Latest news with #1971War
The National
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
‘Sadness beyond imagination': India-Pakistan clash evokes memories of 1971 war for UAE residents
The escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan has sparked fear and anxiety among nationals of both countries in the UAE. The deadly exchange of fire over the past few days comes after gunmen killed 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month with New Delhi accusing Pakistan of supporting the militants, a charge Islamabad has denied. For some UAE residents, the surge in hostilities brings back painful memories of the 13-day battle in December 1971 when the two nations clashed. Many remember their parents re-telling stories of air raid sirens and windows blacked out during the full-scale war more than 50 years ago that killed thousands of people. While all residents call for peace, there is a clear divide, with Indian nationals saying their government needed to strike sites that train militants, particularly after the recent Kashmir assault, while Pakistani residents back their government's right to respond to attacks within their country. Kusum Dutta, 76, was a volunteer cadet in her early 20s in Meerut, northern India, during the 1971 clash. She vividly remembers consoling grief-stricken women mourning the deaths of their husbands on the front line. 'The sadness was beyond imagination, you can't prepare for this,' said Ms Dutta, who runs a truck engine parts manufacturing business in Dubai. 'I can still visualise the scene, one lady said, 'I don't want to eat. I want my husband back.' We kept going back to find out if their children needed support or if we could help with official paperwork.' 'There were repeated warnings over the radio to cover all windows, lights, torches and lanterns were not permitted after dusk as it would draw enemy fire,' she added. 'It was a very scary time. Even a small light left on due to one person's mistake cost lives as it would attract fire.' Hopeful for peace, Ms Dutta maintains that camps that train terrorists must be neutralised. 'Terrorist camps need to be taken out,' she said. 'The attack in Kashmir was inhuman. In war everyone is affected and it is a tragedy that we will lose people and the other side will also be affected.' Retired Pakistani engineer Muhammad Mehmood, 72, remembers the agonising wait to find out if relatives in Pakistan were safe during the previous war. The Ajman resident was then a teenager living in the UAE with his parents and they relied on letters from their hometown in Sialkot. 'It took days, sometimes a month then, to get news. We had to wait for letters from my uncles to hear about casualties,' he said. 'The atmosphere was very scary and we could not stop thinking of our family at home. Now even a six-year-old child can see everything on social media.' He has one message for both countries: 'War should never happen. There has been too much stress on the people of India and Pakistan during the last wars whether in 1965 or 1971. 'In the end, what is the difference between us, we have the same customs, celebrations, we share the same blood, same food, same land.' Across the UAE and other parts of the world, arguments about the conflict dominate WhatsApp and Facebook groups with moderators struggling to keep the peace online. Hena Khan has switched off the option for about 20,000 members to post directly on the UAE Mums group on Facebook that she founded 12 years ago. 'We go through every word carefully so it does not ignite tension. Sentiments are high so we approve only neutral posts where people express concern, ask about the safety of families or express sympathy,' said the Pakistani social worker about moderating posts on the community group with predominantly Pakistani and Indian members. 'We don't allow anything that points a finger or says who has initiated what attack. We usually monitor posts during India-Pakistan cricket matches, but this time also we need to because emotions are high.' The Dubai resident worries about curbs on travel home if the conflict escalates further. 'When we meet with friends, everybody is upset. This is the main topic of conversation. There is a sadness everyone feels,' Ms Khan said. 'It's taking a toll because some want to go home to see parents who are ill or plan for weddings but many flights have been cancelled.' Born after the 1971 war, Ms Khan remembers the fear even the memory sparked in her father who lived in Lahore at the time. 'My dad always spoke of how scared he was for the family when he heard the air raid sirens,' she said. 'You cannot understand war unless you have lived it, there was distress, uncertainty because anything could happen anytime.' The conflict has affected Sukhdev Singh's northern Indian village of Allowal to which thousands have fled after shelling hit border areas. 'People put their luggage on tractors, packed up gold, jewellery and clothes and moved,' said the Sharjah resident. 'There is too much tension. Some people refuse to leave their homes but others have left and brought their cattle also.' The unfolding scenes are eerily similar to stories the Indian businessman heard from his father about the 1971 war. 'Everyone then was scared, they shut their homes, took their cows with them, houses were destroyed and so many people died,' he said. 'Now it's all started again. I'm very scared for my family.'
