48th Vijay Diwas celebrated in State
Dec 16: The 48th Vijay Diwas was celebrated in State today by paying tributes to the Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, resulting in the creation of Bangladesh. Governor Ramesh Bais accompanied by Tripura social Welfare Minister Santana Chakma paid tributes to the valiant personnel of the Armed Forces at the war memorial in the heart of Agartala city.The Army and the Assam Rifles also paid homage at Shahid Smarak at Lichu Bagan on the outskirts of the city. Army officers and soldiers of the Agartala Military Station and ex-servicemen of Tripura took part in the commemorative event. The Bangladesh Assistant High Commissions in Guwahati and Agartala also organised discussions, cultural programmes and a get-together on the occasion. The day-long celebrations are taking place in both the mission complexes.The 1971 war comprised two major operations -- Operation Cactus Lily and Operation Nut Cracker -- and 57 Mountain Division was actively involved in both operations with fire power support from 57 Mountain Artillery Brigade, said defence analyst Manas Paul.“Both operations progressed from Agartala westwards towards Dhaka. The war finally culminated on December 16, 1971 with the unconditional surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers. Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Arora, Maj Gen (Retd) Ian Cardozo, Lt Arun Khetrapal, Lance Naik Albert Ekka are a few of our war heroes,” the analyst added.