Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs

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This day that year 50 years ago.

4 dec 1971

We are into 2021. 1971 was exactly 50 years ago. How many of us are aware that the calenders of the two years are identical ! The calender of 1971 can be used in 2021 as well !

It was on the midnight on 3/4 december 2021 that Mrs Indira Gandhi, then Indian prime minister addressed the Indian public on radio. It was a national emergency that is why this address to the nation was at that unearthly hour. At around 5:30 PM, Pakistan Air Force had launched a pre emptive attack on Indian air force bases located on the west. They bombed 12 air bases in not one or two waves, but in three waves throughout the evening and night.

Mrs Gandhi had addressed the nation to inform Indians that Pakistan had attacked India and so India now had to face the aggression.

This address to the nation was made first in English and then in Hindi. It is available on youtube.

The full address was

I speak to you at a moment of grave peril to our country and our people. Some hours ago, soon after 5:30 P.M. on Dec. 3, Pakistan launched full scale war against us.

The Pakistan Air Force suddenly struck at our airfields in Amritsar, Pathankot, Srinagar, Avantipur, Utterlai, Jodhpur, Ambala and Agra.

Their ground forces are shelling our defense positions in Sulemankhi, Khemkaran, Poonch and other sectors.

Since last March we have borne the heaviest of burdens and withstood the greatest of pressure and a tremendous effort to urge the world to help in bringing about peaceful solution, in preventing annihilation of an entire people whose only crime was to vote democratically.

But the world ignored the basic causes and concerned itself only with certain repercussions.

The situation was bound to deteriorate, and the courageous band of freedom fighters have been staking their all in defense of the values for which we also have struggled and which are basic to our way of life.

Today, the war in Bangla Desh has become a war on India, and this imposes upon me, my Government and the people of India an awesome responsibility. We have no other option but to put our country on a war footing. Our brave officers and jawans are at their posts, mobilized for the defense of the country. Emergency has been declared for the whole of India. Every necessary step is being taken, and we are prepared for any eventualities.

I have no doubt that it is the united will of our people that this wanton and unprovoked aggression of Pakistan should be decisively and finally repelled. In this resolve, the Government is assured of the full and unflinching support of all political parties and every Indian citizen.

We must be prepared for a long period of hardship and sacrifice. We are a peaceloving people, but we know that peace cannot last if we do not guard our freedom, our democracy and our way of life. So today we fight, not merely for territorial integrity, but for the basic ideals which have given strength to this country, and in this alone we can progress to a better future. Aggression must be met and the people of India will meet it with fortitude and determination, with discipline and the utmost unity.

Pakistan think tank had drawn inspiration from Israel’s strategy during 1967 Israel-Arab 6 days war when Israel Air Force, in “operation Focus” had destroyed all air bases of their enemy nations (Egypt, Syria and Jordan) and rendered their airbases and aircrafts useless in a pre emptive air raid. In all, 450 aircrafts were destroyed. 18 Egyptian airfields were destroyed in a matter of hours on 5 june 1967.

Pakistani operation drew inspiration from Israel’s “operation Focus”. Pakistani operation was code named “Operation Chenghiz Khan” and it was launched at 5:30 PM IST on 3 december 1971, which, like in 2021 was a friday.

Pakistan, unlike Israel, failed to inflict any serious damage, despite attacking as many as 12 air force bases, that too in three waves. Unlike Egypt, Syria and Jordan, whose Air forces were rendered useless, Indian Air Force were able to launch its counterattack almost immediately.

As Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi prepared to addressed the nation on radio shortly after midnight informing about the Pakistani attack, the Indian Air Force had already struck back. By 21:00hrs, the Canberras of the No.35 Squadron and No.106 Squadron, as well as No.5 and No.16 squadron were armed and ready for their foray deep into Pakistan. These flew against eight Western Pakistani airbases: Murid, Mianwali, Sargodha, Chandhar, Risalewala, Rafiqui, and Masroor. In total, 23 combat sorties were launched that night, inflicting heavy damage to Sargodha and Masroor airbases. The PAF units stationed on these airfields had to operate from taxiways for the following two days.

Through the night the Indian Air Force also struck the main East Pakistani airfields of Tejgaon, and later Kurmitola. At the same time, the Indian Air Force was deploying additional aircraft to its forward airfields for the strikes that were to follow the next morning. Within days, India was able to achieve air superiority.

