Haha it was all guff? That's really unexpected of you, Joe...
General Osmani posing with Indians, so what? I did say that he was present in the farewell of Indian troops.
You know why I showed you that photo of Colonel Osmani, as he then was, posing with 'Indians'? Because of the identities of the Indians.
From left to right, standing, my mother, Prem Nath Luthra, who managed the refugee camps, Mrs. Luthra, Mrs. Arora, Buchi Das, the son's daughter of C. R. Das, Lt. General Jagjit Singh Arora, Col. (later Gen.) M. A. G. Osmani, my father's personal friend from 1944 onwards, Siddhartha Ray, the daughter's son of C. R. Das, Maj. General J. F. R. Jacob, my father.
At that dinner, there was nothing about,'We could have done it without you.' At the best of times, Osmani was laconic; here what he had to say was limited, but it was profusely thankful. So when I read those fanciful stories of what he said about managing alone, I wonder.
You may or may not be aware of the state of the Mukti Bahini by December 1971. Far from being able to conquer the PA, they were fighting with their backs to the wall. Don't kid yourself.
Does sectarian hatred settle down so quickly? Especially in the subcontinent?
No, it doesn't. It was just that the newly liberated administration needed time to take a grip.
Was going with the flow...
Much relieved.
Also, did I mention the massive looting by the Indian troops? According to the report by Kamal Hossain, the loots by Indian troops amounted to at least US$2 billion which was also partly responsible for the terrible food crisis in the country...
Of course. After feeding the refugees for months, we needed to get the food back from the huge stores piled up by the PA.
Were you there? Just asking. Your breezy familiarity makes me ask
.