THE FORGOTTEN HERO

LT. GEN. SAGAT SINGH, PVSM

The General who 'created' Bangladesh

'General J S Aurora, the commander of the Indian forces in the East, asked General Sagat Singh to withdraw his troops who were on the move to Dacca -- but he refused.'
'He said, "Jaggi, over my dead body".'
'Therefore, I say the creator of Bangladesh was General Sagat Singh.'
Lieutenant General O P Kaushik salutes the incredible soldiers who turned the tide in the 1971 War.

Lt. Gen. Sagat Singh, PVSM —The forgotten General, who never lost a war.

Lt Gen Sagat Singh is unarguably  the best  military genius post-independence India has produced. General Sagat was 6 feet tall, well built -- and the best field leader the Indian Army has produced. Gen Sagat Singh joined the army as a Sepoy in the erstwhile Indian princely state of Bikaner and rose to become a Lt. General in the Indian  Army. On being absorbed into the Indian Army after Independence, he was transferred to 3rd Gorkha Rifles, where he commanded two battalions.

While he was master of the tactical operations at the highest level, Gen Sagat Singh simultaneously understood operational art and requirements of theatre level strategy. He had the ability to envision the end state and orchestrate time and resources to achieve that end state.

BEGINNING

SAGAT Singh joined Dungar College at Bikaner but right after his intermediate exam in 1938, he was enrolled as a Naik in the Bikaner Ganga Risala. Later, he was promoted to Jemadar (now called Naib Subedar) and given command of a platoon.

With the outbreak of World War II, he was among the few Junior Commissioned Officers who received a commission as Second Lieutenants in the Ganga Risala. The Risala was sent to Sind in 1941 to deal with the Hoor rebellion. Here, the Sadul Light Infantry replaced the Ganga Risala and Singh was transferred to the new unit. In 1941, the unit landed at Basra and came under the Iraqforce commanded by Lieutenant General Edward Quinan.

Singh, with the Sadul Light Infantry, then moved Jubair in Iraq. He was appointed the unit's Military Transport Officer after having obtained an instructor grading in the Military Transport Course. He later served as adjutant and then took command of a company. After a staff stint at the sub area headquarters, he was selected to attend the Middle East Staff College at Haifa. He was the only State Forces officer to be selected. After completing the staff course, he was appointed General Staff Officer Grade 3 (GSO III) at Headquarters 40th Indian Infantry Brigade in Ahvaz, Iran.^[4]

In September 1944, Singh rejoined his battalion and was appointed adjutant. He was selected to attend the Staff College, Quetta and joined the 12th War Staff course from May to November 1945.^[5] After completing the course, he was recalled to Bikaner and appointed brigade major of the state forces, working directly under the commander-in-chief.^[6] After the war, when it became apparent that India would be an independent nation, he was responsible for the absorption of the state forces into the Indian Army.^[7]

In 1949, Singh was transferred to the Indian Army and joined the 3 Gorkha Rifles. He was appointed General Staff Officer Grade 2 (GSO II) at Headquarters Delhi Area. His seniority in the state forces was restored and in October 1950, he was appointed brigade major (BM) of the 168 Infantry Brigade in Samba. During this stint, he attended the Mountain Warfare course and was shortlisted for command of the President's Bodyguard. After three years as BM, he was posted to the 3rd battalion 3rd Gorkha Rifles (3/3 GR) as a company commander in October 1953. He served in the battalion for a year and-a-half in Bharatpur and in Dharamshala.

In September 1961, Singh was promoted to the rank of brigadier and given command of India's only parachute brigade, the elite 50th Parachute Brigade at Agra. This was unprecedented as command of the brigade is not given to non-para officers. At the age of 42, he immediately earned his maroon beret and his Parachutist badge by making the required number of jumps.