So, unlike the result of “Operation Focus” for Israel, “Operation Chengiz Khan” proved counterproductive for Pakistan. Of its stated objectives, the PAF was unable to neutralize the Indian Air Force in the west, which on its part had dispersed its aircraft in hardened aircraft shelters, suffering only minor damage to a few aircraft.

Newsweek magazine (1971) described the attack as :

Trying to catch the Indian Air Force napping, Yahya Khan, launched a Pakistani version of Israel’s 1967 air blitz in hopes that one rapid attack would cripple India’s far superior air power. But India was alert, Pakistani pilots were inept, and Yahya’s strategy of scattering his thin air force over a dozen air fields was a bust!

When Indian retaliation came, it was not just from air force, but from navy and army as well. It is something that the Pakistani arm chair generals may not have anticipated while living in delusion and planning “Operation Chenghiz Khan”.

It was not Indian Air Force, but Indian Navy that hit Pakistan where it hurt them the most.

The Port of Karachi housed the headquarters of the Pakistan Navy and almost its entire fleet was based in Karachi Harbour. Since Karachi was also the hub of Pakistan’s maritime trade, a blockade would be disastrous for Pakistan’s economy. The security of Karachi Harbour was predominant to the Pakistani High Command and it was heavily defended against any air or naval strikes. The port’s airspace was secured by the strike aircraft based at airfields in the area.

On 4 December, Karachi Strike Group was formed by Indian navy. It consisted of the three Vidyut-class missile boats: INS Nipat, INS Nirghat and INS Veer, each armed with four Soviet made SS-N-2B Styx surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 40 nautical miles (74 km), two Arnala-class anti-submarine corvettes: INS Kiltan and INS Katchall, and a fleet tanker, INS Poshak. The group was under the command of Commander Babru Bhan Yadav, the commanding officer of the 25th Missile Boat Squadron.

As planned, on 4 December, the strike group reached 250 nautical miles (460 km) south off the coast of Karachi, and maintained its position during the day, outside the surveillance range of the Pakistan Air Force. As Pakistani aircraft did not possess night-bombing capabilities, it was planned that the attack would take place between dusk and dawn. At 10.30 pm Pakistan Standard Time , the Indian task group moved 180 nautical miles (330 km ) from its position towards the south of Karachi. Soon Pakistani targets, identified as warships, were detected 70 nmi (130 km) to the northwest and northeast of the Indian warships.

INS Nirghat drove forward in a northwesterly direction and fired its first Styx missile at PNS Khaibar, a Pakistani Battle-class destroyer. Khaibar, assuming it was a missile from Indian aircraft, engaged its anti-aircraft systems. The missile hit the right side of the ship, exploding below the galley in the electrician’s mess deck at 10.45 pm . This led to an explosion in the first boiler room. Subsequently, the ship lost propulsion, and was flooded with smoke. An emergency signal that read: “Enemy aircraft attacked in position 020 FF 20. No. 1 boiler hit. Ship stopped”, was sent to Pakistan Naval Headquarters (PNHQ). Due to the chaos created by the explosion, the signal contained the wrong coordinates of the ship’s position. This delayed rescue teams from reaching its location. Observing that the ship was still afloat, Nirghat fired its second missile hitting Khaibar in the second boiler room on the ship’s starboard side, eventually sinking the ship and killing 222 sailors.

After verifying two targets in the area northwest of Karachi, at 11.00 pm (PKT), INS Nipat fired two Styx missiles – one each at cargo vessel MV Venus Challenger(Coming from Saigon and carrying American arms and ammunition for Pakistan army) and its escort PNS Shah Jahan, a C-class destroyer. Venus Challenger, carrying ammunition for the Pakistani forces, exploded immediately after the missile hit, and eventually sank 23 nmi (43 km) south of Karachi. The other missile targeted Shah Jahan and damaged the ship very badly. At 11.20 pm (PKT), PNS Muhafiz, an Adjutant-class minesweeper, was targeted by INS Veer. A missile was fired and Muhafiz was struck on the left side, behind the bridge. It sank immediately before it could send a signal to the PNHQ, killing 33 sailors.

