The Hindu : National : Gen. Aurora passes away

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Wednesday, May 04, 2005

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National

Gen. Aurora passes away

Special Correspondent

Jaggi did all the work, I got the baton: Manekshaw

NEW DELHI: The former commander of the Army's Eastern Command, Jagjit Singh Aurora, passed away on Tuesday. He was 89. His cremation will take place at the Delhi Cantonment on Thursday.

Gen. Aurora commanded the troops in the liberation struggle of East Pakistan, resulting in the surrender on December 16, 1971, of 90,000 Pakistani soldiers. For his leadership during this operation, he was honoured with the title of Padma Bhushan. He was also the recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and served as Member of the Rajya Sabha.

Gen. Aurora will be remembered for his offensive utilisation of air power in support of ground forces and advocating "leaving the highways for the byways." He also introduced an element of surprise by employing the newly-raised mechanised battalions in the 1971 war. At a recent meeting of former senior officers of the Army, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw said about Gen. Aurora: "While Jaggi did all the work, I got the baton (of Field Marshal).''

Tough and compassionate

Though Gen. Aurora became a household name after his last posting, the Army remembers him as an extremely tough trainer, yet very compassionate in his interaction with troops. He was also very transparent and fair in his dealings and led by example.

He was commissioned into the 1st battalion of 2nd Punjab Regiment in 1939 and went on to command it during the 1947-48 India-Pakistan hostilities in Peer Kalewa area of Rajouri district in Jammu & Kashmir.

He converted the battalion to 1 Para, which is now one of the few elite Special Forces battalions.

He was the Brigadier-General Staff of the corps that first engaged China in 1961 and then went on to command a mountain division in Arunachal Pradesh as a Major General. He was later appointed as Director-General, Military Training, at the Army headquarters. He commanded a corps in the North East and then the Kolkata-based Eastern Command that conducted the operation in East Pakistan.

Gen. Aurora was born on February 13, 1916, in village Kalle Gujjran (Jhelum), now in Pakistan. He attended the Mission School in Rawalpindi and then the Indian Military Academy from where he received his officer's commission into the Army in the Punjab Regiment.

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