Raj Dutta

Tuesday, 10 November 2020

REMEMBRANCE DAY-11 NOV

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. / At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.

Laurence Binyon, For The Fallen

Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. Following a tradition inaugurated by King George V in 1919, the day is also marked by war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November in most countries to recall the end of hostilities of First World War on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month", in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente at Compiegne (France), as that marks the time when the armistice became effective.

ARMISTICE DAY REVELRY

ARMISTICE DAY 1918- CROWD AT GRAND BOULEVARD, PARIS

The tradition of Remembrance Day evolved out of Armistice Day. The initial Armistice Day was observed at Buckingham Palace, commencing with King George V hosting a "Banquet in Honour of the President of the French Republic during the evening hours of 10 November 1919. The first official Armistice Day was subsequently held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace the following morning. During the Second World War, many countries changed the name of the holiday. Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations adopted Remembrance Day, while the US chose Veterans Day.

Similar ceremonies developed in other countries during the inter-war period. In South Africa, for example, the Memorable Order of Tin Hats had by the late 1920s developed a ceremony whereby the toast of "Fallen Comrades" was observed not only in silence but darkness, all except for the "Light of Remembrance", with the ceremony ending with the Order's anthem "Old Soldiers Never Die".

Other countries also changed the name of the holiday just prior to or after World War II, to honour veterans of that and subsequent conflicts. The United States chose All Veterans Day, later shortened to 'Veterans Day', to explicitly honour military veterans, including those participating in other conflicts.

UNITED KINGDOM: In the United Kingdom, the main observance is Remembrance Sunday, held on the Sunday nearest to 11 November. This year it was commemorated on Sun 08 Nov. There is a National Service of Remembrance in London, as well as other services and ceremonies in the regions. Typically, poppy wreaths are laid by representatives of the Crown, the armed forces, and local civic leaders, as well as by local organisations including ex-servicemen organisations, cadet forces, the Scouts, Guides, Boys' Brigade, St John Ambulance and the Salvation Army.

ARMISTICE DAY 1918- LONDON

AUSTRALIA & NEW-ZEALAND : In Australia and New Zealand, Remembrance Day is always observed on 11 November, regardless of the day of the week, and is not a public holiday; it is a time when people can pay their respects to the substantial number of soldiers who died in battle. Some institutions observe two-minutes' silence at 11 am through a programme named Read 2 Remember, children read the Pledge of Remembrance by Rupert McCall, and teachers deliver specially developed resources to help children understand the significance of the day and the resilience of those who have fought for their country and call on children to also be resilient when facing difficult times. Services are held at 11 am at war memorials and schools. In recent decades, Remembrance Day has been largely eclipsed as the national day of war commemoration by ANZAC Day (25 April), which is a public holiday in all states. Attendance at Anzac Day services boomed, while that to Remembrance Day services continued to decline. Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served".

ARMISTICE DAY 1918- AUSTRALIA

ANZAC DAY PARADE

CANADA : In Canada, Remembrance Day (Jour du Souvenir) is a statutory holiday in all three territories and in six of the ten provinces. The federal department of Veterans Affairs states that the date is of "remembrance for the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace"; particularly the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and all conflicts since then in which members of the Canadian Armed Forces have participated. The department runs a program called Canada Remembers with the mission of helping young and new Canadians, most of whom have never known war, to understand and appreciate what those who have served Canada in times of war, armed conflict and peace stand for and what they have sacrificed for their country.

REMEMBRANCE DAY- CANADA

USA: Veterans Day is observed in the United States on 11 November, and is both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states. However, the function of the observance elsewhere is more closely matched by Memorial Day in May. In the United States, and some other allied nations, 11 November was formerly known as Armistice Day; in the United States it was given its new name in 1954 at the end of the Korean War to honour all veterans. Every year on November 11^th at exactly 1100 hrs local time, every train in America and Canada comes to a standstill to observe a minute’s silence, followed by One Long Whistle, in memory of those who served in their military. Veterans Day is observed with memorial ceremonies, salutes at military cemeteries, and parades. The concept of the Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day), dates back to 11 Nov 1918 when the U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issued a message to his countrymen on the first Armistice Day, in which he expressed what he felt the day meant to Americans and honoured the Military Veterans of WW-I.

