New Delhi: 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.”
The 1965 war occurred at a moment when the Indian Army was yet to get over the shock of 1962. “There had been a huge expansion of the Army in the intervening years. A lot of middle-level officers were sucked into the newly formed headquarters, and battalions were left with very junior officers. The experience difference between commanding officers and their juniors was vast,” Singh explains.
In the Parachute Regiment, the challenge was met specially. All four rifle companies existed in every battalion, and Singh’s regiment ensured that each company retained its own distinct identity. “My company was predominantly Christian, and so our war cry was ‘Christian Bhagwan’. The Sikh companies had their own battle cries, and so did the others.”. When you are facing bullets, it is not grand slogans and political jargon that propel you onward. It is your own self, your conviction, and the comradeship of your unit.
Strategically, the war was not India’s. “It was Pakistan that manufactured the conflict. We reacted—and reacted well. Many ask why we didn’t take Lahore, although we were already at its gate. The reason is simple: that was never the intention. The goal was to react, to defend, and to demonstrate resilience. And we succeeded at that.”
For Singh, what worked in India’s favour was not technology or arms but sheer determination. “Pakistan had the newest tanks, artillery, and rifles, while we still had bolt-action weapons. What pulled us through was courage and determination. That was our strength.”
Looking back on the 1965 lessons, Singh underlines that there is no winning a war with weapons. “It always boils down to heart and determination.”. I was allowed to have hardly three and a half years of service when I commanded a company in combat. My leg was shattered and I remained on the battlefield for ten hours, but the battle continued. The junior officers, the front-line men, they are the ones who advance the war.”
To this day, Hajipir’s capture continues to be a point of reference in military circles. “Just the other day in Kashmir, I inquired from a high-ranking officer what plans were on hand in case the pass had to be recaptured. He told me ten battalions are defending it from five sides. But that is only the exterior. The strength lies in the will to fight, in the spirit that will not give up. That has always been the Indian Army’s strength.”
As the country looks back on 60 years of post-war history, voices such as Brigadier Singh’s tell us that beyond strategies, maps, and territorial consolidations, it was the sacrifice and valour of young officers and jawans that characterised 1965—and continue to characterise the Indian Army today.