Military units of 1965 war Maha Vir Chakra recipients to be felicitated at Literature Festival

Units that included Punjab-based Armed Forces personnel decorated with the Maha Vir Chakra for gallantry during the 1965 India-Pakistan War will be felicitated by Governor Gulab Chand Kataria. The ceremony will take place at the ninth edition of the Military Literature Festival (MLF) scheduled to be held from November 7 to 9.

The Commanding Officers of 11 Army and Air Force units, along with their senior JCO, are expected to attend the event.

The family of Chaman Lal, a railway firefighter who was awarded the Ashoka Chakra during the war for battling a blaze that had engulfed an ammunition and petroleum train, will also be felicitated.

The Governor, who will inaugurate the festival, will also honour the veterans from Punjab who had participated in the 1965 war, the diamond jubilee of which is being commemorated this year, or their surviving kin.

Chairperson of the MLF Association, Lt Gen TS Shergill (retd), said that the theme of the event this year is “Heartland and Rimland Powers in Multi-domain Warfare and India”.

He further said that the western, southern and eastern edges of Eurasia have been categorised as Rimland, with central and northern areas being the heartland and this entire region has immense geo-strategic significance.

This year’s discussions will focus on contemporary national and international issues such as the conduct of Operation Sindoor and employment of air power in multi-domain warfare, multi-domain threats from Pakistan and China, challenges in the maritime domain, role of energy in the changing geopolitical scenario and changing dynamics in Af-Pak region and Iran.

Chief of Defence Staff to deliver keynote address

Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Anil Chauhan, will deliver a keynote address on the concluding day. A British delegation will discuss the shared heritage between the militaries of India and Britain

Homage to martyrs, a bravehearts motorcycle rally, weapons and equipment display, exhibition of military paintings and stamps, screening documentaries, horse show and dog show are other events being organised.

Notably, the two 1965 war recipients of the highest gallantry award, Param Vir Chakra, Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore and Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid belonged to Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, respectively.