New York Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Tension Unlike Anything Felt in Decades
As the conflict between India and Pakistan has escalated, with its impact felt well beyond the border in the disputed region of Kashmir, this is the tensest time I can remember since 1971. That was the year of the last major declared war between India and Pakistan. I was in seventh grade, and I can recall the sirens, the blackouts, and drills — much like what has been happening over the past couple of days. In those days of intense conflict, the main source of information was a couple of radio stations. People would gather around a radio for accounts of the war, like a dogfight between the fighter jets of the two sides in northern India. This time, the action again has been in the north of India, where the two countries share a border. The escalation has been very rapid. It is clear that a lot of strikes have taken place on both sides, and in unprecedented ways, like the use of drones and missiles to target populated areas. What is drastically different this time, besides the new weapons, is the flood of disinformation on social media and television screens. It has made the job of reporting extremely hard, and it has added to a sense of panic among people. It is perhaps the most confusing information space I can remember in my three decades of reporting. The nationalist fervor is the same, even if the expressions of it are very different now. India was a largely poor country in the 1970s. Villages and schools, including the one I attended, organized local fund-raisers for the army, donating money or bringing food and water, snacks and tea to the roads wherever army convoys would pass through. India is the world's fifth-largest economy now, and increasingly a technological power. But that also has raised the risks of a wider conflict, as advanced weapons and drones from both sides render borders irrelevant and turn every part of the country into a potential target.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
1971 wasn't half as terrifying for shell-shocked Poonch
A view of a portion of damaged walls and structures following cross-border shelling by Pakistan in the wake of 'Operation Sindoor', in Poonch on Thursday. JAMMU : Poonch didn't sleep a wink past midnight. In the distance, the ominous thunder of relentless Pakistani bombardment from across the LoC seemed to portend a danger that even 1971 didn't pose. Around 2am Thursday, when the first of the fireballs coursing through the night sky hit home, district Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee president Narinder Singh's mind raced back to when he was eight. Operation Sindoor Operation Sindoor: Several airports in India closed - check full list Did Pak shoot down Indian jets? What MEA said India foils Pakistan's attack on Jammu airport: What we know so far 'The 1971 War wasn't remotely as terrifying as what we experienced for six-odd hours till Thursday morning. Back then, my family and thousands of others remained in Poonch through the war without fear of coming in the line of fire. This is different, which is why most residents have already fled to safer places,' he said. At the first light of dawn, businessman Aijaz Kazmi, in his late 50s, picked up his car keys to leave for Jammu with his family. 'After a shell exploded in our neighbourhood, I prayed the entire night for our safety,' he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo As Kazmi drove through Poonch, the place looked different from the town he had grown up in. Almost all 17 wards bore the scars of shelling, which intermittently continued till around 11am. 'Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Geeta Bhavan and a madrassa housed within a mosque were damaged. Many shops and other commercial buildings were struck by mortar fire,' he said. The 16 casualties in Pakistani shelling across sectors in J&K included Amarjeet Singh, who would play the tabla during kirtan at Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, and Amreek Singh, a ragi (kirtan singer) at another Sikh temple in Poonch. A maulvi, Maulana Mohammad Iqbal (46), died when a shell hit the Zia-ul-Uloom madrassa. Randhir Singh from Mankote village said the extent of damage was even greater in areas closer to the LoC. 'This is not to say that India shouldn't have responded to the terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam. Pakistan has been a thorn in the side for a long time. Enough is enough,' he said. The Poonch administration opened temporary shelters for those displaced by shelling overnight, but they were mostly unoccupied until Thursday evening. 'There is an exodus of residents, for nobody knows what might happen next,' said Vishal Sharma of Poonch town. Jahangir Ali, another resident, said his parents lived through the 1965 and 1971 wars without Poonch being touched by fighting. 'Even during previous border clashes over the past decade, we wouldn't worry about our safety. My parents can't believe we are being directly attacked now.' Kazmi said Poonch needs bunkers for civilians given heightened tensions along the LoC and the possibility of the conflict dragging. 'Maybe the administration should have known that we were vulnerable. Now that war is at our door, bunkers are a must.'
