Hero of Jamalpur war also had son fighting

Towards the last days of our Liberation War, the commanding officer of Pakistan army in Jamalpur, Lt Col Sultan Ahmed, had sent a bullet to Brigadier Hardev Singh Kler in response to the latter's call for surrender.

In a letter written on December 9, 1971, Brig Kler had asked Lt Col Sultan to surrender to save lives of those under his command, recalled the Brigadier's son Deejay Kler who was then a flying officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Brig Kler was the commanding officer of 95 mountain brigade of Indian army while Sultan was the commanding officer of 31 Baluch Regiment during the war.

Sultan enclosed a bullet with his reply and asked Brig Kler to give up the pen and take up the stengun and fight it out in the battle ground.

The result was obvious. A fierce battle was to ensue between the troops under their command.

As Brig Kler had sent for paratroops to intensify the attack on Pakistani forces, his son Deejay got an opportunity to join hands with his father on the same front.

"The paratroops arrived here by IAF aircraft. I was escorting them to the dropping zone in Tangail," Deejay recalled while talking to this correspondent recently at his residence in Kolkata. "My father was on the ground to receive them."

Interestingly enough, neither the father nor the son knew anything about each other's position.

"I did not have regular communication with him during the war," Deejay explained.

Finally, the Pakistani troops sent a message on December 11 to Brig Kler, offering surrender. More ironic is the fact that Brig Kler went to the surrender venue riding in the jeep used by Sultan, which had already been captured by Indian troops, to accept the Jamalpur-based Pakistan Brigade's appeal for surrender.

The Pakistani side suffered heavy losses in the battle. Approximately 300 Pakistani soldiers were killed and another 379 captured. Large quantities of Pakistani weapons and ammunition were also captured by Indian troops.

Escaping the Jamalpur war front, however, Lt Col Sultan managed to go to Tangail.

The victory at Jamalpur further boosted the spirit of Brig Kler and his men. They continued their advance southwards and secured Tangail the very next day without any opposition. Then they advanced towards the capital, Dhaka.

Deejay Kler, who retired as the wing commander of the IAF, said that before marching towards Jamalpur, the mountain brigade led by his father had taken control of the Kamalpur border outpost from the Pakistan army in early December. Control over this outpost was vital for their advance towards Jamalpur.

The Indian troops under the command of Brig Kler kept advancing through Kamalpur towards the Turag river, which saw resistance from Pakistani troops in Kamalpur, Bakshiganj, Jamalpur, Tangail, Mirzapur and the west bank of river Turag.

Brig Kler himself directed all these operations. Although he was injured, he did not backtrack from his decision of leading his troops in person, his son claimed.

"My father had wanted to complete the battle as the commander of his brigade. This is why he had even declined to get promoted to the rank of major general during the war," he remembered.  

While inspecting a Pakistani military base after the capture of Kamalpur border outpost, Brig Kler, along with a major general, was injured when their jeep was blown up by an anti-tank mine on December 5.

As the wounds received by the major general worsened, he was replaced by Maj Gen G.S. Nagra who took over the command of 101 communication zone.

"Interestingly, I got some information about my father's health condition from a Pakistani army officer," Deejay recalled.

On December 11, as he was walking out of the Dum Dum airfield, he saw a few soldiers escorting a Pakistani army officer, a prisoner of war.

The Pakistani army officer saw Jay Kler's name on his badge and inquired whether he was related to Brig Kler.

"I am his son," Deejay replied.

"I surrendered to your dad this morning at Jamalpur," the Pakistani army officer informed.

In response to a query by Deejay, the Pakistani officer told him that he saw his father standing on his feet.

"This gave me relief as I heard that both of my father's legs were seriously injured in a mine explosion," said Deejay. "That [information] was a relieving piece of information for me."

The Pakistani officer then requested him to post two letters for him, which he did.

Before his father started operations in early December, Deejay had already become a known face among the Indian armed forces for his courageous air battle against Pakistani forces at Boyra in the Jessore border area.

Several days before the formal start of hostilities, the first air war between the air forces of India and Pakistan had begun on November 22.

While launching air strikes against the Bangladeshi freedom fighters, Pakistani air force jets often intruded into the Indian side.

"We were operating from the Dum Dum air field. We were ready to attack them the moment they cross into our side," Deejay Kler recalled.

"We intercepted four hostile aircraft, which had intruded into our territory," he said.

The Indian air force shot down two Pakistani air force fighter planes and captured two fighter pilots during the battle.

"It was a joyful and exciting moment for us. The two captured pilots were brought to Fort William in Kolkata. Media gave extensive coverage of the incident," he reminisced.

Deejay Kler's moment of terror came when his aircraft was hit by Pakistani ground troops at the battle of Daulatpur in Khulna.

"I got a bullet," he said with a smile, showing the large size of the bullet kept in a showcase of his drawing room.

"My aircraft was damaged. I was asked to eject from the aircraft. But I did not, even though my aircraft was losing fuel. I was asked to go to Jessore and to land there," he said. "But when I approached Jessore, I found the situation not suitable for landing. So I had no choice other than flying towards Kolkata with little fuel to land."

The battle came to an end with Pakistani troops surrendering on December 16.

Deejay Kler also reflected on his father's meeting with Lt Gen AK Niazi in Dhaka. Prior to the surrender ceremony, Brig Kler and Maj Gen Nagra were the first ones to enter Niazi's office in Dhaka.

Niazi, then chief of the Pakistan army's eastern command, talked to Brig Kler about his strategies in the Jamalpur battle. His meeting with his father was also an exciting and pleasing moment for him to reminisce.

Perhaps on December 17 or 18, he said, an aircraft was going to Dhaka from Dum Dum. The captain of the aircraft was his old instructor who asked him if he wanted to meet his dad in Dhaka. "Your dad is quite famous in Dhaka," the captain had told him.

"With my boss's consent, I jumped into the aircraft. I landed in Dhaka but I did not know anybody," he said. "Some youths saw my name on the badge and shouted 'Kler, Kler'. I told them I was the son of Brigadier Kler. They picked me up and put me in somebody's car, and took me to my dad."  

"My father was giving an interview to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He was surprised to see me and called my surname to make sure it was me. I responded: hey dad!"

After the surrender, he said, his father was in charge of all the prisoners of war and Lt Col Sultan was among them.

"My father asked Sultan why he had taken such a foolhardy decision as to continue fighting in Jamalpur causing deaths of 300 of his men. Sultan replied: 'I could not understand how your troops had surrounded us.'"

 [Brig Kler, who was later promoted to Major General, was awarded Maha Vir Chakra, the second highest military decoration in India, by the Indian government for his outstanding leadership role in the Jamalpur battle. His son Deejay Kler too was commended for his gallantry in the battle.

Both of Brig Kler's knees, which were injured in the December 5 mine blast, were replaced in 1995. The left knee was again replaced in 2004. However, his left leg got infected again and after suffering for over 9 years, it was amputated at the knee on September 3 on his 91st birthday. He is now undergoing treatment in the USA.