Capt. Ahsan Malik - 31 Baluch

[baqai]

Tell your dad that nation is proud of him and is thankful to what he did ...

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

An uncle of mine also took part in 71 war.... he was a LT back than.... was wounded by arty fire and taken as a POW ... languished for 2 years in indian jails... came back became a colonel and took retirement...

There were numerous tales of valour by our unsung soldiers... Salute to the soldiers who never surrendered!

 

[alimukhtar]

@ gunner, if ya don mind you are in lahore? & loc?

 

[GUNNER]

Yes. i'm in Lahore.

 

[fatman17]

Yes. i'm in Lahore.

where have you been? hiding?

 

[GUNNER]

.. Sir, lot has been going on in life.. ! Hope to be around now ! Cheers .

 

[alimukhtar]

.. Sir, lot has been going on in life.. ! Hope to be around now ! Cheers .

i juz look on your formation so dats y i asked it.... which group?

 

[a. hussain]

where have you been? hiding?

Brothers. Have a question which I have been having for a long time. Had read in SAYYARAH DIGEST possibly issue of 1971 about a conflict (probably) at Mymensigh where a platoon of around 21 men of Pak Army were surrounded by an Indian Birgade but still they continued to fight and Indian CO was so impressed with their valor that he sent a note to the young LT of Pak Army to surrender by saying that it is futile to fight with a Birgade, to which that brave soul responded that 'we will not surrender and fight till the last drop of our blood as it is our land' and so the BDE attacked and one by one all those brave souls attained shadat but not before destroying whatever they could so that Indian army may not got those prizes of war.

Can anyone shed light over it.

Thanks

 

[zavis2003]

Does anyone know anything about this brave officer who was posted to E.Pak (now B/Desh) during the 71 War.?

I think that Indian General of 71 war has said something about him in the interview given to the journalist.

 

[a. hussain]

Brothers. Have a question which I have been having for a long time. Had read in SAYYARAH DIGEST possibly issue of 1971 about a conflict (probably) at Mymensigh where a platoon of around 21 men of Pak Army were surrounded by an Indian Birgade but still they continued to fight and Indian CO was so impressed with their valor that he sent a note to the young LT of Pak Army to surrender by saying that it is futile to fight with a Birgade, to which that brave soul responded that 'we will not surrender and fight till the last drop of our blood as it is our land' and so the BDE attacked and one by one all those brave souls attained shadat but not before destroying whatever they could so that Indian army may not got those prizes of war.

Can anyone shed light over it.

Thanks

Does anyone shed any light over it.

Thanks

 

[Patriot]

Brothers. Have a question which I have been having for a long time. Had read in SAYYARAH DIGEST possibly issue of 1971 about a conflict (probably) at Mymensigh where a platoon of around 21 men of Pak Army were surrounded by an Indian Birgade but still they continued to fight and Indian CO was so impressed with their valor that he sent a note to the young LT of Pak Army to surrender by saying that it is futile to fight with a Birgade, to which that brave soul responded that 'we will not surrender and fight till the last drop of our blood as it is our land' and so the BDE attacked and one by one all those brave souls attained shadat but not before destroying whatever they could so that Indian army may not got those prizes of war.

Can anyone shed light over it.

Thanks

Yes - It was Major General Tajammul Hussain who refused to surrender till the end ( He later become Major General).

The battle of Hilli Bogra sector in 1971 war can rightfully be regarded as a classic example of defence in the history of warfare. Against my one brigade, Indians had deployed four infantry brigades i.e 202 Brigade, 66 Brigade, 165 Brigade and 340 Brigade, one armoured bridge i.e 3 Armoured Brigade, 471 Engineer Brigade and two artillery brigades augmented by 33 Corps Artillery, yet when the war ended on 16th September, the battle was still going on in the streets of Bogra. The Indians could not succeed in breaking through that sector till the very end.

If I go into the details of the battle, it would become very lengthy. The Indian General, Major General Lachman Singh in his book, “The Indian Sword Strikes in East Pakistan” described this battle in detail. He has devoted at least two chapters on it. After the war the Indians had sent a team of experts to study the battle on the ground and determine reasons why such a heavy force as described above could not break through that sector till the end.

