48th Vijay Diwas celebrated in northeast India

 The 48th Vijay Diwas was celebrated in all the northeastern states on Monday by paying tributes to the Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, resulting in the creation of Bangladesh.

Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year to mark the victory of the Indian Army over the Pakistan Army. The signing of the Instrument of Surrender by Pakistani forces' Eastern Command Chief Lt Gen A.A.K. Niazi on December 16, 1971, in Dhaka brought the war for the liberation of Bangladesh to an end.

In Assam, Tezpur-based Gajraj Corps celebrated the Vijay Diwas to commemorate the decisive victory of the Indian Army 48 years ago.

To mark the occasion, in a solemn function held in the corps headquarters, GOC Lt Gen Manoj Pande paid homage to the fallen bravehearts and laid a wreath at the War Memorial on behalf of all ranks of the Corps.

The event was attended by different ranks from the corps headquarters and the veterans fraternity. In his address the GOC recollected the brave deeds of the army personnel.

The Gajraj Corps under its then GOC Lt Gen Sagat Singh had played a key role by launching an extremely daring thrust from the East towards Dhaka.

The day was also celebrated in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and other parts of northeast India.

In Tripura, Governor Ramesh Bais accompanied by Tripura social Welfare Minister Santana Chakma paid tributes to the valiant personnel of the Armed Forces at the war memorial in the heart of Agartala city.

The Army and the Assam Rifles also paid homage at Shahid Smarak at Lichu Bagan on the outskirts of the city. Army officers and soldiers of the Agartala Military Station and ex-servicemen of Tripura took part in the commemorative event.

The Bangladesh Assistant High Commissions in Guwahati and Agartala also organised discussions, cultural programmes and a get-together on the occasion. The day-long celebrations are taking place in both the mission complexes.

"Besides cultural programmes performed by Indian and Bangladeshi artists, seminars and discussions are being held to commemorate the historic Bangladesh Liberation War and the incredible victory " said Agartala-based Bangladesh's Assistant High Commissioner Kiriti Chakma.

The 1971 war comprised two major operations -- Operation Cactus Lily and Operation Nut Cracker -- and 57 Mountain Division was actively involved in both operations with fire power support from 57 Mountain Artillery Brigade, said defence analyst Manas Paul.

"Both operations progressed from Agartala westwards towards Dhaka. The war finally culminated on December 16, 1971 with the unconditional surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers. Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Arora, Maj Gen (Retd) Ian Cardozo, Lt Arun Khetrapal, Lance Naik Albert Ekka are a few of our war heroes," the analyst added.IANS