AREA OF OPERATIONS

Lt Gen Sagat Singh played a pivotal role not only in the liberation of Goa in 1961 and Bangladesh 1971, but also led from the front to save Nathu La from being captured by intruding Chinese troops in 1967. In 1967, he commanded 17 Mountain Division in Sikkim, where a bloody skirmish took place between Indian forces and Chinese PLA soldiers at the Nathu La and Cho La. He gave the Chinese a bloody nose, proving that the Indian Army was no pushover. India won this war against the Chinese and took revenge of 1962 defeat.

On entering Panaji  (Panjim)n first,  Singh ordered his troops to remove their steel helmets and wear the Parachute Regiment's maroon berets. The brigade was in Goa till June 1962. After moving back to Agra, Singh led the brigade for another year-and-a-half, until January 1964.

AWARD  AND RECOGNITION DENIED

He was notable for his participation in invasion of Goa in 1961 and responsible for liberating Goa from Portuguese Army. It was his audacious leadership that tilted the balance in India’s favour. Interestingly, Major General V.K. Singh in his book, Leadership in the Indian Army: Biographies of Twelve Soldiers, has recorded that Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Salazar had announced an award of $10,000 to anyone who captured and delivered the Indian Brigadier Sagat Singh to Republic Portuguese. Inexplicably back home the Defence Ministry of India disallowed gallantry awards for the liberation of Goa.  General Muchchu Choudhury is blamed for this omission.

OPERATION JACKPOT & LIBERATION  OF EAST PAKISTAN

The 1971 Indo-Pak war  resulted in the formation of a new country called Bangladesh. This was a defining moment in modern India’s history. On the evening of 3 December 1971, Pakistani aircraft attacked Indian airfields in Western Sector. Mrs. Gandhi declared war against Pakistan, and informed the world. Immediately General Sam Manekshaw, the Chief of Army Staff, ordered the commanders to put into effect their operational plans. The war to liberate Bangladesh was underway.

On the sixth day of the war, 9 December 1971, Lt General Sagat, Corps commander of the 4 Corps, stood on the east bank of river Meghna in East Pakistan visualising the unimaginable. At the planning stage, Lt General Sagat envisaged that the capture of Dacca (Dhaka now) was the key to winning the 1971 war. But Indian Generals remained sceptical about Dacca as a military objective since two rivers protected it. The top brass in the operations room were impressed with Lt General Sagat’s daredevil capturing of towns and he had kept the enemy off-balance. He was credited for capturing Chandpur single-handedly.

On that very cold winter morning of 9 December, Lt General Sagat thought otherwise. From his perspective the only thing that stood between the Indian Army and absolute victory was the 4,000 feet wide Meghna river. Boarding an Indian Air Force helicopter Lt General Sagat undertook a dangerous reconnaissance mission. Over Bhaiarab Bazar his chopper was targeted by very accurate machine gun fire by the Pakistani troops. Bullets narrowly missed Lt General Sagat’s forehead. The main windshield shattered and the splintering glass injured him. The pilot received serious bullet wounds. The Co-pilot managed to return to base despite sixty-five hits.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

The Army doctors dressing Lt General’s arm and forehead insisted that he take rest for 24 hours before resuming command. But the Lt General who had narrowly escaped death many times before immediately embarked on another mission in a chopper and returned to lead his men into the battlefield. Then in an astounding “HELIBORNE OPERATION” Lt General Sagat accomplished the impossible. Under his command on the night of 9-10 December, the squad of brave pilots of the fourteen IAF Mi4 choppers flew 110 sorties. Using the element of surprise Group Captain Chandan Singh magnificently airlifted the entire 311 Brigade with 23 troops in each flight. Simultaneously, 73rd Brigade moved across Meghna on boats and riverine crafts.

The next day USS Enterprise and the US Seventh Fleet were poised to enter the Bay of Bengal. At that crucial time, Lt General Sagat, with 3,000 troops and forty tonnes of equipment and heavy guns, was strategically positioned on the western bank of the mighty Meghna river. Ahead of them lay the gates of fortress Dacca and the road to victory. The message that Lt General Sagat and his men had reached the other side of Meghna was delivered in the office of the Prime Minister of India in distant New Delhi. It has been recorded that on hearing the news, Indira Gandhi beaming with joy and with wind in her hair ran across the corridor of her office. The Prime Minister personally commended Lt General Sagat and sent congratulatory messages to the Indian forces now racing towards Dacca.

