Nagpur’s hero among ‘forgotten 54’: No mention in 50 year celebrations of ’71 war

Nagpur: “It was December 5 when his plane was shot down and he went missing. I had called up his wife Damyanti in Delhi last week, to say that it’s exactly 50 years since Vijay has gone. ‘It’s been so many years now,’ she replied, sounding dejected,” says 95-year-old Sunad Tambay, a retired central government officer who lives at Nagpur.His nephew, Flt Lt Vijay Tambay is among the 54 personnel of the Indian armed forces missing in action and believed to be still in Pakistani jails. Amid the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Bangladesh war, their stories have been frozen in time. For Damyanti, now in her 70s, it has been a struggle for five decades, all in vain. The family had enough reason to believe that he was alive and jailed in Pakistan. But the government probably did not do enough to bring him and others back, they believe.In the late 1980s, Jayant Jathar, a veteran cricketer from Vidarbha, had gone to Pakistan with the Indian team. After a match, General Tikka Khan was giving away prizes when Jathar requested if he could see his nephew — Vijay. Khan agreed, and Jathar was allowed to have a look from a distance. “I even waved at him,” said Jathar after his return. Efforts with the government to get him back did not yield results, even after Jathar’s visit. Jathar passed away in April this year due to Covid.Flying a Su-7 aircraft on the western front, Tambay had taken part in repeated missions deep inside Pakistani territory when his plane was shot on December 5. He is reported to have ejected.“We have ample reason to believe that he is alive. The capture was reported in Pakistan Observer, a newspaper published from Dhaka. The news was heard on Pakistani radio and the footage of his arrest was also released,” says Col (retd) Pradeep Tambay, Vijay’s younger brother.“There was a Naval officer from erstwhile East Pakistan, who was jailed during the war. Later, he came to India for a training, and came across my cousin. Seeing the name, he asked if he was related to Vijay. The officer said Vijay was kept in a Pakistani jail along with him,” he adds.Perhaps much could have been done when 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war were being released. At that time India had an upper hand, and could have asked for the release of those left behind. However, somehow bringing back those like Vijay did not appear to be the priority then, says Pradeep.Both the Tambay brothers went to Bishop Cotton School. Vijay later joined the National Defence Academy (NDA), while Pradeep went to the then VRCE and joined the Army through technical entry.The kin have done everything that they can but ultimately the issue needs to be taken up with a foreign country, which can only happen through the Indian government.“Me and kin of the other missing persons have gone to Pakistan twice and were allowed to visit the jails and look for them. The last visit was in 2007, and we returned empty handed,” she says.“The last political leader I met was former defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Now, amid so many celebrations, there is hardly any mention of the 54 missing personnel,” she says.“At least now he should be allowed to return, purely on humanitarian basis so that he can spend his last days in his mother land,” says Pradeep.“I remember getting the telegram about Vijay being missing action from the air headquarters. At that time we lived in Dharampeth,” recalls Sunad. “Vijay’s father Vasant Tambay was an officer of the first batch of IAS. He had served in Royal Air Force also. Letters were written to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto through Piloo Mody, a politician, as Bhutto was his classmate during pre-independence days,” he adds.“I am proud of the country’s victory in 1971, yet on a personal front there remains a certain dissatisfaction that the government did not do enough for its soldiers,” says Damyanti. “Even I have crossed 70, and don’t have many years left. Instead of the missing 54, I would rather call my husband and others the forgotten 54,” she says.