Jagjit Singh Aurora | |
|---|---|
 Official military portrait | |
| Born | (1916-02-13)13 February 1916 |
| Died | 3 May 2005(2005-05-03) (aged 89) New Delhi, India |
| Allegiance |  British India(1939–1947)  India(1947–1973) |
| Branch |  British Indian Army Indian Army |
| Service years | 1939–1973 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Service number | IC-214[1] |
| Unit | 2nd Punjab Regiment (until 1947) Punjab Regiment (after 1947) |
| Commands |  Eastern Army |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Param Vishisht Seva Medal Padma Bhushan Mentioned in dispatches |
| Signature |  |
Lieutenant GeneralJagjit Singh Aurora (orArora),PVSM[2][1][3][note 1] (13 February 1916[note 2] – 3 May 2005) was an Indian senior military officer who was theGeneral Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C)Eastern Command during theBangladesh Liberation War and theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971. He organised and led the ground forces campaign in theEastern Front of the war, which led to an overwhelming defeat of the combinedPakistan Armed Forcesin East-Pakistan that led to the creation ofBangladesh.[4]
As the General commanding the Indian and Bangladesh Forces in the Eastern theater, Gen Aurora received the surrender from the Governor ofEast Pakistan and Commander of the Eastern Command of thePakistan Army, Lt GenA. A. K. Niazi.
After retirement from the Indian Army, he joinedAkali Dal and served as a Member of Parliament in theRajya Sabha.
Jagjit Singh Aurora was born to anAroraKhatriSikh family inKala Gujran,Jhelum District,Punjab, British India.[5] His father was an engineer. He was married to Bhagwant Kaur, she accompanied him to thePakistani Instrument of Surrender in Dhaka. The couple had two children, Anita Kaur and Kiranjit Singh.
Aurora graduated from theIndian Military Academy in 1939 and was commissioned into the 1st Battalion,2nd Punjab Regiment on 1 February.[3] He saw action in theBurma Campaign during World War II.[6]
AfterIndependence and the ensuingPartition of India, he opted to join theIndian Army. As a lieutenant colonel commanding 1 (Para) Battalion in thePunjab Regiment, he wasmentioned in dispatches during theIndo-Pakistani War of 1947.[7][8] On 3 February 1957, he was promoted actingBrigadier and given command of an infantry brigade.[9]
In May 1961, as BGSXXXIII Corps, Brigadier Aurora led a team of military officers and men sent by theGovernment of India on areconnaissance mission toBhutan. This later led to the establishment of theIndian Military Training Team in Bhutan.[10]
As a brigadier, he fought in theSino-Indian War in 1962 and again in1967.[11] He was appointed a division commander on 21 February 1963,[12] with a promotion to the rank ofMajor General on 20 June 1964.[13] He was then appointed Director of Military Training (DMT) on 23 November 1964.[14] He also participated in theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965.
On 6 June 1966, Aurora was appointed Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (DCOAS) with the acting rank ofLieutenant General,[2] and was promoted substantive Lieutenant General on 4 August.[15] He was then given command of aGeneral Officer Commanding (GOC) of a corps on 27 April 1967.[16] On 8 June 1969, he was appointed the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C)Eastern Command.[17]
In March 1971, thePakistan Army launchedOperation Searchlight to curb theBengali nationalist movement inEast Pakistan. The operation resulted in commencement of theBangladesh Liberation War which resulted in theBangladesh genocide, including the systematicmurder of Bengali intellectuals by the Pakistan Army. The ensuing violence led to almost 10 million Bengali refugees fleeing from East Pakistan into India.[citation needed] Under the command of GeneralM. A. G. Osmani a Bangladeshi military force, theMukti Bahini, was formed. Consisting of Bengali defectors from the Pakistan Army and guerrilla fighters, it engaged in hostilities with the Pakistani Army.[18]
For the next nine months, with tensions escalating between India and Pakistan and anticipating possible hostilities, Aurora oversaw the logistical preparations of the Indian Army on the Eastern front, including the improvement of roads, communications and bridges, as well as the movement of 30,000 tons of supplies close to the border with East Pakistan.
