PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Naushera, the land of the bravest
PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Naushera, Veer Bhumi (the land of the bravest) was a memorable one!
India is a secure country but insecurity remains the hallmark of Pakistan’s political and intellectual conversation! That has been the case ever since 1947!
-‘The Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Naushera that: ‘Empires come and go but India was eternal thousands of years ago and remains so today and will remain eternal after thousands of years later. We don’t perceive the nation as a government, power or empire. For us, it is a living, present soul. Defending this is not limited to defending just the geographical boundaries. For us, national defense means defending this living national vibrancy, national unity, and national integration!’
-‘An enemy success at Naushera would give the invaders not only a feeling of superiority over the Indian soldiers but also whet his appetite to grab more territory; the coming ‘Battle of Naushera’ has a National dimension; If we lose Naushera, Delhi is not far for the Afghan invaders; we are fighting the first major battle of ‘Free India’ under Indian officers and have to win at all cost. I will not leave Naushera under any circumstance and will make sure that we win the coming battle at any cost.’ The battle of Naushera was won! It had to be and the man who led the troops was Brigadier Usman!’
.’ Even their own writers comment about and say, Pakistan’s relatively low ranking among nations for book readership, is portrayed as an attack on the idea of Pakistan. It always was and it always will remain because the leaders there have not realized that denial is an ugly thing and so have the Generals! Tough toenails speaking here, to the Generals in Pakistan, ‘what you want and what you get are usually two entirely different things’. So far in the wars they manufactured in this part of the planet they have achieved nothing but defeats! Morally they should accept it! In fact they should have when Pakistan was torn apart into two!’
=’Pakistan had a policy of profiting from the disputes of others, and Pakistan’s desire to benefit from tension between the great powers and Pakistan’s early focus on the Palestine dispute as examples of this tendency. If that was not enough the attention turned to Afghanistan and Kashmir! Kashmiris, some living on absurdities that they can do anything with the gun, fell into that trap, ensuring that the paradise of Chinars was left a barren place!’ Pakistan wanted exactly that to happen!’
-‘Pakistan’s view of itself as a citadel of Islam has created an environment in which violence is normal provided it is committed in the name of Islam. Bengali leader, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (who served as Pakistan’s prime minister in 1956) had noted as early as March 1948 that Pakistan’s elite was predisposed to raising the cry of Pakistan in danger for the purpose of arousing Muslim sentiments and binding them together’ to maintain its power. He was not wrong because the call raised subsequently in later years was ‘Islam is in danger’! Only Pak leaders could do that! Some are doing it now too and spoiling the planetary environment!’
‘India to accept a ceasefire,’ he said and it was 1971. But there was nothing about reconciliation with India in the interview. That time the interviewer Sulzberger noted that Bhutto spoke gloomily of India and implied that India was behaving like a virtual satellite of Moscow. He made predictions similar to those Ayub made about the Soviet Union gaining ground in the subcontinent and about India being on the verge of breaking up. By sponsoring Bangladesh you will see that India will lose West Bengal and Assam, he declared. Bhutto was wrong. Pakistan lost its Eastern Wing, the fault was of an idiotic assumption. Pakistani leadership should be given a brainstorming session by its own people. But the year I’m going to talk about is 1947 when Liqat Ali Khan was the PM and Naushera in J&K was in focus!’
-‘The alliance between the mosque and the military in Pakistan was forged over time, and its character has changed with the twists and turns of Pakistani history. Terrorism is a result of that but it will be subdued and Pakistan’s aspirations will draw a blank as it have always!’
By: MS Nazki
Jammu
-‘Radical and violent manifestations of Islamist ideology, which sometimes appear to threaten Pakistan’s stability, are in some ways a state project gone wrong. It has always been since 1947. The Battle of Naushera is a testimony to the fact!
Major General Lachhman Singh Lehl, PVSM, VrC (Retd) was commissioned in the Regiment of Artillery in 1943 and retired in 1978. In the 1947-48 War in J&K, he took part in the battles of Chhamb, Naushera, Jhangar, Rajauri, Uri and Zojila. He was awarded the Vir Chakra for gallantry in the battles for recapture of Jhangar. During the 1965 Indo-Pak war, he was General Staff Officer Grade I in the Military Operations Directorate. In 1971, he commanded 20 Mountain Division in Bangladesh and was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal for outstanding leadership in Battle. He has authored three books on 1965 and 1971 Wars with Pakistan : Missed Opportunities, Indian Sword Strikes in East Pakistan and Victory in Bangladesh. Here are a few excerpts and are directly related to the place where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was:
* By capturing Jhangar on 24 Dec 1947, the raiders gained considerable advantage for building-up their forces for attacks on Naushera, Rajouri and Poonch. Recapturing Jhangar, thus became vital for us. The month of Jan 1948 passed in raids and counter-raids. The main trial of strength took place on 6 Feb 1948, when the enemy attack on Naushera was decisively repulsed. This paved the way for the recapture of Jhangar on 18 Mar 1948.
