Coinciding with the golden jubilee celebrations of the 1965 war, the Army is set to launch a revised account of the war describing how India “won the war” and why it was a “military-politico-diplomatic” defeat for Pakistan.
The month-long “victory celebrations” to commemorate the 1965 war formally began on Friday with the ceremonial wreath laying by President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Pranab Mukherjee at the Amar Jawan Jyoti here.
Conceived as a tri-Service event, a series of activities on the anvil include a seminar, concerts, flypast, launch of commemorative stamps and coins and adventure activities and will culminate on September 22, Ministry officials said. The highlight of the commemoration is an exhibition featuring static display of tableau showcasing the war.
The book will be launched during a seminar on September 1-2 to be inaugurated by Vice-President Hamid Ansari.
The book, 1965,Turning the Tide: How India Won the War, is the effort of the Army’s think tank, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, and has been written by defence analyst Nitin Gokhale.
This is part of the government’s effort to compile accounts of all the wars that India fought and build awareness among the public.
“It is clear that India not only thwarted the Pakistani designs but also inflicted unacceptable losses on the Pakistani military, triggering many changes within that country’s politico-military structure,” the book says, contrary to general belief that the war was more of a stalemate.
Countering claimsOfficials said these celebrations are as much to highlight our victory as also to counter Pakistan’s own victory claims which it celebrates every year on September 6 as ‘Defence of Pakistan Day’. Meanwhile, ex-servicemen remain firm on their decision to boycott all government and military functions till the issue of one rank, one pension scheme is sorted.
