On This Day, In 1971, IAF Attacked Governor's House At Dhaka, While Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Sekhon Fought Six Sabre Jets Against Extraordinary Odds

On this day (14 December), in 1971, four Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21s attacked the Governor House at Dhaka, where a top-level meeting was being held, while Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, displaying extraordinary bravery, fought against six Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets over Srinagar.

Following intelligence reports of a top-level meeting at the Governor House of Dhaka, four MiG-21 fighter jets armed with rockets flew from the Guwahati airbase.

At around 1255 hrs, these four MiG-21 jets unloaded their rockets over the Governor House with pinpoint accuracy, causing the roof of the building to collapse. The building was hit two more times, first with two MiG-21s, followed by two Hunters.

Following the bombing, the Governor of East Pakistan, A M Malik, who was until then undecided on whether to resign, was granted instant clarity.

Realising the futility of defiance, he wrote his resignation to the United Nations (UN).

The entire East Pakistan government followed, resigning to the UN, leaving the defence of Dhaka in the hands of Pakistan's eastern army commander Lt. General A A K Niazi.

Lt. General Niazi remained defiant, stating that he would not surrender, perhaps influenced by an announcement from the US government to send the US Navy's Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal.

The Lt. General believed that the Seventh Fleet would divert some resources of the Indian Navy, giving his forces some relief, while he hoped the Chinese might send paratroopers to defend Dhaka.

While the Indian Army had almost surrounded Dhaka from three sides and was racing towards its gates, another battle was unfolding in the Himalayas, in Ladakh.

The troops of the Ladakh Scouts and Nubra Guards, comprising 550 local men and led by Lt. Col Chewan Rinchen, were assaulting the village of Turtuk.

The force commenced its assault with simultaneous mortar fire on Pakistani positions. However, when the troops reached the village, they discovered the Pakistani defenders had fled the village the previous night (13 December) without engaging in battle, leaving the population behind.

While the IAF was bombing the Governor House, and Turtuk was being assaulted by Lt. Col Rinchen's forces, Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon was displaying an extraordinary feat of bravery and selflessness over the skies of Srinagar.

He is the only member of the IAF to have been awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest wartime gallantry award.

Since No. 18 Squadron (Flying Bullets), to which Flying Officer Sekhon belonged, had very little time to move from their home base at Ambala to Srinagar, the squadron pilots were unfamiliar with the terrain of the area.

When Yahya Khan, the President of Pakistan, realised that the war was lost in the east, he asked the PAF to launch a strike on Indian airfields in Amritsar, Pathankot, and Srinagar, from where bombing runs were being conducted by the IAF in support of the Indian Army's Shakargarh offensive.

He hoped that halting air operations from these airfields would aid the Pakistani Army in winning the Battle Of Basantar, which it planned to launch between 15 to 17 December, in the Shakargarh Bulge.

However, due to the brave actions of Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal and Colonel Hoshiar, the Indian Army would win this battle, as well.

Six US-made F-86 Sabres of PAF's 26th Squadron, stationed at Peshawar, commenced their attack on the Srinagar airfield. Flying Officer Sekhon, along with his commander Flight Lieutenant Baldhir Singh Ghumman, was on an Operational Readiness Platform in their Folland Gnat fighters, ready for flying operations in under two minutes.

As the first Sabres engaged the Srinagar airfield and dropped their bombs, both Sekhon and Ghumman took off.

Ghumman climbed to gain altitude to engage the approaching Sabres, but due to unfamiliarity with the terrain and the absence of radar at the airfield, he got lost in the haze above the airfield.

This left Sekhon, only 26 at the time of the attack, with his lone Gnat to contend with the six Sabres. He effectively engaged the first two Sabres, shooting down one and damaging the other, which subsequently fled back to base.

The dogfight continued between Sekhon's lone Gnat and the remaining four Sabres. Following extensive manoeuvres at treetop level, his aircraft was finally shot down by PAF pilot Salim Baig Mirza, flying one of the Sabres.

The rest of the Sabre jets exhausted their ammunition while trying to shoot down Sekhon and had to head back home.

Flying Officer Sekhon, however, was unable to eject as he was flying at a very low altitude, and his plane crashed into a nearby gorge. His mortal remains were never discovered, although the remains of the Gnat indicated he had been hit by 37 bullets.

Incidentally, the area where his plane crashed also witnessed an act of extraordinary bravery, in 1948, by another Indian army officer, Major Somnath Sharma, who earned the PVC fighting Pakistani raiders.

Sekhon's actions ensured that the PAF conducted no further attacks on the airfield, resulting in unhindered air support by the IAF in the Battle of Basantar.

The next day, on 15 December, 2 Para — having paradropped at Tangail and combined with the 1st Maratha Light Infantry — surrounded Dhaka from the north, completing its total encirclement.

The very next day, on 16 December, Lt. Gen A A K Niazi signed the surrender document with more than 93,000 prisoners of war (POWs), marking the largest surrender of any army since World War II.

Also Read: On This Day, In 1971, India Tightened The Noose On Dhaka, While US Seventh Fleet Raced To Bay Of Bengal To Defend Its Ally — Pakistan

Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon: The Lone Warrior Who Went Down Fighting