The stage is all set to celebrate the 52nd anniversary Vijay Diwas later this week on December 16, 2022. Each year on December 16 Vijay Diwas is celebrated to honour the victory of Indian armed forces over Pakistan in the 1971 war. And it is on this day that India pays homage to all the soldiers of the forces who defended the country.
That year, Pakistan Forces had suffered the maximum casualties. Based on the information available in the public domain, while Pakistan had 8,000 dead and 25,000 wounded soldiers, India had lost 3000 soldiers and 12,000 were injured.
More about Vijay Diwas
Operation Vijay was against the infiltrating Pakistani troops. In 1971 on December 16, India won the war against Pakistan which had lasted almost 13 days. Along with 93,000 Pakistani troops the chief of the Pakistani Forces, Maj General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi had surrendered to the joint forces of the Indian Army and Bangladesh’s Mukti Bahini. Niazi was at that time the Commander of the Pakistan Eastern Command; he had also signed the ‘Instrument of Surrender’ on that day at Ramna Race Course in Dacca (In the present time this is known as Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh).
This was on that day signed and accepted by Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, who was the then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of India’s Eastern Command.
Background
The struggle for independence in East Pakistan, it all started on December 3, 1971 and 13 days later it resulted in unconditional surrender of the Pakistan Army. On this day rich tributes are paid to those who had put their lives on line during the war.
Since the 1947 partition, there has always been animosity between India and Pakistan for several reasons and one of them being East Pakistan. The events leading up to the 1971 war were what had prompted the Indian Army troops to get involved.
The war between the two countries lasted almost 13 days – resulting in the liberation of a new country – Bangladesh on December 16, 1971. And, this not only established the prowess of the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy, this changed the contours of the world map too. Bangladesh celebrates this day as `Bijoy Dibos’ – marking its formal independence from Pakistan.