Meanwhile, INS Nipat continued towards Karachi and targeted the Kemari oil storage tanks, placing itself 14 nmi (26 km) south of the Karachi harbour. Two missiles were launched; one misfired, but the other hit the oil tanks, which burned and were destroyed completely, causing a Pakistani fuel shortage. The task force returned to the nearest Indian ports.

Soon the PNHQ deployed rescue teams on patrol vessels to recover the survivors of Khaibar. As Muhafiz sank before it could transmit a distress call, the Pakistanis only learned of its fate from its few survivors who were recovered when a patrol vessel steered towards the ship’s burning flotsam.

The operation was carried for 90 minutes, which resulted in the firing of six missiles by Indian Navy that destroyed four enemy vessels. This day saw the first use of anti-ship missiles in combat in the region.

Pakistan lost a minesweeper, a destroyer, a cargo vessel carrying ammunition, and fuel storage tanks in Karachi. Another destroyer was also badly damaged and eventually scrapped.

In retaliation, Pakistan air force launched an attack on Okha Port. Indians had anticipated this attack and so they had removed all naval ships from Okha. PAF ended up damaging fuelling facilities for missile boats, an ammunition dump, and the missile boats’ jetty.

These damages delayed the next attack of Indian navy by three days. The next attack on Karachi port was launched three days later. This operation was code named “Operation Python”.

Though the Indian Navy had strategic victory with Operation Trident, its main target, the oil storage facilities in Karachi were still operational as only one of the two missiles fired had hit them. This failure was later assessed as the result of confusion created between the commanding officers of the three missile boats. Furthermore, the Indians mistook tracer fire from the coastal artillery of Karachi as originating from Pakistani aircraft and retreated hurriedly before they could properly target the tanks.

On the night of 8/9 December 1971, at 10:00 pm Pakistan Standard Time (PKT), in rough seas, a small strike group consisting of the missile boat INS Vinash, equipped with four Styx missiles, and two multipurpose frigates, INS Talwar and INS Trishul, approached Manora, a peninsula south of the Port of Karachi. During their voyage, a Pakistani patrol vessel was encountered and sunk. The Indian Navy’s official historian, Vice Admiral Hiranandani in his book Transition to Triumph, mentioned that while the group approached Karachi, Trishul’s electronic surveillance revealed that the radar there had stopped rotating and was directed straight at the group, confirming that it had been detected.

Around 11.00 pm (PKT), the group detected a batch of ships at a distance of 12 nmi (22 km). Vinash immediately fired all four of its missiles, the first of which struck the fuel tanks at the Kemari Oil Farm causing a heavy explosion. Another missile hit and sank the Panamanian fuel tanker SS Gulf Star. The third and fourth missiles hit the Pakistani Navy fleet tanker PNS Dacca and the British merchant vessel SS Harmattan. Dacca was damaged beyond repair, while Harmattan sank. As Vinash had now expended all of its missiles, the group immediately withdrew to the nearest Indian port.

Between Operations Trident and Python, and the Indian Air Force attacks on Karachi’s fuel and ammunition depots, more than fifty percent of the total fuel requirement of the Karachi zone was reported to have been destroyed. The result was a crippling economic blow to Pakistan. The damage was estimated to be worth $3 billion, with most of the oil reserves and ammunition warehouses and workshops destroyed. The Pakistan Air Force was also affected by the loss of fuel.

The Pakistani High Command ordered ships to reduce their ammunition dumps so as to reduce the explosion damage if hit. The ships were also ordered not to manoeuvre out at sea, especially during the night, unless ordered to do so. These two measures severely demoralized Pakistani naval crews. With the destruction caused by the Indian Navy, neutral merchant vessels soon started to seek safe passage from the Indian authorities before heading to Karachi. Gradually, neutral ships ceased sailing for Karachi. In effect, a de facto naval blockade was created by the Indian Navy.

As a result of these two operations, Karachi port was rendered unuseable.

So, Pakistan’s attempt to neutralise Indian Air Force in the west resulted in Pakistan navy and Pakistan maritime activity in the west getting neutralised. !

Navy operations do not receive the same coverage as air force operations and army operations, but these navy operations decisively swung the balance Indian way, and the ability of Pakistan to send and receive materials by sea route was absolutely crippled. Air route was in any case out of question. The two parts of Pakistan were physically cut of from each other.

