Hajjipir and 1965 lessons: Brig Arvinder Singh recalls

The 1965 war occurred at a moment when the Indian Army was yet to get over the shock of 1962

- SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

Sixty years since the India-Pakistan war in 1965, memories of the intense fighting and the sacrifices are still fresh in the minds of the people who experienced them.

For Brigadier Arvinder Singh of 1 PARA, who was his company commander in the capture of Hajipir Pass, the memory is as clear in his mind today as it was sixty years ago.

"Hajipir was something we still reminisce about," he remembers. "It brought Poonch and Srinagar within almost 200 kilometres of each other and gave us dominance over approximately 500 square kilometres of Pakistani land. But we had to give it back. That's an unpleasant fact, one that's still discussed."