THIRD ANNUAL WREATH LAYING BY IPKF VETERANS ON 29th OF JULY 2023
AT THE
NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL TO COMMEMORATE
SUPREME
SACRIFICES DURING OPERATION PAWAN
‘Only a warrior
following the call of his Karma and at peace with his destiny, would fight hard
and die well, even in a foreign land he knows nothing about!’ – Col RS
Sidhu, an IPKF veteran
In the face of official apathy to publicly
honour the legacy of the soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in Operation
Pawan, the IPKF veterans have undertaken this onerous task unto themselves. The
veterans of the IPKF privately commemorated the supreme sacrifices during
Operation Pawan, at the National War Memorial (NWM), New Delhi on 29th
of July 2023. The honours for wreath laying this year were vested with Smt
Kamlesh, Vir Nari, w/o Late L/Nk Rajbir Singh, VrC, 5 Raj Rif KIA in Operation
Pawan, Maj Gen R Bhalla, ex GOC 54 Inf Div in Operation Pawan, Col RS Sidhu,
IPKF Veteran, and Capt Raii, on behalf of Commanding Officer & All Ranks 16
SIKH.
Indian Army
Adjutant General’s Branch, Army
Headquarters accorded sanction for Wreath Laying as a private ceremony by IPKF
veterans, provided back end support at the NWM, and enabled presence of 40 NCC
Cadets as spectators.
However, no wreath was placed at the
NWM on behalf of senior national and military dignitaries from the Army
Headquarters.
Indian Navy
We are ignorant of any official
communication from the Indian Navy on this aspect.
IAF
Air Marshal B Manikantan, AOC-in-C
Southern Air Command, IAF addressed Air Force Station Sulur personnel
reminiscing the courage and professionalism displayed by air warriors during
Operation Pawan, while Gp Capt Sumit Garg, Station Commander Air Force Station
Thanjavur celebrated the occasion by publicly honouring the IAF veterans of
Operation Pawan.
Review of Progress
There has been a grudging progress by
Army Headquarters in understanding the viewpoint of IPKF veterans over the last
three years.
The phrase “…It shall be a silent
ceremony”, from their sanction letters for 2021 and 2022 is not included in the
sanction letter for 2023.
Four wreaths were permitted to be
laid this year, from only one wreath laying on previous two occasions.
The NWM has for the first time
acknowledged this ceremony in their official Twitter handle.
The presence of NCC cadets as
spectators is a beginning towards official presence of the uniformed fraternity
from the armed forces of the nation, whose personnel made the supreme sacrifice
during Operation Pawan.
Fact Sheet of Operation Pawan
It is India’s longest Joint Services
Military Operation, of 32 months duration, from 29th of July 1987 to
24th of March 1990.
Headquarters IPKF, is India’s first
Joint Operations Military Command
and is the rightful forerunner to the future Theatre Commands now under
consideration.
Nearly 100,000 troops from the Tri-services
were under command of HQ IPKF.
1171 Killed In Action.
More than 3500 Wounded.
Awarded 1 Param Vir Chakra, 6 Mahavir
Chakra, 98 Vir Chakra, 1 Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal, and other Gallantry Awards,
including award of 1 Mahavir Chakra and approximately 15 Vir Chakra to the Indian Navy and
Indian Air Force.
Indian Navy ferried 100,000 tons of
war-like stores and supplies.
IAF aircrafts flew 70,000 sorties.
Busting Fallacies On Operation Pawan
A Failed Military Operation
Shorn of manipulated political and parochial
viewpoints, this tri-service operational venture was a big success.
The India Sri Lanka Agreement (ISLA) of 29th
of July 1987 is the basic document for deployment of the IPKF in Sri Lanka.
The IPKF had succeeded in achieving the
politico-military objectives spelt out in the ISLA, within a time span of under
18 months.
The Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri
Lanka had been amalgamated into a single constitutional administrative entity.
General elections to the unified Provincial Council had been successfully held.
A duly elected civilian government had been sworn in as the Northeast
Provincial Council. LTTE, the dominant Tamil militant organisation opposing the
ISLA, had been marginalised. Defunct civil infrastructure had been restored. Overall
environment conducive to recommencement of private enterprise had been
established in Northeast Sri Lanka.
