Border tension brings alive memories of previous Indo-Pak wars

The area of Tarn Taran, once part of Amritsar district, was the worst affected during the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971.

Assal Uttar village is located along India-Pakistan border. It is the spot from where the Pakistani army entered the Indian territory in the 1965 war. Brave Havildar Abdul Hamid laid down his life while repulsing the attack by Patton tanks used by the Pakistan army.  The village still remembers Havildar Abdul Hamid as a brave “Hero” on September 9 every year.

Avtar Singh (75), a resident of Assal Uttar village, is one of the few parsons, who witnessed Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971. He says the 1965 war started during the night time. Avtar says, “I had a big haveli spread over a huge area in the village. I invited 50 families of nearby farm houses to take shelter and have meals at my place when the war started.”

He said there was continuous shelling by Indian Army and Pakistani army during the night, but luckily there was no casualty in the village. In the morning, villagers, along with their cattle, migrated to Faridewal village in Ferozepur district, where they stayed for almost one month.

He said though there was tension, but no villager was willing to leave his/her home. Avtar said after one month, when people returned to their native Assal Uttar village, they came to know that their houses had been razed to the ground during the battle.  He said there were mostly mud houses in the village and villagers used bullocks to plough their fields.

Amritbeer Singh, a brick kiln owner of Assal Uttar village, said the life was quite normal and villagers kept themselves busy in day to day work before the 1965 war started.

Sharing views about recent escalation of tension between India and Pakistan, Simaranjit Singh Bhullar, a resident of Rajoke, a border area village, said, “Normal life in our area has not been affected. Shops and other commercial establishments open as usual.”