ARMISTICE DAY 1918- NEW YORK

INDIA : Very few of us know or are even aware of the fact that 1.5 million Indians took part in WW-I and 75,000 of them perished in the war. In India, the day is usually marked by tributes and ceremonies in army cantonments. There are memorial services in some churches such as St. Mark's Cathedral and St. John's Church in Bangalore. At Kohima and Imphal in the remote hillsides of North East India, services of remembrance supported by the Indian Army are observed at Kohima and Imphal War Cemeteries (maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). The day is also marked at the Delhi War Cemetery. In other places in India, this event is not observed. In 2013, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, marked the day in Mumbai's St. John the Evangelist Church. India in addition celebrates Independence Day, Republic Day and Vijay Diwas apart form Army, Navy and Air Force Day when it remembers the braves who had laid down their lives in the ultimate sacrifice for their motherland.

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne leads

a Remembrance Day tribute in New Delhi, 13 November 2011.

VETERANS DAY : Our Veterans or ex-servicemen form a very large community. So a need was felt to dedicate a Day to them for two primary reasons: One to honour these Veterans, Two – to resolve the problems faced by them after retirement. Two years ago, It was decided by the Army Headquarters and instructions were issued to all Sainik Welfare Departments in the country to observe 14 Jan as the Veterans Day, the day when our first Field Marshal KM Cariappa hung his uniform. The first Veteran’s Day was celebrated on 14 Jan 2017.

Last year NFMC had planned to celebrate it on a grand scale. Since its a fairly new concept, it was paramount to create awareness amongst Mumbaikars about the Veterans Day. To meet this objective the Western Naval Command had put up 35 banners and posters at prominent places in our city like Rly stns, Petrol pumps, Road Junctions. Capt Rakesh Agrawala and Cdr Raj Dutta were interviewed on AIR Fm Rainbow Radio that was broadcast for an hour at 11 am on the Veterans Day, 14 Jan. We had conducted a C-in-C XI Vs Veterans XI Cricket tournament on 05 Jan, that was won by Veterans by 7 Wkts. Besides a J-24 boat race between Veterans and serving officers of WNC was also conducted on 08 Jan 2020, won by the Serving Officers Team. (For both these Championships Trophies had been instituted by NFMC). Veterans Officers have imparted motivational lectures in the Schools of Mumbai in Early Jan. The ‘Fauji India’ magazine has dedicated the Jan 2020 issue to the ‘Veterans’ and has published articles by them. The First Veterans Day Parade of India was organised by NFMC on Sun 12 Jan 2020 at Marine Drive in which over 600 Veterans took part amidst great fanfare. Having conducted the Veterans Day events in 2020 in a marvelous fashion, NFMC had planned similar treats for 2021 in a more glorious way, but the current ongoing Pandemic forced us to shelve the fanfare. Nevertheless the managing committee in a goodwill gesture couriered 140 packets of American Almonds to all octogenarians and veer naris, besides conducting 18th Soman Memorial lecture on 14 Jan 2021 on line.

Covid permitting NFMC plans to hold the same events in Jan 2022 too observing the safety precautions and CV protocol.

INDIA'S FIRST VETERANS DAY PARADE

THE CHEERFUL VETERANS AT THE PARADE

SHANO VARUNA

JAI HIND

LINK TO THE ANZAC DAY BLOG

http://rajdutta26.blogspot.com/2019/04/anzac-day-25-th-apr-is-red-letter-day.html

LINKS TO THE VETERANS DAY BLOG

http://rajdutta26.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-veterans-day-14-jan-2020-when-you.html

LINK TO THE VETERANS DAY PARADE BLOG

http://rajdutta26.blogspot.com/2020/01/maiden-indian-veterans-day-parade.html

CDR VIJAY VADHERA,NM(G). PRESIDENT NFMC, LAYS WREATH

AT COLABA WAR MEMORIAL ON 14 JAN 2020

Saturday, 3 October 2020

OPERATION-X : NAVY’s 1971 CLANDESTINE OPS

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end, the triumph of high achievement … Theodore Roosevelt

