AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 7 – Panorama CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 305 of 332 As soon as the news of the safe recovery of these aircraft after their successful mission reached Delhi, as if on cue, Mrs Gandhi declared war, the clouds of which were looming large from the beginning of 1971 itself. The Bengali PAF pilots were trained by the IAF at several bases located along the eastern border of that country. 'Kilo Flight', as it was called, was a small part of the larger 'Kilo Force' formed from the large population of East Pakistanis (of Bengali origin) fleeing their country into India. This story is how these pilots were trained by the IAF and achieved the impossible, braving all odds. They went on to become the pioneers of the soon to be Bangladesh air force. "But before we get to know more about the Kilo Flight, it would be pertinent to know how the 'Kilo Force' was formed and we need to go back in time," the guru said to me as the chat warmed up. In early 1971, SheikhMujibur Rehman announced on Chittagong radio that East Pakistan was separating from West Pakistan and a new country was to be formed. He was trying to garner as much local support within and outside the armed forces deployed in East Pakistan. This led to a general revolt among the Bengali population in East Pakistan and a retaliatory crackdown -- Operation Searchlight -- was launched by the Pakistan army. This led to a mass exodus from East Pakistan into India. Also fleeing the brutal Pakistani army repression were government officials and soldiers of the Pakistan armed forces of Bengali origin. Although the easiest route to India was to come westwards towards Calcutta, it was found to be easier to escape by penetrating the porous border in the east around Agartala at that point of time. "We had a large number of dissidents coming in," recalls the IAF veteran, "Of these, 40 odd VIP dissidents were taken to Calcutta. They formed the core group of the government in exile. They were housed in a building named Ramkutir in Tollygunj near the Hoogly. The army signal unit located alongside provided them with much needed security."