NDTV
07-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Why India Named Its Pahalgam Counterstrike Operation Sindoor
New Delhi: They were rounded up, asked their religion and shot dead in cold blood in front of their wives and children. The Pahalgam killers widowed 25 women, one of them married just days ago. Fittingly, India has named its all-out strike against Pakistan-based terror sites Operation Sindoor. Sindoor in Hindi means vermilion, which Hindu women put on their head as a symbol of marriage. The name of the operation captures the loss of these women, whose partners were brutally killed in front of their eyes. An image put out by the Indian Army has Operation Sindoor written in block letters. One 'O' in Sindoor is a bowl of vermilion. Some of it has spilled over, symbolising the ruthlessness that snatched away the life partners of 25 women. The caption read: "Justice is served. Jai Hind." The Pahalgam terror attack was not just another strike. It crossed several red lines: tourists were targeted, people were asked their religion and shot dead in cold blood in front of their familie. Visuals of Himanshi Narwal, a newly-married woman with her wedding chooda still on her hands, beside the body of Indian Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal did the rounds on social media, plunging the nation into grief. Another visual showed Manjunath Rao's wife Pallavi, smiling in a video shot on a shikara the day before, helplessly asking for help after her husband was shot. From Shailesh Kalathiya's wife Shital to Bitan Adhikari's wife Sohini, Shubham Dwivedi's wife Aishanya to Santosh Jagdale's wife Pragati Jagdale, the tears of each woman who lost her partner in the attack made the nation cry. Operation Sindoor captures all of that. "I want to thank Prime Minister Modi for avenging my husband's death. Our family had trust in him and he has kept our trust alive. This is the real tribute to my husband. Wherever my husband is, he will be at peace today," Aishanya said as news of India's response came in. In Pune, Sangita Ganbote, the wife of Kaustubh Ganbote, said the government has respected those who lost their husbands by naming the counterstrike Operation Sindoor. "I cannot forget that day. I cry every day. We were waiting for Prime Minister Modi to take such action, and he has given them a befitting reply. Terrorists should be eliminated," she said. Pragati Jagdale said, "It's a befitting reply after the way those terrorists erased the vermilion. On hearing the name of this operation, I got tears in my eyes. I sincerely thank the government." This is the first time since the 1971 War that India has launched a combined tri-series operation. The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force conducted precision strikes at 1.44 am on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir in response. Sources have told NDTV that Prime Minister Narendra Modi constantly monitored the operation. The Prime Minister had earlier warned that those behind the Pahalgam attack would "get a punishment they cannot imagine". "From Kargil to Kanyakumari, there is grief and rage. This attack was not just on innocent tourists; the country's enemies have shown the audacity to attack India's soul," he had said. India has struck terror bases in Pakistan and PoK, including the headquarters of the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. The Resistance Front, a proxy of Lashkar, had claimed responsibility for the attack. "Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution. We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held responsible," India said in a statement. Pakistan retaliated with cross-border firing and artillery shelling at Indian villages along the Line of Control, killing three civilians. Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary, Director General of ISPR, said India struck sites in Kotli, Muridke, Bahawalpur, Chak Amru, Bhimber, Gulpur, Sialkot and two sites in Muzaffarabad. Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Chak Amru and Muridke are located across the international border and the rest across the Line of Control in PoK. Muridke is where the headquarters of the Hafiz Seed-led Lashkar-e-Taiba are located. Bahalwapur, on the other hand, is in Pakistan's Punjab province and is the base of Jaish-e-Mohammad. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrote "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" on his X handle. Minutes after India announced that it conducted the strikes, the Indian Army posted on X and said, "Justice is served. Jai Hind." Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said, "Pakistan has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a forceful response is being given."