At the outbreak of thewar on 3 December 1971, the Eastern Army Commander, Gen. Aurora oversaw the Indian ground forces into battle in East Pakistan. Forces under Aurora's command, ina meticulously planned operation, formed numerous small combat teams and launcheda four-front attack with the strategy of confronting and defeating Pakistani forces on selected fronts, while bypassing them on others. In less than two weeks, his forces advanced from the Indian border to captureDhaka, the capital of East Pakistan.[19]
TheUnified Commander of Pakistan Armed Forces's Eastern Military High Command, Lieutenant GeneralAmir Abdullah Khan Niazi was forced to sign an instrument of unconditional surrender. View:Instrument of Surrender. The photograph of Niazi and Aurora at the signing of the Instruments of Surrender became an iconic image of the war,[20] withThe Guardian describing the scene as "the glum Pakistani officer bowed over his signature. The turbaned figure beside him, showing not a scrap of elation".[19] The 90,000 Pakistani troops under Niazi's command surrendered to Gen Aurora asprisoners of war in what remains to date the largest surrender of soldiers since theSecond World War.[21][6] Pakistan lost almost 57,000 square miles (150,000 km2) of its territory and 70 million of its people to the newly formed nation of Bangladesh.
Aurora was honoured with theParam Vishisht Seva Medal, thePadma Bhushan and theBir Protik[22] for his role in the war.[23] He retired from the Indian Army in 1973.Lt Gen JFR Jacob has written in his bookAn Odyssey in War And Peace that Gen. Aurora approached then Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi for governorship of a state but she declined.[24][page needed] Jacob also writes that Gen. and Mrs. Aurora were a regular part of the social life of Calcutta.[25]
In 1984, Aurora fiercely criticised theIndian National Congress leadership followingOperation Blue Star, which was an operation by the then government of flushing out armed Sikh militants who had taken up positions inside theGolden Temple inAmritsar but also caused extensive damage to the holiest shrine of Sikhism. Subsequently, he spent several years as a member of parliament in theRajya Sabha, the upper House of the Indian Parliament, for theAkali Dal, a political party.
Aurora was also an active member of theCitizen's Justice Committee which providedpro bono assistance to Sikh victims of the1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Jagjit Singh Aurora died on 3 May 2005, at age 89, in New Delhi.[26] He was survived by a son and a daughter. After his death, the gratitude of Bangladesh to General Aurora was emphasized in a message to India, fromMorshed Khan, the BangladeshiForeign Minister, stating:"Aurora will be remembered in the history of Bangladesh for his contribution during our war of liberation in 1971, when he led the allied forces."
The site of the Pakistani surrender, where Lt. Gen. Niazi signed the Instrument of Surrender with Lt. Gen. Aurora on 16 December 1971 has been converted into a national monumentSwadhinata Stambha. The main attraction is the glass Stambha which is built on the precise location where the instrument of surrender was signed. The monument also includes aneternal flame, terracotta murals of martyrs and a body of water.
| Insignia | Rank | Component | Date of rank |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Second Lieutenant | British Indian Army | 1 February 1939[3] |
 | Lieutenant | British Indian Army | 30 January 1940[27] |
 | Captain | British Indian Army | 22 February 1940 (acting)[3] 5 February 1941 (temporary)[3] 1 May 1942 (war-substantive)[3] 30 January 1946 (substantive)[3] |
_OF-3.svg) | Major | British Indian Army | 1 February 1942 (acting)[3] 1 May 1942 (temporary)[3] |
| Captain | Indian Army | 15 August 1947[note 3][28] |
 | Captain | Indian Army | 26 January 1950 (recommissioning and change in insignia)[28] |
 | Major | Indian Army | 26 February 1950 (temporary) 30 January 1951 (substantive)[1] |
 | Lieutenant-Colonel | Indian Army | 30 January 1952[29] |
 | Colonel | Indian Army | 1 August 1958[30] |
 | Brigadier | Indian Army | 3 February 1957 (acting)[9] 1962 (substantive) |
 | Major General | Indian Army | 21 February 1963 (acting)[12] 20 June 1964 (substantive)[13] |
| Lieutenant-General | Indian Army | 6 June 1966 (acting)[2] 4 August 1966 (substantive)[15] |
Aurora approached Mrs Indira Gandhi, seeking to be appointed a governor. She declined.
Aurora soon became part of the social circuit.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Deputy Chief of the Army Staff 1966–1967 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command 1969–1973 | Succeeded by |