* On 1 Jan 1948, after being relieved by a battery of 16 Field Regiment at Chhamb, we (HQ 30 Field Battery and Alfa Troop), rejoined B Troop at Naushera, to form a Battery under Major Bhupinder Singh.1 By now the raiders were aggressively poised around Naushera. Brigadier Usman, Commander 50 Para Brigade and ‘Z’ Brigade under Brigadier Lakhinder Singh had been assembled in the T – Junction area of roads Jammu -Naushera -Jhangar and Rajouri – Naushera. On 3 Jan, I went as a Forward Observation Officer (FOO) with 3 Maratha Li (Para), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Rawind Singh Grewal, MC, an officer of high repute in battle. His task was to clear the enemy from Bhajnoa feature, if possible.
* He told me, ‘I command from the front and expect you to maintain physical contact with me’. I informed him that I had been sanctioned only five rounds per gun for my troop for the day’s operation on which he made no comment. We moved at First Light. When we were about 1200 yards from the base of Bhajnoa Hill, two enemy machine guns opened fire on us. The bullets went over our heads and we moved forward undisturbed.
*I, along with my OP party, followed Rawind at the tail of the leading company which entered a nala, about 1000 yards from the objective. After a brief pause in the nala, in which I registered a target indicated to me by firing one round. Rawind then ordered the company to advance on a broad front. As we emerged out of the nallah with the leading platoon, a machine gun burst hit him in the leg. The leading troops raced back to the safety of the nallah where Raiwind, in pain, told the Company Commander to keep the enemy engaged in firefight.
*He forbade any talk of his wounds on the wireless and instructed me to report to Major Belliappa, his Second-in-Command. We had left him under a big tree for about 1500 years for Bhajnoa. Soon after my reporting to him, Belliappa decided to pull the battalion back after evacuating the Commanding Officer.
* Between this and the next move happened and all are described in the book but then it was a resounding thunder storm.
* On return, I was told to establish an OP on the Gorkha Hill, occupied by 1/9 GR under Lieutenant Colonel KL Atal. The OP provided excellent view of the area upto Bhajnoa, Naushera and the Naushera-Jhangar Valley. Next morning, about an hour after ‘Stand Down’, I saw approximately 1000 men about 2500 yards from my OP, in a well dispersed formation, advancing towards us. I opened fire with my troop, without much effect on their advance. The spread of shells covered only a small portion of the enemy advance. The enemy went to ground, wherever the shell landed; while the rest of them continued to advance. A man on a high horse cantered amongst the advancing foot sloggers who fell on the ground whenever a shell fell in the neighborhood.
* At this stage, I was ordered to stop firing to preserve ammunition; and to keep reporting the progress of the enemy advance. A little later, I was told to indicate targets to the aircraft expected in the area in about 20 minutes. Before their arrival on the scene, I saw the enemy entering a nala, which I indicated to the aircraft with reference to a smoke shell fired by me to the aircraft circling overhead. The air strafing and bombing was effective and there was no further enemy movement during the day.
* Next day, Z Brigade was moved back to Akhnoor, leaving 3 Maratha Li(Para) and 5 Mountain Battery in Naushera. Now began a period of hectic activity to dominate the no-man’s-land by aggressive patrolling, raids and occupation of tactical features to improve the defensive layout. Naushera-Kangota and Tain Dhar were occupied and the defenses were strengthened with barbed wire, anti-personnel mines, bunkers / sangars and registration of important DFs. Telephone lines were laid to all defended localities in addition to wireless communications.
* Brigadier Usman, Commander 50 Para Brigade, now undertook a series of measures to raise the morale and patriotic spirit of all ranks. The daily evening conference was conducted in Hindustani and ‘Jai Hind’ became the form of our salutation. All officers, not committed on operational duty, were expected to attend the daily evening Conference where the day’s activities were analyzed and next day’s tasks allotted. Usman emphasized: ‘the enemy was gradually closing-in and was building-up strength for a major attack on Naushera; an enemy success at Naushera would give the invaders not only a feeling of superiority over the Indian soldiers but also whet his appetite to grab more territory; the coming ‘Battle of Naushera’ has a National dimension; If we lose Naushera, Delhi is not far for the Afghan invaders; we are fighting the first major battle of ‘Free India’ under Indian officers and have to win at all cost. I will not leave Naushera under any circumstance and will make sure that we win the coming battle at any cost.’ The battle of Naushera was won! And hence came up the term Veer Bhumi (the ground where the braves play)!
The Prime Minister was dead right when he said to the soldiers, ‘your strength ensures peace, security, he also paid tribute to the heroes of Nowshera including Brigadier Usman, Naik Jadunath Singh and Lt RR Rane, all heroes of the battle mentioned above. He further said that in the armed forces, he not only sees boundless capabilities, but also unwavering service spirit, strong determination and incomparable sensitivity. For you, this is not just a job for salary, for you, this is a calling and worship, a worship in which you channel the spirit of 130 crore people. That was truly the greatest ever statement made for the ‘INDIAN SOLDIER’ who stands at the frontier (LOC) to make sure that his countrymen are safe and secure! This is a tribute to the men/women who served/serving in Naushera and were/are right at the front line to thwart any wrong intent of the enemy!