Hilli Bogra sector was the only sector where Indians used an Armoured Brigade. For, in December the terrain represented the plains of Punjab. As I said before in this sector the Indians used 4 Infantry Brigade, one Armoured Brigade, one Engineer Brigade, one Mukti Brigade and yet could not break through this sector to the end and when the war ended the fighting was still going on in the streets of Bogra.

The Battle of Hilli Bogra received the maximum publicity through the world media. I was mentally attuned to resist the Indians in the same manner as I had done on Wagha Sector in 1965 War. I could not conceive of surrender. On 15th and 16th December, when Bogra was surrounded from all sides, I was moving about in the battle area in my jeep, with the flag and stars uncovered, and announcing on the loud speaker, “We shall fight from the rooftops, the windows and in the streets but we shall not surrender.”

I was inspiring them with the Quranic Ayat that a Muslim soldier does not surrender on the battlefield. Anyone who turns his back will go to hell. I could see that almost everyone whom I addressed was prepared to die. They responded to my speech with slogans of Allah Ho Akbar. It was most thrilling scene.

These words, which I have uttered, were later confirmed in the Indian Books published after the war. Some of the excerpts I would like to quote here. General Palit, in his book, “The Lightening Campaign” had said, “In Hilli Bogra sector the Pakistani troops fought for every inch of ground.”

Dr Monkakar in his book “Pakistan cut to size” had said, “the Battle of Hilli was the toughest battle of Indo-Pak War”, General Aurora, GOC-in-C Indian Eastern Command, in his interview with the Illustrated Weekly of India, published in 1973 had said, “The battle of Bhaduria (which was fought within Hilli Bogra sector) was the bloodiest battle fought in East Pakistan”.

General Lachman Singh in his Book, “The Indian sword strikes in East Pakistan” described the battle in this sector in great detail. He was a brave general, who had the courage to praise his opponents. He admired my fighting capabilities and went to the extent of saying, “Most of the senior officers preferred to surrender as soon as a threat developed to their Headquarters or their lives. Brigadier Tajammal was the only exception in my sector. He showed fanatical will to fight even at the cost of his life. I was happy to take him prisoner. I was glad to learn that he was the first senior officer to be promoted by the Pakistanis out of those who had surrendered in Bangladesh.”

He almost wrote my ACR, wherein he said, “when in all other sectors, Pakistani troops were laying down arms, a group of officers and JCOs came to him and advised him to surrender. He refused to do so. He was no doubt a very brave and capable commander. He was in fact, prepared to die rather than surrender on the battlefield. His troops followed his example and resisted till the end.”

In fact he said much more than what I have said. I have only given a brief gist of it. Imbued with such a spirit how could I possibly think of surrender. The examples of Muslim commanders in the history of Islam who had fought against overwhelming Christian armies were ringing in my ears. At that critical moment those examples became a source of strength for me to continue to fight till the end.

The two examples I have quoted in my book, “The Story of My Struggle” that of Naik Sarwar Shaheed and Havildar Hukumdad who fought till the end and when their ammunition was exhausted they were called upon by the enemy to lay down arms but they refused to do so. Naik Sarwar Shaheed died on the last day of the Battle, when I had ordered my Brigade to break out to Naogong in small groups. The Indians had given him a ceremonial burial as a mark of respect for his bravery. Naik Humkumdad had become Shaheed on the 13th or 14th of December when about 80 men of his company had already become shaheed and his own company commander, Maj Sajid, been taken prisoner by the enemy. The Indian Major putting pistol on the chest of Maj Sajid ordered him to tell Hukumdad to stop firing. Complying with the orders of the Indian officer, Maj Sajid told Hukumdad to stop firing. In reply Hukumdad said, “Sahib, Apna ammunition mukai bathi ho, meray pass abhi doo magazine baki hein” (You have apparently exhausted your ammunition, I am still left with two magazines full of ammunition.)