Retired Colonel recalls his battleground during 1965 war

AHMEDABAD: Fifty years ago, Baljit Singh Joon, then 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd Madras Battalion, was in Sialkot (Pakistan) with his troops guarding the territory India had captured in the ongoing 1965 war. Later, Joon’s soldiers brought back a milestone which said: ‘Sialkot 1 Mile’. This stone slab, indicating India’s hold on the Pakistani city, is still kept on display as an important relic at the War Museum of the 6th Mountain Division.
Joon is 80 now. He was the only officer from Gujarat to participate in the series of events organized recently in New Delhi to mark the Golden Jubilee of the 1965 war. The events concluded with a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on September 22. He is also featured in a documentary on the 1965 military conflict between India and Pakistan.
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At the time of his retirement in 1991, Joon, a Colonel, was with state NCC. The family then settled in Vallabh Vidyanagar. His is among the few families that can claim to have fought in both the World Wars as well. Joon’s son, a commissioned officer in the army, is the family’s fourth generation to serve as a soldier.
“My unit was involved in decisive battles on the Punjab front such as the attack on Maharajke, capture of Phillora and siege of Sialkot,” said Joon, recalling the 1965 war. “It was one of the units of the 69th Infantry Brigade that had received orders to cross the border and capture important towns and villages in Pakistani territory.”
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Joon said his battalion was able to capture nearly 30 villages in addition to towns such as Phogowal and Kaloi that were used as hideouts by the Pakistani militia.
The brigade was successful in cutting off crucial rail links by occupying Alhar town – they connected Lahore with Sialkot – and forcing the Pakistani army to loosen its grip on Chamb-Jaurian in Jammu and Kashmir.
Finally, the brigade’s siege of Sialkot was evidence of Indian Army’s success in penetrating Pakistani territory. Army’s control on the town continued till February 1966 when Tashkent declaration ended the war.