This day 4 december 1971 was a big feather in the cap of Indian Navy. From that day onwards, this day is celebrated in India as Indian Navy day.

So today is the Indian Navy day. Let us hail Indian Military in general and Indian Navy in particular, whose swift retaliation on this this day 50 years ago quickly put paid to Pakistani evil designs of doing an Israel on India. When the dust settled, Pakistan had ended up getting dismembered, losing East Pakistan in the process. From that war onwards Pakistan army has not dared to enter into another war with India.

On this occasion, here is a song from “Border”(1997). This song is a befitting song for the occasion, seeing that the movie itself was based on 1971 war. This song in particular fits the Indian mood perfectly as it would have been on this day 50 years ago.

Audio full

Video (Partial)

Song-Hindustan Hindustan (Border)(1997) Singers-Sonali Rathod, Shankar Mahadevan, Lyrics-Javed Akhtar, MD-Anu Malik
narration-Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Chorus
Female chorus

Lyrics

ooooom

sarve bhavantu sukhina
sarve santu niraamaya
sarve bhadrani pashhyantu
maurkaschit dukh bha bhavet

aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa

hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
meri aan
meri shaan
meri jaan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
meri aan meri shaan
meri jaan hindustan

paanch hazaar varsh pehle
hamaare deshwaasi
isi ved mantra ka uchharan karke
param pita parmatma se
yaachna karte thhe
sabka bhala karo bhagwan
sabko sukh aur shaanti do
aur paanch sau varsh pahle
bhakti maarg ke darshak guru Nanak dev jee ne
isi baat ko saral bhaasha mein dohraaya
Nanak naam chaddhdi kala
tere paane sarwatda bhala

hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
meri aan meri shaan
meri jaan hindustan

parantu sabke liye sukh aur shaanti maangne waale Hindustani
kya khud shaanti se reh sake
rehte bhi to kaise
unki dharti ka doosra naam
sone ki chidiya hai
jiski mitti mein sona
aur jungalon mein chandan hai
shaayad isi liye prakriti ne
iski suraksha ke liye
uttar mein Himalay
dakshin mein Hind Mahasagar
poorab mein Bangal ki khaadi
aur paschim mein Thaar ka registan bana diya thha

hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
meri aan meri shaan
meri jaan hindustan

aa aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa aa aa

phir bhi sone ki chamak
aur chandan ki khushboo
baahar ke hamlaawaron ko lubhaati rahi
Sikandar ke ghodon ki taapon
hamaare dharti ke seene ki dhadkan tez kar dee
To Hun, Mangol, Arab, Mughal, Purtagaali, Fransisi aur Angrez
koi peechhe na raha
sab aaye aur aate hi rahe
shaayad nahin jaante thhe
ki jahaan sab duniya waale apni apni maatribhoomi se
pyaar karte hain
wahaan Hindustani apni maatribhoomi ki pooja karte hain
jee haan
Pooja

hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
meri aan meri shaan
meri jaan hindustan

karodon Hindustaaniyon ki bhaawnaa ko
shabdon mein dhhaalte huye hi to
Bankim babu ne kaha thha
Sujlaam Suflaam
Malyaj Sheetlaam
shashy shyaamlaam maatram
vande
vande maatram
hamlaawaron ko haar maan kar
waapas jaana pada
par kuchh log
yahin ke hoke rah gaye
unhen hamaari dharti maa ne
god le liya
aur itihaas saakshi hai
maa ne apni kokh se janme
aur god liye bachchon mein
kabhi antar nahin rakhha
shaayad isi liye
jab jab kisi hamlaawar ne
hamaare dharti ke seene par
paanv rakhna chaaha
sab bachche seena taan kar
saamne khade ho gaye
aur seema suraksha ki deewaar
khadi ho gayi

hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan

hamlaawar is deewaar se takraakar waapas jaate rahe
jo unneessaubaasath mein hua
wahi san painsath mein
aur wahi ikhattar mein
har baar Hindustaaniyon ne
waapas jaate huye dushman ki taraf
dosti ka haath badhaaya
kyonki hamaari mitti ne hamen
sikhaaya hai
ki yadi nafrat karne waale
nafrat ka daaman nahin chhodte
to mohabbat karne waale
mohabbat ka daaman kyon chhhoden

hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan
hindustan hindustan