Addressing the gathering, Admiral (retd.) S.M. Nanda, who led the Indian Navy during the 1971 war, said that in the said war the Indian Navy for the first time participated in any war after Independence. He pointed out that in the attack on Karachi, the Indian Navy drowned four Pakistani ships and also blocked all sea-ways for the Pakistani forces to make their escape from East Pakistan. He said it was due to the joint operation of all the three forces that India achieved a remarkable victory in the war in which over 93,000 Pakistani soldiers were made prisoners of war (PoW). Speaking on the occasion, Lt. General (retd.) Kapil Kumar Nanda said that those soldiers who have not got equal rank and pension so far, should be provided their due rights forthwith. Lt. General Niranjan Malik also spoke on the occasion. Brig. Raj Bahadur Sharma called upon the gathering to observe Vijay Divas with the same glory and enthusiasm as they celebrate Deepavali every year. Smt. Nafisa Hussain and Smt. Anusuia Uike called upon the women belonging to soldiers? families to participate in activities of the National Commission for Women so as to root out all evils from the society.