Cdr Vijai Kapil, VrC,NM(G);Chiman Singh,PO, MVC; Capt MNR Samant, MVC

Eastern Naval Command (established 01 Mar 1968), if blessed with a vocal-chord, would proudly recount her life’s glimpses, ‘Still an infant under 4, I was called upon by Mother India to vanquish the enemy submarine ‘Ghazi’ and assist in the creation of a new Nation with the deployment of Vikrant’s Sea-Hawks amidst absolute blockade of East Pakistan by ships of my fleet. I was thus instrumental in scripting the surrender of 94K Pakistani soldiers on 16^th Dec 1971. The 71 War, post the WWII was the first major war, where the well-planned synergy of all the three forces came to the fore to script not only a Win for India but helped in the creation of a new Nation, ‘B-a-n-g-l-a-D-e-s-h’.

While overtly all plans were afoot to vanquish the enemy in East Pakistan by Indian Army, Air Force and Navy, an “Operation (code name) –X”, was being conceived and operationalized in the Naval War Room of NHQ. This operation, that turned the tide in India’s favour was kept in wraps and not revealed even after the War. The executor of the Operation Late Capt MNR Samant (MVC) and Sandeep Unnithan, Executive Editor of ‘India Today’ and the dynamic Son of our esteemed NFMC member Cdr GVK Unnithan (00778-T)(NFMC L-160), have explicitly brought out the marvellous covert operation in great details in their elaborate Novel ‘Operation-X’. It was very unfortunate the Chief Architect of this Operation breathed his last on 20 Mar 2019 due to cardiac arrest in Arogya Nidhi Hospital Vile Parle, a few months prior to the release of the Book at the Nehru Memorial Library, Delhi.

At the high-profile launch of Operation X, published by HarperCollins, the top brass of the navy both present and erstwhile converged at the Nehru Memorial Library on Friday 09 Aug. According to former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, “The 1971 operation was the Navy’s finest hour. It operated as a multidimensional force. And the high point was what Samant and his band of brothers achieved behind enemy lines," According to G Parthasarathy, former High Commissioner to Pakistan, “The book fills a crucial gap: of giving the unsung heroes of the 1971 Bangladesh War credit where it is due. What was most impressive about the war was the synergy between the political leadership, the military and the people of India."

THE BOOK LAUNCH IN NEW DELHI

THE BOOK

Operation X is the untold story behind one of India’s largest covert war, written by one of its principal architects. Naval Commando Operation-X, was a Directorate of Naval Intelligence code name for series of guerilla operations directed against the maritime jugular of the Pakistan Army in erstwhile East Pakistan. These innovative sabotage missions using specially trained Bengali college students were part of a larger covert operation run by the Indian government in the months preceding the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. NCO(X) is one of the largest use of maritime saboteurs in the history of naval warfare.

The book is an exciting and thrilling account and a lesson for the students of Military History, that’s life-like due to its well researched speedy script. It’s a pure pleasure to absorb the essence of the war that ended sooner than predicted. The awesome novel is unputdownable the credit for which goes to Captain Samant and his co-Author Mr Sandeep Unnithan.

Early 1971 onwards Pak Military in East Pakistan perpetrated genocide on innocent Bengalis of the country, compelling lakhs to leave their homes and take refuge in India. The young ones were willing to be eager to be trained in the intricacies of Guerrilla warfare. ‘Operation X’ was the code name for ‘jackpot-underwater guerrilla operation’. The CNS Adm Nanda and Capt Mihir Roy(later VAdm and FOCinC East), Director of Naval Intelligence swiftly orchestrated training of several freedom fighters to turn them into naval commandoes. The site selected for this was a location at Plassey (the location of the famous battle of Plassey between Sirajjudaulla and the British) on the Banks of Bhagirathi. The Bengali Submariners from a Pakistani Submarine docked at Toulouse, France were shocked on hearing radio news of the atrocities of Pak Army on innocent Bengalis and seven of them, with the help of Indian diplomats flew to Delhi and were inducted to join the Mukti Bahini being trained as naval commandoes. Adm Mihir Roy and Capt Samant enrolled them as team leaders for the Operation. (The training team included Cdr VK Kapil and L/S Chiman Singh. It was a great honour and privilege to meet both veterans during the Book Launch)

Post the intensive and strenuous training the first salvo was launched by the commandoes on 14-15 Aug’71(to coincide with Pak’s Independence day) and resulted in huge losses to PN by blowing up of their Ships, support vessels and Port infrastructure, vital to their Navy. The over 400 Bengali naval commandoes devastated over a lakh tonne of vessels in and around the harbours of Chittagong, Chhalna, Mongla, Narayanganj and Chandpur between Aug and Dec’71. The debris ensured shipping disruption and sustained sabotages by marine commandoes kept mercantile marine away. This caused a severe dent to the enemy’s Naval ops that came to a standstill.

