lt. Col. Hanut Singh, winning the MVC for the regiment’s major contribution towards destroying 46 enemy tanks in Shakargarh sector.
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