| Specifications |
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Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers |
| Author Captain M.N.R. Samant, Sandeep Unnithan | |
| Language: English | |
| Pages: 272 | |
| Cover: PAPERBACK | |
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8.5x5.5 Inch |
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Weight 280 gm |
| Edition: 2019 | |
| ISBN: 9789353570194 | |
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HBR325 |
| Delivery and Return Policies |
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Ships in 1-3 days |
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Returns and Exchanges accepted within 7 days |
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Free Delivery |
Much is
known about the excesses of the Pakistan Army in 1971 in what was then the
eastern half of the country. This was a period when an estimated three million
Bangladeshis were killed during the Pakistan Army's onslaught on its own
citizens in East Pakistan. The Bangladesh military conflict between India and
Pakistan in 1971 was the inevitable consequence of this genocide and the
pressure of tending to the over eight million refugees who had fled to India.
The war finally resulted in the formal surrender by the Pakistan Army on 16
December 1971, and close to 93,000 Pakistani nationals surrendering as
Prisoners of War to a joint command of the Indian Army and the 'Mukti Bahini
Bangladesh freedom fighters. While much has been written about the land and air
battles that led to the liberation of Bangladesh, there has been an impression
that, except for operations by carrier-based aircraft in the Bay of Bengal and
an attack on Karachi during the conflict, the Indian Navy had little or no role
in the developments leading to the liberation of Bangladesh. More than four
decades after Bangladesh was liberated, this impression has finally been
corrected, thanks to this book written by Captain M.N.R Samant, who was awarded
the Maha Vir Chakra for exceptional bravery in the conduct of covert commando
operations in Bangladesh. These operations were undertaken well before the
actual declaration of war in December 1971. The book is co-authored by Sandeep
Unnithan, who has been one of India's foremost writers on issues related to
defence and national security. It also sheds light on how Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi personally approved and regularly monitored the covert naval operations
in Bangladesh, which were undertaken under the supervision of the then naval
chief, Admiral S.M. Nanda and the director of naval intelligence, Captain
(later Vice Admiral) M.K. Roy. The case for a naval role in the developments
within Bangladesh emerged on humanitarian grounds. But what gave the idea
impetus was a virtual rebellion within the Pakistan Navy just after the
Bangladesh uprising commenced. Eight Bengali naval personnel deployed in a
recently acquired French built submarine, the PNS Mangro, decided to desert the
Pakistan Navy and join the freedom struggle after hearing horrific details of
the Pakistan Army's brutal killings in East Pakistan. The submariners found
their way to the Indian Embassy in Madrid, seeking India's help in returning to
their homeland. These sailors formed the base upon which the Indian Navy built
its whole offensive, and played a key role in contacting and providing local
support for the covert Indian operations that were aimed at destroying
logistical facilities across the coastal areas of Bangladesh, weeks before
actual military operations by India began. The book spells out how covert
operations on foreign soil are conducted and the constant danger that those
involved in these operations face to their lives, every moment they are
operating on foreign soil. That, for me, is what makes this book such a gripping
read. I was also happy to see that it is able to place the whole situation in
an international setting by defining the contours of the difficult diplomatic
situation that India's leadership faced in dealing with the emergence of a
virtual US-China alliance which had been built with Pakistan acting as the
intermediary. US President Richard Nixon's aversion for India and its
leadership, and the US's keenness to turn a blind eye to the brutal suppression
of the Bangladeshis despite the superpower's avowed love for democracy as well
as Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's rightful claim to power failed to make matters
easier for India. The entire strategic scenario across India's eastern borders
has changed after the epochal conflict of 1971. Bangladesh, which was then
virtually written off as a potential economic basket case, forever leaning on
international aid for its existence, has proved the sceptics wrong. Largely
self-sufficient in meeting its food needs, the country has now emerged as a
leading player in exports worldwide of textiles and textile products. While its
military did play a role in the initial years after independence, Bangladesh is
today a vibrant democracy. Even long-standing differences with India over its
land and maritime borders have been amicably resolved. The reality today is
that it is not Bangladesh, but Pakistan that has emerged as an 'international
basket case', heavily dependent on foreign aid to make both ends meet. Already
one of the world's fastest-growing major economies, Bangladesh is poised to overtake
Pakistan's GDP in the next few years. Captain Samant was given a hero's welcome
whenever he visited Bangladesh and met friends and admirers who looked back on
what happened in 1971 with justifiable pride. He lived a full, heroic life, and
it pains me immensely that he could not be here to witness the adulation this
wonderful book would receive. However, it gives me satisfaction that he was
able to recount to readers the real story of the covert naval operation that
birthed Bangladesh, and to finally give us a glimpse into the lives of the unknown
heroes who made the bigger campaign possible.
'Indira Gandhi didn't know about the guerrillas in East
Pakistan One thing that really struck me, the blown up [ships) and that takes a
lot of technical training. I wonder where they got that...' HENRY KISSINGER, US
National Security Adviser speaking to President Richard Nixon, White House, 5
November 1971
1971. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in East Pakistan has just won an
electoral mandate to become the prime minister of Pakistan. Accustomed to
treating the eastern wing of the country as a colony, the ruling disposition in
West Pakistan is not pleased, and launches a genocide against the residents of
East Pakistan, flooding India with lakhs of refugees. With the violence in East
Pakistan reaching a crescendo, the Indian government is faced with a difficult
option: remain a mute spectator to the savagery on its eastern borders, or take
action and go to war against its western neighbour. Thus was born Naval Commando Operations (X)
comprising Indian Navy officers and divers, eight escapees from a Pakistani
submarine and a ragtag bunch of Bengali youth fleeing the genocide - one of
India's largest clandestine operations, meant to destabilize the West Pakistani
efforts to bring East Pakistan to its knees. Revealed for the very first time,
here is the explosive authentic account of the guerrilla operation that went
for the maritime jugular of Pakistan, and facilitated the birth of Bangladesh.
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