Rajnath Singh remembers Tangail airdrops as India marks 50 years of 1971 victory over Pak

As a part of the golden jubilee celebrations of India's victory over Pakistan which led to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the Indian Army on Saturday conducted an airdrop in Agra. The event, which was commemorated in the presence of the Victory Flame, was dedicated to India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and the 11 other military personnel who lost their lives in the recent IAF helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu.

Sharing the images from the event, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "On 11 December 1971, a successful airdrop of the Indian Army’s 2nd Parachute Battalion was carried out at Tangail, in erstwhile East Pakistan."

The Indian Army in a statement said that the landmark event was commemorated at Agra in the presence of the Victory Flame as a touching tribute to the veterans who participated in the airdrop.

1971 Parachute airdrop

On December 11, 1971, a successful airdrop by the Indian Army's 2nd Parachute Battalion was carried out at Tangail, in erstwhile East Pakistan. The battalion, led by Lieutenant Colonel Kulwant Singh Pannu with an artillery battery of 17 Parachute Field Regiment along with a platoon of 411 medical detachment, surgical teams, and other troops from the Brigade, was asked to cut off the Pakistani troops from the north towards Dhaka.

India celebrates Swarnim Vijay Varsh

Completing 50 years of India's victory in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, the celebrations of the Swarnim Vijay Varsh are ongoing. As a part of it, one of the three victory flames has also arrived in Lucknow. The Surya Command of the Indian Army will lead the celebrations with a series of events from December 8 to December 12. 

Notably, Swarnim Vijay Varsh was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2020 by lighting the four victory flames commencing the journey at the National War Memorial in New Delhi. Later, these were dispatched to the four cardinal directions of the country. 

Image: Twitter/@RajnathSingh