| 词条 | Draft:Vijey Kumar Ghai | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Brigadier Vijey Kumar Ghai was an officer of the Indian Army who served during World War II and had a significant contribution during the India-Pakistan War of 1965. He was awarded the Param Vishisht Sewa Medal (PVSM) among other decorations. PersonalVijey Kumar Ghai was born on September 6, 1923 in Rohtas Village of Jhelum district in undivided India, to Jairam and Parvati Ghai. His father was an engineer in the Irrigation department, and he was one of eight siblings; four sisters and three brothers. He was educated at the Forman Christian (FC) College in Lahore. He was married in February 1947 to Pushplata Bindra from Lahore. His career spanned over four decades, including the Military, Public Sector Corporate India and Social work. He passed away on September 15, 2014 in Bangalore, home to his 17 Para Regiment in 2014 at the age of 91. He is survived by his wife who is settled in Bangalore, India, and 2 children and 7 grandchildren. Military careerBritish Indian ArmyVijey Kumar Ghai was commissioned on Sept 13, 1942 at the age of 19 into the 1510 Baluch regiment (infantry) of the British Indian Army. The regiment was packed off to rugged Baleli in Quetta district of Balochistan where they were subjected to intense rough weather of storm and winds and weapons practice, preparing to join the battle of WW 2. World War IIIn 1943 Ghai was posted to the Central Mediterranean Forces in Italy as part of the Italian Campaign. Near the Gothic line he recounts as they were going to the Front to join the unit their train stopped and some officers got off to have tea not realizing they were in a prepared scattered mine area. He saw an officer blow up in front of him. He participated in the Battle of Monte Cassino. He then spent 1943-44 with the 10th Indian Infantry Division, fighting against the German and Italian forces. "The Fourth, Eighth and Tenth Indian Divisions will forever be associated with the fighting for Cassino, the capture of Rome, the Arno Valley, the liberation of Florence and the breaking of the Gothic Line. "I salute the brave soldiers of these Three Great Indian Divisions." Said Mark W Clark in Tiger Triumphs published by the Government of India. (Clark, n.d.).[1] In 1944 Ghai moved to England for further weapons training in Brookwood, Surrey and in 1945 sailed to India to join the 410 Baluch regiment. During Partition he wanted to stay with his regiment, however the unexpected murder of his brother-in-law in Pakistan caused his family to prevail on him and he moved to New Delhi, India. He was transferred to the Military Police and served during the partition of India in August 1947 stayed at the Red Fort. Soon after, he moved to Calcutta. In 1947 he was promoted to Captain in the Infantry. In 1948 he became a Major but due to change in service rules was again reverted to Captain. Once again rules changed and he was made a Major again in 1950. In 1951 he was transferred by Army HQ from the Infantry to Artillery and he finally volunteered to join the newly formed 17 Paratroopers Regiment. He underwent a course in Staff College in Wellington, and then became a Brigade Major in Jamnagar. It was here that he met with Harbaksh Singh, under whom he was to serve later. The infamous helicopter crash of 1963In 1963, Vijey Ghai was promoted to Lietenant Colonel and General Staff [G1} operations and posted to Simla. Here he witnessed and by a miracle escaped the most infamous helicopter crash in Military History.[2] On the fateful day November 22, 1963 Vijey Ghai was to accompany Lt. Gen Daulat Singh, GOC-in-C Western Command and 4 other senior officers on a helicopter to view the Line of Control area in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. As it happened Air Vice Marshall Pinto was to accompany the Indian Defence Minister the next day to Leh, but that trip was postponed due to weather and Pinto ended up accompanying Lt. General Daulat Singh.[3] There being only six seats, Vijey Ghai being the junior most officer was told to disembark and come in a helicopter to follow. However tragically, the helicopter accidentally hit electric wires over the river and crashed. [4] All six senior officers died in the Chetak helicopter of the IAF's 107HU squadron piloted by Flt Lt SS Sodhi that crashed over the Poonch River in J&K on 22 Nov 1963. The officers were –
