Indian Defence Review

The Air Bridge and Build up in the Valley

With the Pakistan sponsored tribals virtually knocking on the gates of Srinagar, the only way to plant Indian boots on the ground was to provide an immediate air bridge to the valley. What followed was an extraordinary airlift hastily organised seemingly from nowhere and speaks volumes not only for the team and staff work between the Air Force and the Army, but also with the Civil Aviation. With three Dakotas of the RIAF and six mustered from the civil, twenty-eight sorties were affected on 27 October itself.

The civil planes carried 15 fully kitted soldiers along with 225 kgs of supplies while the RIAF planes carried two additional men. Hence, it was only possible to accommodate the Tactical HQ of 1 SIKH, one Rifle Coy and one Composite Coy of the Artillery in the first lift. The first two flights took off as planned and commenced landing at 0830 hours. By 1000 hours, the force was on ground and this information was relayed to the relief of Delhi and this momentous event marked the first military deployment for war by Independent India. By 6 November, approximately 3,500 troops along with their supplies and equipment had been airlifted to the valley. This was an unparalleled feat, especially in the context of the sub-continent. Not only did the RIAF and the Indian Army rise magnificently to the task, but the contributions of the civil pilots and their ground staff was praiseworthy. It was indeed a laudable effort and was done without any mishap whatsoever. “If the airlift had not made the landing of the troops possible, Kashmir would have been lost before we could defend it.”[11]

Lord Mountbatten who had been proved wrong by the Indians was full of praise for the effort and he went on to write, “..in his war experience, he had never come across an airlift of this order being successfully undertaken with such slender resources, and at such short time.”[12]General S K Sinha, who himself was involved with the airlift as a staff officer, was to call this effort a ‘miracle.’ The important lesson to take home from the airlift, was the alacrity of response and unity of purpose which was displayed by the men ‘in’ and ‘out’ of uniform. Without this, as the late Air Commodore Jasjit Singh has pointed out, the valley and with it Kashmir, would have been lost.

The Defence of the Kashmir Valley

Kashmiris Rise for the Defence of their Homeland

After being done in by their Muslim compatriots,[13] 4 Kashmir Infantry(KI) of the State Forces tasked to deny the all-important road from Muzzafarabad to Srinagar simply disintegrated and this threw open the road to the Srinagar valley. The heroic resistance put up by Brigadier Rajinder Singh, the Chief of Staff of the State Forces, and a hastily collected 150 strong force managed to delay the lascars for two invaluable days at Uri. The timely demolition of the bridge was the first of the acts that saved the valley and the officer’s valour earned him eternal recognition as the ‘Saviour of Kashmir’ apart from the award of Independent India’s first gallantry award, a well-deserved MVC. This was an apt recognition by a grateful nation since it is because of the delay imposed by his actions that the raiders could only enter Baramulla on 24 October. The next day, information on the formation of Azad Kashmir’s Government under Sardar Ibrahim Khan of Punch was received and became the cause of friction between the rebels and the Pakistan Government, since Khurshed Anwar, who was spearheading the onslaught was eyeing the premiership. The political intrigues behind his back infuriated him and he now refused to move beyond Baramulla till he was pacified by Akbar Khan. As a result of the delay, the tribals found time to plunder the town and their cries were chilling, “Loot lo Hindu kaZar, MussalmankaGharaurSikhonka Saar” (Loot the wealth of the Hindu, the Home of the Muslim and behead the Sikh). This was typical of Qabalis who spared no one, not even their co-religionists. Three days of rapacious plunder which followed when Baramulla burned and blood flowed, eventually cost Pakistan the valley.

Kashmir produced its own heroes and the story of young MaqboolSherwani, a youngNational Conference member of Baramulla is remembered till date. This gutsy lad of nineteen years intentionally misled the enemy and had delayed them at the cost of his life. Despite being publically tortured,[14] the fearless lad cried “victory to Hindu-Muslim unity”[15] till he was finally shot dead by the raiders. The wanton lust of the Qabalis along with the heroism of Kashmiris like young Sherwani dashed the Pakistani dream of liberating Kashmir. The extraordinary courage of this ordinary Kashmiri galvanised the valley and it is to the credit of the Kashmiris, who regardless of their religion came out on the streets to express their solidarity and to provide support to the NC which quickly moved in with their volunteers to control the situation created by the collapse of the civil administration. The cry that went up throughout the valley was “Hamlaawarkhabardar, ham kashmirihaitayyar.”[16]Ironically, the situation was analogous to the earlier aggression of Kashmir by Muslim co-religionists, the Mughals, who had also used deceit to run over the Kashmiris four centuries earlier. This time, Punjabi Mussalmans had subverted the sentries on the gate in the name of religion, though the Kashmiri people led by the Sheikh Abdullah were unwilling to be duped this time.

Initial Operations by the Indian JAK Force

On landing, Rai quickly organised the perimeter defence of the airfield. After tiding over the immediate task, this gallant officer decided to take the initiative and blunt the enemy’s advance. After shedding one Coy for the defence of the airfield, he collected his men and advanced towards Baramulla. On seeing armed tribals in the town, he deployed on either side of a defile on the axis leading to Srinagar and it was here that he met the enemy head on, who after their orgy now recommenced their advance.

While meeting the Sikhs of the Indian Army came as a rude shock to the tribals;[1] Rai was also taken aback as he to discover after the first encounter that these tribesmen were no rabble of the type normally encountered in the frontiers. These were men led by regular military officers, adequately equipped and armed with support weapons, and their mortars being used with military precision. This called for a change in tactics and the Indians decided to dig in.

The next day forced a running encounter as the enemy kept developing pincers along the adjoining hills to cut him from the rear. This forced Rai to keep falling back, and this cat and mouse game continued till Rai was forced back to Pattan. While coordinating the move of his rear party, Rai fell, mortally wounded. This gallant officer had gained valuable time for India, earning for himself the gratitude of the country and a well-deserved MVC. The time gained by him offered India the chance to build up the second Battalion, 1 KUMAON (PARA).

General Bajwa has quoted a Pakistan historian who commented on how Pakistan lost the chance of a lifetime. “Two tricks of fortune conspired to cheat the Quaid-I-Azam of the Kashmir Gaddi; the loss of a day and a half in pillaging at Baramulla, and the reckless bravery of an Indian officer, who with no reserve of men or ammunition made an attack on the invading forces as if he had the whole Army Division at his disposal, dashed down the Baramulla road. He seized the airfield, delayed the raiders advance by 36 hours, and enabled reinforcements sent by air to reach Srinagar. He saved Kashmir though he gave his life in the effort.”

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Conclusion

Within two months of independence, at a time when the frenzy of the partition was at its peak and the nation still had to stabilise, India rose as one – be they the braves of the Indian Army or the Airmen of the Indian Air Force. Indeed, this was the finest hour of integrated operations and an example that should be the guiding light for the Forces. Despite the years of conflict in Kashmir, young people like Maqbool Sherwani and the countless volunteers of the National Conference, need to be remembered for the patriots they were. But for these men and women, who stood up for the nation as one, the fate of Independent India would have been different.