The war appeared to be long-drawn, but ‘Operation X’ changed everything. It became the turning point in the War for Liberation, resulting in the birth of the Bangladesh Navy, with Captain Samant ceremoniously being honoured as its first chief by Bangladesh’s first army chief and defence minister, General M.A.G. Osmani.

The Indian Navy had come of age and had made its presence felt in the outcome of the tri-services War. The integrated battle planning and warfighting was evident in 1971 and the importance of the navy’s role in disrupting sea lanes were brought home to decision-makers.

This book by Capt Samant and Unnithan brings to the fore admirably the true facts right from the conception stage. The existence of this ultra-covert operation is yet to be publicly acknowledged by the Indian Navy. These are revealed for the first time in Operation-X. The experience gained from this operation resulted in the Navy setting up a dedicated Indian Marine Commando Force popularly called the MARCOS.

The Mukti Bahini had indeed shown a way ahead to the Baloch, Mohajir, Sindhi and Pakhtun people of Pakistan, who have all asserted their independence time and again since the inception of Bangladesh.

CAPT MNR SAMANT, MVC

Captain Mohan Narayan Rao Samant (Indian Navy, retired) was born on 19 Oct 1930, commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1952 and belongs to the submarine branch. He commissioned India’s third submarine INS Karanj in 1969. During the 1971 war, he was Officer-in-charge of a covert naval unit under the Directorate of Naval Intelligence based in Calcutta from where he directed a four-month-long campaign of guerilla warfare against the Pakistan army’s war effort in Bangladesh. He led a squadron of gunboats for a raid into East Pakistan during the 1971 India-Pakistan War after the outbreak of war for which he was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India’s second-highest wartime gallantry award.

THE BOOK LAUNCH EVENT : MUMBAI

After the successful Book launch of ‘Operation X’ in Delhi on 9 Aug at the Nehru Memorial Library Delhi, Sandeep Unnithan decided on a second Launch of the book in Mumbai at the Indian Merchants Chambers building near Churchgate at 1830 hrs on 12^th Oct for the dignitaries of the city. Adm Vijai Shekhawat, PVSM, AVSM, VrC (00189-B)(Retd) & Mrs Binu Shekhawat graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Other dignitaries who graced the occasion were former CNS Adm and Mrs L Ramdas, VAdm & Mrs IC Rao, RAdm & Mrs D Thukral, Cmde and Mrs Mike Bhada and other Senior Veterans. Among the HQs staff VAdm RB Pandit, COS WNC and Cmde Kesnur, OIC MWC, graced the occasion. Cdr Vijay Vadhera, President NFMC had promulgated the event and extended the invite to all Veterans. It was great to meet and greet our noble Veterans. We were also blessed to meet and interact with the Veer Nari Mrs Nirmala Samant (wife of Late Capt MNR Samant), Mr Sandeep Unnithan the Co-Author, Cdr VK Kapil, VrC, NM(G) (the ExO of the Operation), Cdr VK Raizada, NM(G)(the Marine Engineer who steered the course of the Operation), Petty Officer Chiman Singh, the Valiant member of the Operation X training team and a recipient of the coveted MVC for his bravery during the War.

Cmde Kesnur and Mr Sandeep Unnithan addressed the gathering and played the Video of the Covert operation carried out by the Valiant Naval heroes during the War. Cdr Vijay Kapil, Cdr VK Raizada, PO Chiman Singh spoke about their experiences during their daring operation-X. Cdr Vijai Kapil had come and stayed with his coursemate Lt Shrikant Bhende, the architect of the Amar Jawan monument at Borivali 3 yrs ago. It was a marvellous evening of meeting and greeting the Valiant heroes of the 1971 War.

SHANO VARUNA

JAI HIND