New Delhi: The heroism, gallantry, flying skills and unmovable determination displayed by Indian fighter pilots during the 1971 liberation war of Bangladesh is the subject of a new book.
Recounted in third person by Dhirendra S Jafa, Wing Commander (Retd.) Indian Air Force, Death Wasn't Painful, brought by Sage books, salutes the sacrifices made by these fighter pilots, many of whom were taken prisoners of war (POW) and spent months in Pakistani prisons before returning to India.
Jafa, who himself took part in countless bombing missions in erstwhile West Pakistan, was taken a prisoner of war following the crash of his SU-7 fighter bomber aircraft near North Lahore and was awarded Vir Chakra for the unparalleled bravery displayed in the battlefield.
He was lodged in the POW camp of the Pakistani Air Force at Rawalpindi, alongwith 11 other Indian fighter pilots, all of whom had their own stories of capture, beatings, torture and injuries to tell.
The book, thus, is the tale of these 12 fighter pilots in enemy captivity- their deprivations, their longings for home and families, their interactions with Pakistani military officers and civilians is recounted.
It also recounts their not so latent pride in being Indians and representatives of a victorious nation, their indomitable spirit of freedom and their everyday struggles with boredom and loss of hope, while waiting behind bars in
the country they had just defeated in the war.
While depicting the intrepid life of fighter pilots in actual combat, the book also has an introspective side where it portrays the subtle and human reactions of soldiers when faced with the harsh realities of war- injuries, death, broken families, alienation and grief.
The experiences of POWs are finely drawn. A fighter pilot's life in actual combat, where death is but a glorious martyrdom, is juxtaposed with the tepid, monotonous and uninspiring life of prison, where brave, fearless soldiers
ponder over the inevitability and futility of war. In between these rather philosophical, often gloomy monologues on the pros and cons of war, there are personalised stories of individual valour and determination shown by Indian soldiers.
Jaffa and his compatriot's ability to find humour, in most unlikely situations is an added advantage, like the story of Flight Lieutenant Jawahar Lal Bhargava, "the ever-smiling, every-ready-with-advice, HF-24 pilot, who had after his
capture by villagers in a remote area in Sindh, successfully enjoyed their hospitality by carrying on as a downed Pakistani Pilot".
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