Now for extracts of some emails floating around on the subject :-
“I FORWARD THIS PIECE WITH HUMILITY AND BOW MY HEAD TO THE HEROES OF LAUNGEWALA.WAR TO MY MIND IS AKIN TO AN ORCHESTRA WITH EACH ORGAN PLAYING ITS PART IN THE SYMPHONY, TO GIVE WAY TO THE NEXT, AS NIGHT MUST GIVE WAY TO DAWN. WHAT HAPPENS AT DAWN DOES NOT MEAN NOTHING HAPPENED AT NIGHT, WHILE WE SLEPT.”
“I read the bit about Brig Chandpuri taking the Air marshal and a maj gen(?) to court for libel.The Battle of Longewala was covered in the Defence Watch of April 2008based on the Pakistan version of the battle. This was in response to the baseless allegations made by the two offrs.”
“We were together in 15 Corps. I was SO1 (Sigs). My family quarters used to be above the Officers mess. He was single in HQ Mess. I admired his conduct and simplicity. I found him the most respectable officers in the Corps and always willing to extend any help. I feel happy recollecting my association with him.”
“i would like to state that we were all soldiers irrespective of the colour of uniform we wore. if a wrong had been done to chandpuri it must be corrected. I pray for redemption of his military honour at the earliest.”
“I wish Brig Chandpuri all success in his efforts.He will stand vindicated by Gods grace and support of his well wishers.”
“I too admire Brig Chandpuri the great hero. All such are required to be taught a lesson. Filing a suit for Rs one adds another feather to his greatness”
"Brig (Retd) KS Chandpuri is 100% correct here.Then Wg Cdr MS Bawa was the Station Commander of our FBSUat Jaisalmer at that time. He was not in the detachment of Hunterswhich came from Jodhpur. This dett flew the non-stop sorties fromthe Jaisalmer base for the battle of Longewal which took placeon 05-06 Dec 1971. Two of the pilots who flew in that epic battleare/ were personally known to me. Air Mshl (Retd) Minhi Bawawas my AOC a decade later.The initial brunt was actually faced by just about 120 soldiers ofthe "A" company of the 23rd Punjab Regiment, led by then MajorKS Chandpuri. They held the Brigade strength of enemy attackuntil the Hunters came in. The rest of the Punjab battalion wasthen located at Sadhewala. This is the truth, as known to me."
"In a way I am glad that the Brig has filed for damages. Most such controversies are generated by the guys who have gone thru the system contributing little and hardly checked for their incompetence. The resulting inflated ego is not deflated even after retirement.In the case of the IAF, the problem is particularly acute when they realise that aside from the glamour of flying, their operational contribution would be meaningful only in support roles most of the time."
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