When this Mahavir fought with the Pak Army along with a handful of soldiers, the war continued for 7 days, 6829 enemy soldiers fell at their feet.

thisThis story is dedicated to the ‘Mahavir’ of the Indian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Arun Bhimrao Harolikar. This incident happened about 52 years ago in the India-Pakistan war of 1971. Lieutenant Colonel Arun Bhimrao Harolikar was commanding 4/5 Gorkha Rifles in those days. To teach the enemy a lesson and conclude the battle, Gorkha 4/5 Gorkha Rifles had decided to move towards Sylhet and on the same day they were awarded the name ‘Sylhet Gorkha’.

This task was not easy for the Gorkha Rifles advancing under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar. Perhaps the enemy had sensed the advancing footsteps of the Gorkha rifles. To stop the steps of Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar, the Pakistani Army blew up the bridge built on the Meghna River, due to which the rest of the area was cut off from Sylhet. Now it was no longer easy to cross the Meghna River and reach the destination, hence it was decided to take the help of the Indian Air Force to cross the river.

Under the leadership of Group Captain Chandan Singh of the Indian Air Force, the work of air lifting 4/5 Gorkha Rifles was started on 7 December. The Indian Air Force was airlifting Indian soldiers with its MI-4 gunship aircraft to Bhairab Bazaar and the outskirts of Sylhet. That day, 254 soldiers and 400 kg of equipment from the 4/5 Gorkha Regiment were being airlifted in 22 flights for the fight. Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar along with his soldiers went for airlift to Sylhet and Bhairab Bazaar areas, but the challenges were not over yet.

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It seemed as if the 313 Infantry Brigade of the Pakistan Army was waiting for his arrival. As soon as Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar landed in Sylhet and Bhairab Bazaar with his soldiers, the entire brigade of Pakistan started raining bullets and gunpowder on them. In this difficult time, Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar had two challenges, firstly to face the enemy and secondly to protect the helicopter carrying weapons from the enemy’s target.

Both Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar and his companions were handling the challenges very well. But, with time, Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar’s comrades started getting injured, some heroes had lost their speed and the bullets were also about to end. Despite this, Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar and his comrades did not lose courage. The more difficult the challenge, the more he would attack the enemy with double the enthusiasm. This war with Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar and the brigade of Pakistani Army continued for the next seven days i.e. till 15 December.

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In the end, the Pakistani Army brigade had to succumb to the bravery of Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar. After being completely defeated, 313 Pakistani Army soldiers of Infantry Brigade including 107 officers, 219 JCOs and other soldiers of 6190 ranks surrendered. Lieutenant Colonel Harolikar was awarded the Mahavir Chakra for his gallant leadership in the Battle of Sylhet.

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Tags: Heroes of the Indian Army, India pakistan war, Indian army, Indo-Pak War 1971, Unsung Heroes