Page 191 - Leadership in the Indian Army

During the 1971 war, India took a very large number of prisoners. They
were lodged in several camps all over the country. When the first train
carrying the prisoners reached Delhi en route to one of these camps, Sam

went straight to the railway station to meet them, without informing anyone
in Army HQ. The POWs had just arrived and were waiting on platforms
when Sam reached the station, the first Indian officer to meet them. The
POWs and their escort were surprised to see the Chief walking around, with
just his ADC for company. After chatting with them for some time and
sharing a cup of tea, he left, as several other senior officers began to arrive.
The POWs were seen shaking their heads, saying that they wished they had

generals like this in Pakistan.
Sam insisted that the POWs were well looked after. At several places,
Indian troops were asked to vacate their barracks and live in tents so that
the POWs could be properly accommodated. They were allowed to
celebrate their festivals and given copies of the Koran. The Red Cross and
other international agencies were given free access to the POW camps, and

they were permitted to receive letters and gift parcels.
During the 1971 war, India won a decisive victory over Pakistan. A new
nation had come into being and Sam, as the prime architect of the victory,
became a hero. Apart from capturing almost a hundred thousand prisoners,
the Indian Army had occupied several hundred square kilometres of
Pakistani soil in Ladakh. After a year, when talks were held in Simla
between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, it was expected that

India would be able to wrest some major concessions from Pakistan and
negotiate a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem. Unfortunately, Sam
was kept out of the summit and had no part to play in the negotiations.
Though Bhutto and Indira Gandhi had informally agreed to accept the
ceasefire line in Kashmir as the international border, this was not reduced to
writing. As a result, the military gains, achieved at great cost in human

lives, were frittered away by politicians and bureaucrats. When Indira
returned from Simla, she told Sam about the meeting. Bhutto had told her
that he had recently taken over and was not in a position to take major
decisions. He needed more time and promised that in six months everything
would be done as she desired. Sam reportedly told the Prime Minister:
‘Bhutto has made a monkey out of you.’
The prisoners taken by India and Pakistan were exchanged on 1

December 1972. Withdrawal of troops of both sides had still not taken place