1971 victory celebrations: Indian Army conducts airdrop in Agra

The landmark event was commemorated at Agra on Saturday in the presence of the Victory Flame as a poignant and touching tribute to the veterans who had participated in the airdrop 50 years ago, it mentioned.

The Indian Army on Saturday conducted an airdrop in Agra as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of India's victory over Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. The parachute jump was also dedicated to India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other armed forces personnel who lost their lives in a military chopper crash near Connor in Tamil Nadu on December 8. "Fifty years to this day, on December 11, 1971, a successful airdrop of the Indian Army's 2nd Parachute Battalion was carried out at Tangail, in erstwhile East Pakistan," the army said in a statement.

The battalion group -- led by Lt Col Kulwant Singh Pannu with an Artlillery Battery of 17 Parachute Field Regiment -- was tasked to cut off the retreat of the Pakistani troops from the north towards Dhaka, it mentioned. The veterans who had participated in the Tangail airdrop and subsequent operations in Bangladesh collected at Agra to witness the commemoration of the landmark event on Saturday, it noted. "The landmark event was commemorated at Agra on Saturday in the presence of the Victory Flame as a poignant and touching tribute to the veterans who had participated in the airdrop 50 years ago," it mentioned.