Remembering September 6: Some Rare Photographs

Every year on 6th September, we remember the 17 days long Pak-India War of 1965. We often think and talk of wars in grand historic terms, but ultimately it is the lives of ordinary people that is touched in extraordinary ways in times of war. We sometimes fail to remember that soldiers are not just the pawns of history. They are people. Today we present a set of rare pictures of soldiers and people from the 1965 war.

Photo details (L to R): (1) An old villager appears to be quite amused as he is initiated into the mysteries of this AMX-13 tank left in Chamb area by the Indian Army. (2) Indian prisoners of war are cheering their favorites in the three-legged race in one of the camp’s sports meets. (3) Soldiers from Punjab Regiment at BRB Canal. (4) Pakistani soldier at Khem Karan marker. (5) Sailor on guard on the brow of submarine Ghazi. (6) No. 19 Squadron pilots.

After signing Tashkent Agreement (from L-R). Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Pakistani Foreign Minister Z. A. Bhutto, President Ayub Khan and Soviet Union Prime Minister Kosygin. One interesting thing to note in this photograph is that everyone seems to be smiling and happy except Mr. Bhutto.

Note: All photographs used in this post, except for Tashkent Agreement, are from the website of Pakistan Defense Consortium. Click on each image for larger view.