Ghai had the task of collecting the remians of the officers which he recalled as one of the most gruesome and tragic events of his life. There were only parts of the bodies scattered across the river. Many conjectured that the helicopter was sabotaged because so many senior officers lost their lives at the same time, but the Indian Army ruled out sabotage and stated that it was an accident. Later as cautionary rule, the government banned senior officers of the army to ever travel together.[5] Indo-Pakistani War of 1965BackgroundSoon after in 1965, Ghai at the recommendation of Lt. Gen Harbaksh Singh was promoted straight from Lt. Col. to Brigadier and given independent command and posted as Brigade Commander of the Independent Brigade Group, responsible for 110 miles of the cease fire line (CFL) in the Kargil area. In 1965, as per official Military accounts [6], the army was suffering a loss of morale due to the Rann of Kutch defeat in early 1965 and subsequent occupation of large tracts of Indian territory by the Pakistani army. Pakistani defences on Point 13620 dominated the Indian positions of Kargil, including the Brigade HQ. The Pakistanis harassed the movement of supplies with gun-fire and made attempts to cross the CFL. Intelligence reports indicated that Pakistan troops were planning extensive raids and sabotage to blow up Indian convoys to Leh and to cut LOC Srinagar-Leg passing close to the CFL in the Kargil Sector. They occupied Black Rocks (No. 1985) and Peak 1 (No. 2086) and Peak 2 (No. 2186). The OrdersAround May 12, 1965, Vijey Ghai convened a conference at HQ. The agenda was not revealed but it started with him reading out the contents of Lt. Gen Harbaksh Singh GOC-in-C Western Command, DO (demi official note) to the forces. The Army Commander had reviewed recent skirmishes in Rann of Kutch and commented that the Pakis were continuing with their belligerent attitude and spoke about cultivating a more aggressive spirit in out troops. He also remarked pointedly “has the martial blood in the veins of the Indian Army soldiers dried up” or words to the similar effect.[7] Vijey Ghai had earlier served under General Harbaksh Singh and they both shared a mutual understanding. It was perhaps the same inspiration of boldness from his leader that at this point the Brigade Commander received instructions to “do what needs to be done.” After reading out the contents of the DO letter and addressing the Commanding Officer, 4 Rajput, said "reading between the lines of the Army Commanders DO Letter, I know what he expects of me" and he formulated in his mind the action plan for attack. Brigadier Ghai then issued orders to Colonel Sudarshan Singh, CO 4 Rajput, and Colonel KS Bajwa, CO 85 Light Regiment, to capture Pakistan Point 13620 and Black Rocks by 0500 hours on 17 May 1965. He reiterated it had to be a silent attack. Taking of Point 13620 and Black RocksThis operation was unique in many respects. The attack was launched over very rugged terrain over 4000 meters. It was launched at night in sub-zero temperature. Men had to go through snow over 45 cm deep near Black Rocks, Peak 1 and Peak 2.[8] A two pronged attack was launched and Point 13620 was captured by 0330 and Peak 1 and Peak 2 by 4:30. Black Rocks and Saddle fell at 10:30. On May 18 a Pakistani party was sent to blow up the suspension bridge or to blow up convoys which was successfully intercepted and shot down by the Indian troops. Later, the explosives recovered were shown to UN reps. Ghai reports that there were 5 Pakistani casualties and none on the Indian side. On the night of June 4/5, Kala Pahar was secured after heavy fighting from bunker to bunker. After suffering heavy casualties in the above battles, Pakistani troops made another attempt to intrude in Snow Ridge. On Jun 7, 1965 an attack was launched and Snow Ridge was secured. This operation turned out to be successful. Speaking about the factors that led to the success in the Kargil Sector Ghai said, Detailed and painstaking preparations, simple and sound movements and motivation followed by bold execution were key. As regards motivation he said "Motivation is best achieved near the enemy under shell fire. The presence of senior officers with troops at this stage was found to be of great value and a spirit of aggressiveness, cheerfulness and the will to win prevailed through the whole command during operations."[9] Colonel Ranbir reports “Brigadier Ghai deserved high praise for his grit and determination and boldness, all qualities expected of a true commander. By taking the all important command decision to capture Point 13620 he became an instant hero. It is also true that if the decision had boomeranged, no one would have stood by him.”[10] These words were to be true as despite the success the fact remained that Vijey Ghai’s decision to cross the CFL and attack remained a controversial one causing a furore. Maj General KS Bajwa (then Col and the Commanding officer of the 85 Light Regiment), in his book argues that the Brigade Commander misled his troops by stating that he had government sanction and also assured them that once captured there would be no withdrawal from the hill tops. A dressing down from the Corps Commander followed but he states the Brigadier assured his troops “Withdrawal from here will be over my dead body!” He goes on to question the moral authority of the Commander. Ghai, it can be said followed his role models in Field Marshal Manekshaw and Gen Harbaksh, both battle commanders who often took on the edge decisions that could be controversial and risky.