Armed forces line up events for ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’

Kolkata: Over the next few months, the city is set to witness fly pasts by the Indian Air Force’s Su-30 MKI aircraft and demonstrations by the elite marine commandos (Marcos) of the

Navy

. These, apart from events by the Army, will be part of the ‘

Swarnim Vijay Varsh

’ being celebrated by Indian armed forces to commemorate the victory against Pakistan in 1971 that led to the Liberation of

Bangladesh

.

The Army’s Eastern Command, on Saturday, released a calendar of events scheduled for the months to come before the gala event on December 16 that may witness Indian PM Narendra Modi and his counterpart from Bangladesh Sk Hasina share stage in what has been promised as a gala celebration of bonding and bonhomie between the two nations.

“Our main aim is to reach out to the youth and students. They need to know what happened in 1971 and the effort put into it by our armed forces. This is more relevant here as West Bengal was the worst affected during the conflict. Unfortunately, not much has been published about the War and its outcome. Somebody told me how Pakistani journalists never had the inclination and Bangladesh was a fledgling state. In India, we are poor at documentation, hence the mighty effort by India in 1971 may not have attracted the attention it deserved,” said Maj Gen Satbir Singh, GOC, Bengal Sub Area.

Several events will be organised in March. These will include display of equipment by the Army, Navy and Air Force and a flypast by Sukhois. This will be followed by display of naval warships and a submarine — for the first time ever — at the Kolkata port. The Navy’s Marcos, along with ships and Indian Coast Guard assets, will also demonstrate their Search and Rescue (SAR) skills on the Hooghly on March 20.

“The events will start with entry of the Swarnim Vijay Flame in Kolkata. It reached Panagarh on Saturday. Four torches were lit in Delhi and sent to formations in the four corners of the country. Our torch will also pass through Bangladesh between West Bengal and Tripura as both nations celebrate the Golden Jubilee of one of the greatest events of the last century,” Maj Gen Singh added.