Articles By Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh
1971 War: The Transformation of Military Plan
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 08 Nov , 2021
Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command, who was to command the land forces of India and Bangladesh and coordinate the functions of the Air Force and the...
1971 War: Airborne Operations
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 19 Apr , 2021
Between the two world wars there was a significant development of aircraft, both transport and combat, in Germany and elsewhere. Military planners of all erstwhile warring nations were seeking a...
East Pakistan: The Mukti Bahini takes shape
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 26 Mar , 2021
A bout the end of the first week of April 1971, most of the revolting Bengali troops had been flushed out into India by the sheer brute force of the Pakistani Army. Some of them were badly mauled,...
1971 War: Battles of Burj and Fatehpur
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 16 Aug , 2020
The Pakistani enclaves of Fatehpur and Bhago-Kamo lie north-west of Amritsar across the Ravi. Although the area between them is no more than 8,200 by 4,800 metres, they provide sufficient room for...
India should not forget its history
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 23 Oct , 2019
“India should not forget its history,” Bhutto observed on the eve of the India-Pakistan conflict in 1950. Indeed, India has a sad history of centuries of subjugation imposed by the power of...
Liberation of Bangladesh: War in Northwestern Sector
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 18 Jul , 2019
Lt Gen Thapan, General Officer Commanding XXXIII Corps, was operationally responsible for the sector in addition to his commitments against the Chinese in Sikkim and Bhutan. His headquarters were...
1971 War: Battle of Poonch
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 09 Dec , 2018
Poonch and its surroundings were formerly a part of a Hindu principality in the state of Jammu and Kashmir under Dogra rule. Its political importance to Pakistan lies in its large Muslim...
1971 War: Battle of Chhamb
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 01 Dec , 2018
At the end of the Jammu and Kashmir operations in 1948, the ceasefire line emerged from the hills west of Dewa and ran through the plain west of Manawar, where it joined the international border,...
1971: Manekshaw Prepares for War
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 19 Jun , 2018
As in other Eastern countries, the Indian public is easily swayed by sentiment. Important issues are taken to the streets instead of being debated calmly. Slogan-shouting crowds are used by...
1971: Assessment of campaign in the Western Sector
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 20 May , 2018
According to a Defence Ministry announcement after the 1971 conflict, India claimed the capture of 3,600 square kilometres of Pakistani territory against 126 square kilometres of Indian territory...
Evolution of Indian Military Concepts
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 13 May , 2018
The Indian Army expanded manifold in World War II to meet the ever-increasing demands of the British contribution to the overall Allied strategy, particularly in West Asia and Southeast...
1971: Defence of Kashmir Valley
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 06 Apr , 2018
19 Infantry Division under Maj Gen ED ’Souza was responsible for denying ingress to Kashmir Valley and protecting vulnerable areas against sabotage by infiltration. Because of snowfall and the...
1971 War: The Amritsar Sector
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 23 Mar , 2018
That part of Punjab between the international border and the Beas and Sutlej has great strategic, economic and political importance. It comprises the districts of Amritsar and Gurdaspur, a very...
Defence of Khalra and Khemkaran
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 28 Feb , 2018
Major General Freemantle, General Officer Commanding 7 Infantry Division, was operationally responsible for the security of the southern half of the Bari Doab area between the Ravi, Beas and...
Indian Military Leadership needs a relook?
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 24 Dec , 2017
Till the liberation of Bangladesh, India never had a military victory in the previous ten centuries. Indian history is replete with repeated defeats, humiliations and subjugation by more...
1971 War: Battle of Dera Baba Nanak
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 16 Dec , 2017
Dera Baba Nanak (DBN) is a small town about 30 miles north of Amritsar and south of the Ravi. Near it are two strategically important enclaves, north and south of the Ravi, belonging to India and...
1971 War: Battle of Daruchian
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 12 Dec , 2017
Consequent upon the failure of the Pakistani divisional attack on Poonch, it was decided to carry out local and limited actions all along the ceasefire line to improve our defensive posture. One...
1971 War: Battle of Shakargarh Bulge
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 10 Oct , 2017
The Shakargarh bulge juts out like a tongue from the main landmass of Pakistan between the Chenab and the Ravi. It southern portion rests on the Ravi, the northern runs parallel to the Shivalik...
1971 War: The Battle of Fazilka
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 03 Oct , 2017
Fazilka, a prominent border town in Ferozepur district, Punjab, lies at the end of a rectangle formed by the international border with a corner resting on the Sulaimanke headworks in Pakistan....
1971 War: The Battle of Hussainiwala
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 09 Jan , 2017
The Indian enclave of Hussainiwala lies west of the Sutlej along the Ferozepur-Lahore highway. It covers about 7.5 hectares and runs in a parabola from the rail and road bridge towards Shamoke in...