Few notable moments can change the outcome of any war. The crossing of the Meghna by the Indian Air Force and Army was the most important and decisive operation in the Bangladesh War. The dare and dash initiative of the field commander that smashed its way through the pride of the Pakistani Army was a major factor in India’s triumphant march towards Dacca.

On the 12th day of the war the first artillery shell of the Indian Army fell inside the Dacca cantonment. Pakistan’s Marshal Law Administrator Lt General Abdullah Khan Niazi, the man behind the “impregnable fortress Dacca strategy”, had in an impromptu press conference at Dacca airport promised to fight to the “last man, last round”. But within hours Lt General Niazi reached the breaking point.

On Thursday, 16 December 1971, a date that will live in infamy in Pakistan, a supremely confident Lt General Sagat was introduced to the grim faced Lt General Niazi at the Race Course in Dacca. The Pakistani commander is reported to have exclaimed in admiration, “Oh my God, you accomplished the inconceivable.”

NIAZI SURRENDERS

At 4 pm, 16 December 1971, on the darkest day in Pakistan’s history, Lt General Niazi borrowed a pen from Surojit Sen of All India Radio and signed five copies of the Instrument of Surrender. Lt General Jagjit Singh Arora accepted the surrender on behalf of India. No words were exchanged. There was nothing left to be said. That Instrument of Surrender was the first and the only public surrender in world history. Simultaneously 93,000 Pakistani officers, soldiers, civilian officials, and allies laid down their arms. This was a feat unparalleled in the annals of warfare. It was the fastest successful military campaigns of modern times and the swiftest liberation of a nation ever. This was a defining moment in modern India’s history.

After the instrument of surrender signed on December 16,1971 then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi visited Dhaka and profusely thanked Gen Sagat Singh, advised him to stay in Dhaka and assist the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government.

HUMILIATION

After the 1971 war, when Gen Sagat was superseded and his junior, Lt Gen KK Singh, was made his boss, Gen Sinha said, “I considered it very unfortunate that the higher-ups should treat a war hero who had done so much for the country in such an unfair and unjust manner.”

REDEEMPTION

In 1972, Lt General Sagat Singh, PVSM, was awarded the Padma Bhushan. In March 2013 the Government of Bangladesh acknowledged his achievements and invited his son Col. Ran Vijay Singh and his wife to pay tribute to his father, General Sagat Singh, the liberator of Bangladesh. It was a  thoughtful gesture from a grateful nation.

RETIREMENT

After retirement from the Indian Army, he settled down in Jaipur and appropriately named his house “Meghna”. On 26 September 2001, thirty years after ensuring the victory in the Bangladesh War, our nation’s war hero who changed the history and geography of Indian sub-continent,  breathed his last. On Sagat Singh’s death, Lt Gen KK Singh pays him the ultimate tribute: “A great General who had become a legend in his lifetime. India will not see the likes of Sagat Singh again.”

Lieutenant General Sagat Singh: Known for his innovative battle strategy, and being one of India's greatest military leaders -- is a rare army officer who was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Lt General Sagat Singh, PVSM, Padma Bhushan (14 July 1919 to 26 September 2001), arguably the greatest combat general of the contemporary world, was a remarkable Indian. An effort should be undertaken by the Government of India to include his wartime exploits in school textbooks.

Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw once said: “If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha.” I might add: OR A SAGAT SINGH.  Truly an unsung hero.

NOTE:-- Apart from book referred below—and a few articles, nothing much is available in the internet on him.

He is well covered in Books, written on all military operations he participated, and published.

Reference:-

A Talent For War: The Military Biography Of Lt Gen Sagat Singh: By Maj Gen KS Randhir Sinh, (Retd).

https://www.rediff.com/news/special/general-sagat-singh-the-creator-of-bangladesh/20161208.htm

Photograph: Kind courtesy Bharat Rakshak