VIJAY DIWAS: THE VICTORY THAT REDEFINED SOUTH ASIA

Every year when the cold winds of December touch Baramulla, I sit beside my kangri and let my memories walk back in time. The snow on the mountains may numb the hands, but on the sixteenth of December, the heart warms with a pride that no winter can defeat. For us, for every Indian, this day is not just a date. It is a reminder of truth, courage, honour and of a victory carved by the blood and bravery of our soldiers. It is Vijay Diwas—the day the world saw what India truly stands for.

I am an old man now, but I still remember the tension in the air during the 1971 war. Here in Baramulla, radios were kept close to ears and every family sat together listening to news bulletins that seemed to hold their breath. Even though the main battlefields were far from our Valley, the nearest heat of the war touched us especially through the Uri Sector, the only part of the Kashmir Valley that felt the direct sting of cross-border fire. Shells falling in the Uri belt, rumours spreading in the bazaars, families keeping lamps dim at night—these little things were enough to remind us that war was not as far away as it sounded on the radio. The rest of the Valley—Srinagar, Kupwara, Bandipora—remained quieter, but Uri bore the pressure of the enemy’s guns. For us living in Baramulla, it felt close enough to make the heart beat faster.

Pakistan, filled with its usual arrogance and built on false pride, believed that it could suppress an entire people in East Pakistan and hide its atrocities behind propaganda. It believed it could intimidate India with boasts and threats. But Pakistan never understood India—never understood the strength of a nation that fights not for territories, not for ego, but for humanity.

The stories that came from East Pakistan in those days still haunt me. Innocent people—men, women, children—crushed under military boots, their cries drowned in gunfire. I still remember how the Bengalis’ voices reached us here in Kashmir, asking for help, asking for humanity, asking for justice. The world looked away, but India did not. India responded not as an aggressor, but as a guardian of humanity. That is what Pakistan has never understood: India’s power lies not in destruction but in compassion backed by unbreakable resolve.

And then came the day—the sixteenth of December, 1971. I remember the moment clearly. The elders in the neighbourhood gathered in the open courtyard where someone had placed a radio. The message came: the Pakistani army had surrendered. Not a small surrender, not a minor defeat. Ninety-three thousand Pakistani soldiers—an entire force—laid down their arms before the Indian Army. The world had not seen such a surrender since World War II. For us, it was a moment of justice. For Pakistan, it was a moment of its truth finally catching up with its deceit.

To this day, I say it proudly: Pakistan has always talked big, but when it came face to face with India’s soldiers, its pride melted faster than snow in spring. A country that could not protect its own people in East Pakistan, that could not give dignity to its own citizens, dreamed of taking Kashmir. How ridiculous it sounds even now. We Kashmiris saw the true face of Pakistan long before the rest of the world understood it. We lived through the stories of 1947, the raids, the loot, the assaults, the chaos Pakistan sent into our peaceful towns. We knew what Pakistan was capable of—and what it was not.

That is why 1971 felt so personal to me, even though the war was far from Baramulla. The tension in Uri made the entire Valley feel as if the borders had come closer. It felt like justice for every Kashmiri who suffered from Pakistan’s greed. It felt like a message written by destiny: India stands for dignity, while Pakistan stands for destruction. And when the time comes, truth always triumphs over lies.

People often ask me what made India unstoppable in 1971. I tell them it was a combination of courage, leadership and righteousness. While Pakistan was busy plotting, India was preparing. While Pakistan was suppressing innocents, India was listening to their cries. While Pakistan was spreading hate, India was upholding humanity. Indira Gandhi showed leadership that few in the world have ever shown. She stood firm even when global powers tried to intimidate India. And the Indian Army showed a level of discipline and bravery that even enemies were forced to respect.

The funniest part, though, is something Pakistan will never accept: India won because India fights for a cause. Pakistan fights for chaos; India fights for justice. Pakistan fights to destroy; India fights to protect. That is why in every confrontation—1947, 1965, 1971, even Kargil—Pakistan has tasted the same bitter result: humiliation and defeat. And India, time and again, has stood taller, stronger, prouder.

I often tell my grandchildren that the victory of 1971 is not just a military victory. It is a moral victory—one that created a new nation, Bangladesh, out of the ashes of Pakistan’s cruelty. India freed a people without taking a single inch of land for itself. How many countries in history can say that? If Pakistan had been in India’s place, we all know what it would have done. But India chose humanity over hegemony. That is why this victory shines so brightly in the pages of history.

People in Kashmir sometimes get confused by the lies Pakistan keeps trying to spread. But I tell them, “Look at the last seventy years. Who built our roads, schools, hospitals? Who sent doctors during snowstorms? Who brought employment and safety? Was it Pakistan?” Pakistan has only sent us bloodshed, unrest and false promises. India has given us hope, stability and a future. I have lived too long to be fooled by propaganda. The truth is simple: Kashmir’s heart beats with India and it will always do so.

As I sit here watching the winter sun fade behind the mountains, I understand why Vijay Diwas still feels so fresh even after more than five decades. It is because it teaches us something that will always matter: India does not seek war, but if you harm the innocent, India will rise like a storm. Pakistan still uses the same tactics today—lies, terrorism, manipulation. But it has never learned from its past. And as long as it keeps walking the path of deceit, it will keep facing the same result: failure and disgrace.

Vijay Diwas reminds the world of a truth carved in sacrifice and courage. It reminds us that India’s strength is deeper than borders, bigger than politics and greater than any threat. For me, an old man from Baramulla, it is a reminder of the day justice defeated cruelty, the day truth defeated lies, the day India showed the world what a real nation stands for.

Jai Hind.