More support for Brig Chandpuri - Coverage of defamation suit by national and international media

The Controversy

Earlier this year, a claim was made by some Air Force officers that no battle was fought by the Army at Laungewala and it was merely rehearsed on sand-model to fool the nation. They further went on to say that not even a single bullet was fired in the Area. The said utterings and that too 37 years after the war seemed a little off the mark, more so since lives were lost in the sector on that night and casting aspersions on the brave men who bore the brunt seemed nothing but hogwash. Brig Chandpuri is now fighting another battle, this time in Court and he has sued for defamation against those responsible for tarnishing his image. The support from the defence community and media this time has been overwhelming but it is unfortunate that this kind of show of strength was missing when the allegations first appeared in newspapers. Even the govt chose not to make an official statement leaving the old gallant soldier alone to fight his own battle.

Laungewala on Bharat Rakshak : Read about the basics of the battle here

Laungewala on Wikipedia : Click here to learn more on the Battle

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."

Press / Media / Web Coverage

On the other hand, there has also been a flow of support for Brig Chandpuri and his men of Laungewala fame who bravely bore the brunt of enemy onslaught in '71. Some links pertaining to web and media coverage on the issue are provided below :-

Coverage on Report My Signal

India Today

Gulf Times

Experience of the battle

The Indian

Deccan

Mumbai Mirror

Yahoo

America On Line

Headlines India

The Tribune, Chandigarh