On 10 December 1988,
the duly elected Chief Minister of the North Eastern Provincial Council, in Sri
Lanka was sworn in by the President of Sri Lanka. GOC, IPKF having successfully
accomplished the assigned politico-military objectives set out in the Indo Sri
Lanka Agreement, signalled the Government of India: “Mission accomplished,
awaiting further orders…” (1)
At this stage, the Government of
Sri Lanka, pursuant to diverging interests with the Government of India, called
for the withdrawal of the IPKF from its sovereign territory. After protracted
negotiations, a political decision was taken to deinduct the IPKF from the
island nation.
The informal agreement for
deinduction of the IPKF was finalised between the diplomats and military of the
two countries by September 1989. Deinduction in agreed upon stages commenced
from October 1989 onwards, much before the change of Government in India in
December 1989.
The deinduction of the IPKF from Sri
Lanka was as much a political decision of the same government that had ordered
the initial induction in July 1987!
Commemoration of Operation Pawan Not Conducive
to Bilateral Relations with Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has erected a War
Memorial, prominently laid out in their capital city of Colombo, to honour the
IPKF. A commemoration service to honour the supreme sacrifices by the soldiers
of IPKF to uphold the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka is held here
on 26th of January and 15th of August every year.
High Indian dignitaries,
including the Prime Minister (2),
the Foreign Minister (3),
the Indian military Service Chiefs (4) (5),
visiting Colombo have paid public homage at this war memorial.
The Defence Attaché of Sri Lanka
has extended an outreach to IPKF veterans.
The official silence may be
attributable to perceived political rather than national considerations.
The IPKF Veterans Viewpoint
“As young leaders it was our Karma to
lead our men in intense combat in Operation Pawan. As veterans it is our sacred
Dharma to ensure that the supreme sacrifices made by the men we led are
commemorated with due honours.”
The absence of the uniformed fraternity
from the Wreath Laying at the National War Memorial is a point of deep anguish
for the IPKF veterans.
It is only fitting that the uniformed
fraternity from the Indian armed forces stands shoulder to shoulder with its
veterans to commemorate the supreme sacrifices made on the battlefield, be it
in a foreign land.
Towards this effect, we salute the
exemplary laying of wreath, alongside us, by 16 SIKH to honour their supreme
sacrifices during Operation Pawan.
We look forward to the Chief of Army
Staff, the highest custodian of our military traditions, to review the current
decision to keep the IPKF saga in official shadow.
Bibliography
(1)
“…The Provincial elections were conducted in November 1988. On 10 December 1988, the duly elected Chief Minister of
the North Eastern Provincial Council, Annamalai Varadaraja Perumal, was sworn
in by the president. On the same day, I intimated my government in New Delhi:
‘Mission Accomplished’, awaiting further orders…” An extract from “IPKF heroes were ignored for 30 years. They
are finally getting their due under Modi Govt”, by Lt Gen AS Kalkat, former GOC
IPKF, published in The Print on 27 July 2021.
(2) Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to lay wreath at IPKF War Memorial at
Colombo. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pm-to-honour-ipkf-martyrs-in-lanka/articleshow/46480209.cms#:~:text=Prime%20Minister%20Narendra%20Modi%2C%20who%20will%20tour%20Sri%20Lanka%20next%20week%2C%20will%20lay%20a%20wreath%20at%20a%20memorial%20honouring%20the%20IPKF%20soldiers%20who%20died%20in%20the%20country%20fighting%20the%20civil%20war.
(3) Smt Sushma Swaraj laying wreath at IPKF War Memorial
at Colombo. https://www.firstpost.com/world/sushma-swaraj-pays-tribute-indian-soldiers-ipkf-memorial-2141139.html#:~:text=Colombo%3A-,External%20Affairs%20Minister%20Sushma%20Swaraj%20on%20Saturday%20paid%20homage%20to%201%2C200%20Indian%20soldiers%20at%20the%20Indian%20Peace%20Keeping%20Force%20(IPKF)%20Memorial%20in%20Colombo%20who%20were%20killed%20in%20Sri%20Lanka%20in%20their%20fight%20against%20the%20LTTE.,-Amid%20the%20sound
(4) India Today 13 October 2021 - Gen MM Naravane, COAS laid a wreath on 13
October 2021, at the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) War Memorial in Colombo,
paying tribute to the soldiers of the Indian Army who laid down their lives
during the Peace Keeping Operations in Sri Lanka’s civil war.
(5) The Chief of
the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa laying wreath at IPKF Memorial, at
Colombo, in Sri Lanka on December 11, 2017.
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