To mark the Vijay Diwas celebrating the triumphant march of the Indian armed forces to liberate the erstwhile East Pakistan which became Bangladesh in 1971, a string of commemorative programmes were held in Pauri district on Saturday where glowing tribute was paid to the martyrs from the district who laid down their lives during different wars the nation got involved in. Among those present at the principal programme hosted in Pauri town were the Pauri MlA Mukesh Koli, a former cabinet Minister Mohan Singh Gaonwasi and district magistrate Sushil Kumar. They felicitated 22 army personnel who had fought the historic 1971 war at a function held in the collectorate premises in Pauri. The family members of such personnel were also present. Patriotic songs and cultural events were presented by the GGIC and the students of Paradise School on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, MlA Koli said that the grateful remembrance of the gallantry of the members of the Indian armed forces during that turbulent time of the sub-continental history should not be confined to a day, however special. “We must remember them gratefully all round the year and be inspired by them and be ready to make supreme sacrifice for the unity and the integrity of the nation,” he said. He also reminded all present of the glorious moment of the nation when over 90,000 soldiers of Pakistan surrendered to the Indian armed forces.
Gaonwasi said that many brave hearts from Uttarakhand had also fought the war and got killed to bring glory to the nation. “This is a day to pledge that we would be found wanting if the nation warrants our sacrifice for the cause of the national unity and integrity,” he said.
An officer of the Soldiers’ ’ Board Major Karan Singh Rawat said that 255 soldiers from Uttarakhand sacrificed their life in the 1971 war and out of them 33 were from Pauri district.
Captain Sate Singh Bhandari narrated his experiences of the 1971 war, recollecting how the indomitable spirit of the armed forces fired by a nationalistic zeal and professionalism had taken in their stride the daunting hardships and challenges and brought glory for the nation.
District Magistrate Sushil Kumar, who presided over the function, said that the warfare technique seeing a change, the things associated with the previous wars must be preserved through documentation so as to enable the posterity to feel how wars were fought previously and to draw inspiration.