Antony Releases Coffee Table Book “Soldiering on”
“Soldiering on”- a Nostalgic journey through 100 years
Rare
photographs, memorable documents and vignettes of the heroics of the Indian
Armed Forces are the hallmarks of the Coffee Table Book “Soldiering On”
released by the Defence Minister Shri
AK Antony to commemorate the Centenary of the Sainik Samachar here today.
‘Soldiering
On…’ presents a panoramic view of the major events in the life of the
nation and to some extent, of the world, as reported by Fauji
Akhbar/Sainik Samachar
since its inception. It also reflects the trials and tribulations of some of
the epoch making chapters of Indian history and world history.
The
book "Soldiering On..." has been divided into four chapters. The
first chapter covers the trivia related to the magazine, while the second
chapter covers the period
from the date of its inception in 1909 till 1947 when the British soldiers left India . This portion of
the book includes archival material and photographs connected with the
declaration of Delhi as capital, the
First World War, the early stages of formation of all the wings of Armed Forces
and its major institutions, the Second World War, the partition and India's independence.
Two rare pages of this chapter, -"Down the Memory Lane" stand out for
their historic value. The first one titled "The Sun Set on the British Empire" depicts the
lowering of the Union Jack at the Residency in Lucknow on Aug 13, 1947. This flag was not brought down for a
period of 90 years since the mutiny of 1857. The flag was the pride of British
rule and a symbol of their empire which never saw a sunset. The second story is
about “Comrades’ Party", which was held on Aug 6, 1947 in New Delhi to say goodbye to
departing comrades of Indian Army who had joined Pakistan. The sentiments
expressed by the two sides at that moment is a stark reminder of how the time
has changed since then and the bonds that existed between the two at that time.
The next chapter of
the book titled "India Arrives", is a journey of free India. The chapter
captures the trials and tribulations of the nation during some of the epoch
making events after independence, the
heroic defence of Kashmir in 1947-48,
integration of Hyderabad, Goa & Diu to India, the saga of incredible heroics of Indian
troops in 1962, the rise of Indian defence industry
and the surge towards self-reliance, the death of India's greatest sons like
Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri,
incredible tank battles won by India in 1965 war, 1971 victory and the
liberation of Bangladesh, India's rise as a nuclear and space power, the saga
of heroism atop Kargil peaks in 1999 and India's
growing participation in International military exercises.
Among the many
articles and photographs, some of the memorable pages include a photograph of a
young boy of ‘Kashmiri National Militia’ saluting Pt. Nehru in Rajouri in 1948 along with a banner saying "We Will
Defend Kashmir with Our Blood". There are photographs which show
Indian troops manning a lonely post at Chushul
and going on a patrol next to Pangong Lake in Ladakh in 1962. The
book has dug out a rare photograph of Indira Gandhi
donating all her 367 gms of gold jewellery
to the national relief fund
to support the 1962 war effort. Then there is an incredible
photograph of a man holding tri-colour atop a
destroyed house in Khemkaran in 1965 which saw one of
the fiercest tank battle of modern times ,which India won and turned the
direction of the war on its head. There are quite a few pictures of Indian
troops inside Lahore district as they
had relentlessly pushed forward in Punjab sector inside Pakistan. The book has also
captured an incident which took place at Nathu La in
1967. The chapter has captured some momentous events of 1971 war like the
documents recovered from the destroyed and sunk Pakistani submarine Ghazi
from under the sea.
The book is a record of the
indomitable courage and heroics of Indian Armed forces. The pictures and
stories reinforce the fact that whenever any adversary has dared to mess up
with India’s security or
territorial integrity , Indian Armed Forces have risen
to the challenge and given the enemy a crushing reply. Each picture tells a thousand tales about
the sacrifice made by the brave men of Indian Armed Forces and their saga of
bravery.
The book features
some rare pictures of Indian troops in action on foreign soil during UN
peace keeping missions in Korea, Congo, Gaza , Indo-China among many such operations.
Prior
to the Independence the magazine wrote
with the perspective of the British ruling class. Sainik
Samachar has aptly written an editorial note along
with these articles to explain the British perspective to the discerning
readers.
The exciting
anthology doesn’t end here. One gets to see some rare documents like the ones
describing the hour by hour account of
rebellious actions by Indian Naval Ratings in 1946 at one of the ports
and an announcement about the total Indian casualties in the action. INA trials
also find a place here. Then there is a moving address by Jawaharlal Nehru for
the troops and people on the occasion of Diwali in
which he had expressed his pain, anguish and sympathy for the troops on the
Front during the tough winter conditions and hostile circumstances.
Sainik Samachar has been periodically publishing special
articles by some of the most eminent authors and persons of the India in their younger
days . The list includes Khushwant Singh, Mulk Raj Anand,
Amita Malik, etc. Chapter 4
of the book, contains interesting articles written by
these authors. The book has also traced the history, evolution and the role of
the Directorate of Public Relations of Ministry of Defence , which has played
an extremely important role for the Armed forces of India in war and peace.
‘Sainik Samachar’, started its
journey one hundred years ago. On January 2, 1909, Fauji Akhbar (rechristened as Sainik Samachar on April 4, 1954) saw the light of day as an Urdu weekly to
provide army personnel with “a summary of news with a bias.’ Considering the
level of extant technology for printing, communication network for collection
of material and infrastructure for distribution of the product, it is not
surprising to note that Fauji Akhbar
received instant popularity among its clients as a single window for vital
information that mattered to them. During its chequered
history, Fauji Akhbar has travelled from
Shimla (where its office was originally located
whilst published from Allahabad) to Lahore, back to Shimla and then to Delhi. Its popularity
was at its peak during the World War II when an overseas edition was launched
from Cairo for the benefit of
Indian troops deployed in far-off theaters. The print-order of Fauji Akhbar and its special
bi-weekly supplement Jang Ki Khabren
was in excess of three lakhs at that time. The
publication of, Fauji Akhbar
was suspended temporarily immediately after Independence due to sudden migration
of staff and the printer. however, it bounced back
with renewed vigour in no time. The magazine is now published in 13 Indian
languages and English.
Overall
this book is a collector’s item and in a unique treasure of information,
emotions and photographs of the journey of the last 100 years of India. The publication
of the book is a great attempt to compile, and condense a creditable piece of
document for posterity.
Sitanshu Kar
(Release ID :46339)