Witnesses recount 1971 Indo-Pak war

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 25

City residents who witnessed the Indo-Pak war in 1971, are now praying that another war does not break out, amid talks of revenge after the Pulwama attack. They narrated horrifying tales of how they survived the aerial attacks by Pakistan on Bathinda.

In the 1971 war, Bathinda junction had come under attack and its railway tracks were damaged to interrupt supply of oil and ammunition to Indian troops.

Dr Vitull Gupta, a city-based doctor and resident of Afeem Wali Gali near railway station, said “In 1971, when the war with Pakistan broke out, I was 11 and I vividly remember those days. The wailing noise of air raid sirens and blackouts had become familiar occurrences”.

He narrated, “One evening, we were at the Mall Godown road when a few airplanes came looming down and suddenly something dropped. It was followed by a loud deafening sound. Air raid sirens were wailing. It was at that moment that we realised that these were Pakistani planes and the bombing had started”.

“The bomb had missed the control room and hit the railway tracks, which were partially destroyed. A few bombs failed to detonate. On the way back, I found two pieces of the exploded bomb,” he added.

Another resident, Atul Garg, too remembers the attack on railway tracks. “Destruction of oil tankers was Pakistan’s aim,” he said.

Further, he recalled “They missed the train carrying the oil tankers by five minutes. In 1971, Bathinda had good connectivity, but now we have the largest ammunition depot, three oil depots, thermal energy plant and other big projects, making our security risk even bigger.”

Raman Singh, a city resident, said “Pakistan had dropped a large number of bombs but most of them did not explode because of improper targeting. One of my friends was away at night and when he returned home in the morning, he found a bomb inside his house”.

Another city resident, NK Gosain, said the outbreak of the Indo-Pak war in 1971 brought with it a lot of misery for the people and still rattles them. “My relatives, who were settled in Ferozepur city, had to leave their bag and baggage behind and shift to a comparatively safer place to save their lives”.

In Bathinda, the Pakistani jets made a futile effort to destroy the then upcoming thermal plant and railway lines. Fortunately, they missed most of the targets, Gosian added.

Gobind Kaur (89) said “In 1971, we used to live near the railway station and it was a harrowing time as we had to hide in bunkers to protect ourselves during the air attacks by Pakistan. We were on tenterhooks due to our proximity to the border areas”.Having lived through one war, they all said another one should not take place as war is never the answer.