Bangladesh Liberation War heroes fly into the sunset

First it was Lt Gen. Sagat Singh and now it is Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Chandan Singh Rathor, 94. The two heroes of the Bangladesh Liberation War have become departed souls. The two Rajput warriors from Rajasthan would always be remembered for their heroic deeds not once but on numerous occasions. Sagat Singh and Chandan Singh were the ones who, through their strategic planning, helped the Indian Army force the 90,000-plus Pakistani soldiers to surrender in the cold December of 1971.

Major Chandrakant Singh, a Gurgaon-based decorated former soldier, who saw action along with Sagat Singh and Chandan Singh in the Bangladesh Liberation War and who was decorated with the Vir Chakra, has now turned a military historian. Chandrakant Singh is a sad man today, having seen these two heroes gone.

“Sagat Singh was the master craftsman of the Bangladesh Liberation War, but he would never have succeeded in his endeavour without the support of Chandan Singh, who was commanding the air force then. Chandan Singh was a cavalier in the sky and he is a rare flier who was awarded the Vir Chakra in 1962 when China invaded India for his exemplary courage and then was decorated with Mahavir Chakra in 1971. Chandan Singh and Sagat Singh gave us a victory the like of which India has never seen or is likely to see again. He deserved pride of place in the IAF hall of fame. Without the sanction of the headquarters, in fact in defiance of the operational instructions of the Army and the Air Headquarters, the Indian forces crossed the Meghna river and reached Dacca forcing the capitulation in record time. This is a feat unparalleled in the annals of warfare,” said Major Chandrakant Singh.

AVM Chandan Singh has a very distinguished career in the Armed Forces and he is among the rare breed of officers, who served both the Army and the Air Force. A Rajput, Chandan Singh’s father Col Bahadur Singh was an officer of the Jodhpur Lancers and saw action in the battle of Haifa, where he lost an eye. Later, he became a general of the Jodhpur state forces and was known as “Kana General (One-eyed General)”.

Chandan Singh was educated at Jodhpur, Churu and in Varanasi. After his matriculation, he joined the British Indian Army when he was sixteen. He became an officer after his training. He then moved from the British Indian Army to the Jodhpur state forces. He spent his time as a teenager in the Second World War in Iraq, Persia, Egypt and Palestine.

His life took a turn after the Second World War was over and he had a chance meeting with the Maharaja of Jodhpur, Ummaid Singh, who was an honorary Air Marshal of the Royal Indian Air Force. The Maharaja asked him to apply for a change of service and at his behest, he applied for an officer’s job in the Royal Indian Air Force. Interestingly, he was in Bangalore for his Army training and was sent to the same city for his Air Force training. It was a rare case that an officer, who saw action in the Second World War as an Army officer, became an Air Force officer. But Chandan Singh, who was a captain in the Army, had to accept a lower rank and instead of getting the rank of Flight Lt, he was given a rank lower and was made a Flying Officer.

After getting his wings, he specialised as a fighter pilot, but because of an injury in 1949 while landing, he had to become a transport pilot and he performed wonders as a transport pilot flying on the Himalayan valleys on supply missions. In 1962, during the Chinese aggression, where India suffered reverses, Chandan Singh showed exemplary courage to transport tanks on the Russian AN-12 aircraft taking an enormous risk and even the Russians were surprised as to how Chandan dared it.

On October 20, 1962, then a Squadron Leader, Singh was asked to drop essential supplies to the Indian Army under the Ladakh sector. He flew an AN-12, and while dropping the supply, he noticed that the outpost was under heavy fire from the Chinese forces. He successfully dropped vital supplies to the Indian garrison although his aircraft was hit 19 times by the enemy’s machine gun from the ground. Sq. Ldr Chandan Singh displayed exemplary courage and devotion to duty in carrying out the task in complete disregard of his personal safety. He was rewarded with the Vir Chakra by the President of India.

By now, Chandan Singh was an experienced and accomplished transport pilot and in the 1965 war against Pakistan, he undertook supply missions in several sectors using the same Russian AN-12 transport aircraft, a task for which the aircraft was not designed or built. These missions undertaken by Chandan Singh remains classified even now.

Air Commodore RM Sridharan, who also saw action in the Bangladesh Liberation War, remembers Chandan Singh, then a Group Captain, who was posted in Jorhat in Assam during the war. “He had no part to play in the war in the eastern theatre until as at the air force station commander of Jorhat, he was asked by the Eastern Air Command to train and build up the nascent Bangladesh Air Force. The Bangladesh Air Force had just had two Otter aircraft, which actually belonged to Pakistan Air Force, but a few Bengali air force officers revolted and flew these two aircraft into the Indian territory.

He came with us on many sorties in the aircraft cabin and also flew with the Mukti Bahini aircraft. He was always there to guide.” Chandan was the guiding force of the Bangladesh Air Force and, with the two Otter aircraft and an Allouette helicopter, Chandan Singh carried out clandestine offensive missions deep inside East Pakistan including Narayangunj near Dhaka and Chittagong. It was here that Chandan Singh met Lt Gen. Sagat Singh on December 3, 1971.

Chandan Singh was made the task force commander for heliborne and other operations.

Later, these two Rajput warriors made military history through their heliborne operations that proved decisive and eventually led to the surrender of the 90,000-plus Pakistani forces.

Group Captain Chandan Singh was in the forefront of the air operations conducted for the liberation of Bangladesh. He and Lt Gen. Sagat Singh were responsible for the planning and execution of the special helicopter operations to airlift two companies of troops to the Sylhet area. When it became necessary to overcome the obstacles in the advance of the Army towards Dacca, he planned and executed the move of nearly 3,000 troops and 40 tons of equipment and heavy guns with the extremely limited helicopter force at his disposal. This operation entailed landing the troops and equipment very near heavily defended areas by night. Prior to each mission, he personally carried out reconnaissance in the face of heavy enemy fire. On the night of December 7-8, he flew eight missions, deep into enemy territory, to supervise the progress of the helicopter airlift and to guide and inspire his pilots who were facing heavy ground fire. Later, he undertook a further 18 missions in the same operation, always leading the landings at new places.

On many occasions, his helicopter was hit by ground fire but this did not deter him from further missions. On December 6, 1971, Chandan Singh himself took the Allouette helicopter and flew over the Sylhet airstrip. He was just about to land when he was hit by ground fire. He got away and landed at Shamshernagar where he met Sagat Singh and the two planned the airborne operation. The success of this major airborne operation contributed significantly to the fall of Dacca and the capitulation of the Pakistan armed forces in Bangladesh.

Throughout, Group Captain Chandan Singh displayed conspicuous gallantry, organising ability, determination and professional skill. The heliborne operation became a part of military history and Chandan Singh, along with Sagat Singh, would always be remembered for their heroics. Chandan Singh was awarded Mahaveer Chakra, his second decoration that made him a legend as an air warrior.

“We, helicopter boys, were given a freehand by both Group Captain Chandan Singh and Lt Gen. Sagat Singh and both of them displayed exceptional leadership qualities,” remembers retired Air Commodore Sridharan.

Maj. Chandrakant Singh has almost completed the biography of AVM Chandan Singh which is due for release soon.

“Both Sagat Singh and Chandan Singh would be remembered in not only India’s military history but also by the people of Bangladesh,” said Maj. Chandrakant Singh.