The spirit of ’65

Status
Not open for further replies.

Snauman

Banned Member
The spirit of ’65

By S. M. Hali
September 06 is celebrated by the nation as The Defence day of Pakistan to commemorate Pakistan’s finest hour when its armed forces frustrated a surprise attack by its numerically superior Indian Armed Forces on September 06, 1965. Pakistan has been the victim of aggression many times after that too, but what makes 1965 so special?
On September 06, 1965, the people of Pakistan stood united as one solid edifice to meet the onslaught of an enemy that chose the cover of darkness to achieve its heinous ends of occupying our motherland. The spirit of ’65 is the strength of character, the firm resolution, the fortitude that overwhelmed every Pakistani to stand up to be counted as a defender of its homeland, whether one was a soldier, sailor or airman, whether one was a farmer, shopkeeper, student, or artisan, whether one was a singer, poet or writer.
I myself was a student of class 8th in PAF Public School Sargodha. I distinctly remember, our Principal Mr. Hugh Catchpole, suspended classes on the morning of September 06 and assembled us in the School Auditorium and informed us that since Pakistan had been invaded by India, we were in a state of war. He was closing down the school and moving us to a safe location since Sargodha was likely to be the target of Indian air raids. He then switched on the radio on the public address system and we heard the President, General Mohammad Ayub Khan, addressing the nation. What an address? Every word, every phrase is still imprinted in our minds today even after 38 long years. .. “The enemy does not know which nation it has challenged. on our lips tremble the kalima of La Ilaha Ill Allah.†Our whole being was filled with a mercurial spirit. We declared to Mr. Catchpole, that our nation needed us and we did not want to go to a safe place, we would rather got to the war front and face the enemy. The Principal cajoled with us eleven and twelve years old that we had no formal training to fight but we insisted that we would help pass on the ammunition, bring supplies and whatever else was needed. However he prevailed over us and we were shipped off to safety.
The fledgling nation on the other hand, for the first time, in its brief history, was invited by its head of the state to jihad and it responded with full vim and vigour. The soldiers, sailors and airmen fought gallantly, even making the supreme sacrifice of their lives. The glorious trail of valour emblazoned by them shall remain inscribed in our history in golden words. They were garlanded, they were decorated, and songs, documentaries, discussion programs and films immortalize their brave deeds and continue to be narrated with pleasure and pride. It is the spirit of ’65, which filled every common person, which is what I want to talk about.
Every Pakistani was so imbued with the spirit of ’65 that they were transformed into super beings or so it seemed. Poets, imbibed with the spirit of ’65, rendered anthems in a matter of moments that chilled the very bones with the spirit of ’65 and urged every Pakistani to meet the challenges undaunted. Musicians composed such melodious tunes that charged the spirit afresh. Singers crooned the martial songs with such zest that it filled the soul with the spirit of sacrifice. Farmers, labourers, artisans and common folk turned up for military or defence duties. When the city of Lahore was attacked by a crafty enemy in the dead of the night, it was only lightly defended, but the brave people of Lahore marched to the front armed with only spears, sticks and rods to shield their beloved city.indeed “the enemy did not know not know which nation it had challenged!â€
There were no cases of larceny, robbery or theft during this period. Ordinary housewives flooded the banks with their ornaments and jewelry to donate them for contribution to the war effort. Even beggars were seen lining up to contribute their life savings for the defence of their motherland. Wherever the troops marched through, people would line up to shower them with flower petals, and sing praises.
They were offered free food and cold drinks. People lined up at hospitals and dispensaries to donate blood for the wounded and injured. Students formed their own committees for civil defence duties and digging up trenches. It was as if the entire nation was one solid impregnable wall. The rest is history. The Indians never achieved their depraved goal of having a drink at the Lahore Gymkhana. They were stopped in their tracks by a resolute nation, determined to daunt any aggressor.
The spirit of ’65 is something to take pride in and remember. However the question is, Pakistan has been faced with numerous crisis situations after 1965, but why the spirit of ’65 never surfaced again? In 1971, when our Eastern wing was dismembered, in 1998, when sanctions were imposed on us and we were declared a pariah state after the nuclear tests, in 1999, during the Kargil Crisis, in 2001-2002, when the Indians amassed their troops on the International boundary, threatening us with dire consequences. All these trials and tribulations called for a revival of the spirit of ’65. However, it was not to be and we remained divided and in a state of disarray.
What really matters is leadership, Inspired Leadership, which can transform an inchoate mass into a compact solidified force, which can withstand any test any trial. The people of Pakistan are one of the finest in the world. Full of zest for life, capable of struggle and strife; what they need is a leader to take them across the trials and tribulations and achieve their rightful place in the comity of nations. We have been lucky to have the bard poet, the philosopher Allama Iqbal, who described the Perfect Man: “He is the complete Ego, the goal of humanity, in him the discord of our mental life becomes harmony. The highest power is united in him with the highest knowledge. In his life, thought and action, instinct and reason become one. He is the last fruit of the tree of humanity and all the trials of a painful evolution are justified because he is to come at the end. He is the real ruler of mankind, his kingdom is the kingdom of God on earth.†For he is Iqbal’s Mard-i-Momin:
His desires are few, his ideals are lofty,
His ways are gratuitous, his gaze is pleasing,
He is soft in speech, but ardent in his quest,
In war as in peace, he is pure of heart and mind.
Would there be another such leader to revive the spirit of ’65 and build us again into a nation, a force to reckon with?
The author is a retired Group Captain, curently a free lance columnist

Admin: This has nothing to do with Aviation as a general topic. Locked.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top