The 1965 war between India and Pakistan once again came into debate as the new book titled ‘1965, Turning the Tide: How India Won the War’ was published.
The book is commissioned by the Indian Army’s official think-tank Centre for Land Warfare Studies and written by defence analyst Nitin Gokhale.
The book tries to prove that India had won the 1965 war against Pakistan, by providing several statistics and analysis and concludes that ‘India won the war’.
Background
From Pakistan’s side
Pakistan for long has claimed victory over India in the 1965 war. it also celebrates September 6 as the ‘Defence of Pakistan Day’. However most objective assessments held that the war ended more or less in a draw.
From India’s side
India was always more realistic in describing the 1965 War. According to the official war history recordings of India the 1965 war was more of a stalemate than anything else. Moreover, military gains had been also lost on the negotiating table.
India’s change in its opinion
Inspite of above mentioned background, the Narendra Modi government decided to celebrate the 1965 war as a “great victory” on its 50th anniversary.
How does the book comes to the conclusion?
- India captured 1,920 sq km of Pakistani territory while losing over 540 sq km of its own.
- India lost 2,862 soldiers, while the toll for Pakistan was 5,800, according to the then defence minister Y B Chavan’s statement in Rajya Sabha.
- Pakistan lost over 450 tanks, while India lost less than 100.
- Apart from the statistics, the book also says that Pakistan miserably failed to achieve its strategic objectives.