[11]. To blame a Brigade Commander for political machinations is surely far fetched, but the fact remained that the order given by Ghai to capture Pt 13620 and Black Rocks was an unprecedented departure from the prevailing policy that held the CFL as inviolate and was also out of character with the passive and diffident Indian policy. Impact of BattlePer the official account of the War [12], this was the first counter-offensive undertaken by Indian troops in years. Its success had a good effect on the morale of the troops in J&K and the Army as a whole. Politically it bolstered the image of the country. United Nations interventionThe hard won gains however were not to last; On June 30, 1965 the Indian troops withdrew in deference to an appeal by The United Nations Secretary General and also agreed to post observers to prevent cease fire line violations by the Pakistanis in this area. [13]. Ghai was present with UN Observers during the signing at Kargil sector. In the article “Missing a Defence Whitepaper”, a correspondent laments This is not a reflection of missing strategic thinking among the military, but absence of political will to reduce vital strategic issues to writing. Before leaving for Tashkent, Prime Minister Shastri – who was hero-worshiped by Indian soldiers – had promised his victorious troops that he would not return the land captured from the enemy after so many sacrifices. But after six days of talks, Shastri proved once again that Indians are bad negotiators. He gave away everything.[14] Despite the positive effect on the political climate, Ghai’s immediate superiors did not forgive him for what they considered was stepping out of line and thereafter despite his name coming up, he was repeatedly denied any promotions by his superior officer. Vietnam War 1971: International Mission for Supervision and ControlAround 1970, Vijey Ghai received a call from Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw who knew of Ghai's past performance, but was also well aware of the situation, offered him an appointment with the International Mission for Supervision and Control. He was to represent India as the Alternate Delegate and be stationed in Saigon in Vietnam along with counterparts from Canada and Poland. Ghai readily accepted and moved with his family to war torn Vietnam in 1971. Soon thereafter he became acting Head of Mission until his departure in 1972. The International Commission for Supervision and Control (ICSC) was born from the Geneva Agreements of 1954 which ended the First Indochina War. Vijey Ghai served in Saigon from 1971 to 1972. He was awarded the International Mission for Supervision and Control MedalICSC medal; The ribbon has three equal stripes of dark green, white and red. The green represents India and the red represents Canada and Poland. The white stripe represents peace. Retired lifeIn 1972 he was posted to Lucknow as Sub Area commander, Central Command after which he went on deputation to the public sector undertaking Scooters India Ltd., a joint venture with Innocenti of Italy. Later he took early retirement and continued in Scooters India and thereafter as |Managing Director of UP Instruments Ltd. He finally retired to settle in the relatively quiet town of Lucknow, opening up yet another active chapter of his life. Social workVK Ghai volunteered for Leonard Cheshire disablity and ran the home for the disabled in Lucknow. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8xNBWUn3K0&feature=youtu.be About Cheshire Homes Lucknow - An appeal] . With support from the Army Commander and citizens he soon had a facility with physiotherapists and medical care for old, infirm and disabled people. He started the "Cheshire Ball" an annual fund raiser black tie event in Lucknow. His birthday, September 6, is celebrated annually by residents with cake cutting and a lunch. He was succeeded by Retd. Brig Kalia who now runs this facility. Cancer survivorIn 1998, Vijey Ghai was diagnosed with prostrate cancer with a predicted life span of 4-5 years. However he went on to live a full 15 years after, despite refusing chemotherapy and finally breathed his last in Bangalore, India on September 15, 2014 at the age of 91. Awards and DecorationsVijey Ghai was a highly decorated officer with the following awards and decorations:
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