The two-day Military Literature Festival, organised at Khalsa College, Amritsar (KCA), in collaboration with Khalsa University, concluded with discussions on the 1965 India-Pak War, focusing on the strategic importance of Amritsar and Punjab’s border areas and the contribution of soldiers and civilians during the conflict.

Military veterans and experts, including Brigadier Satinder Singh, Lt Gen T.S. Shergill and Lt Gen J.S. Cheema, interacted with students and highlighted key military operations, including the battles of Khemkaran and Asal Uttar, as well as the courage displayed by the people of Punjab during the war.

Brigadier Satinder Singh, a war veteran, said the 1965 War demonstrated that a nation’s strength lay not only in its weapons but also in the courage of its soldiers, the unity of its people and their faith in the nation.

“The 1965 war, in terms of the Amritsar-Khem Karan sector, is significant as the Indian military response in Asal Uttar is remembered for the tactical defeat of Pakistani armour, but the battle also demonstrates how the Army depended upon the surrounding civilian environment,” he said.

“The farmers and local villagers left their homes and lands, while the administration helped with evacuation for the military to take over and fight. This reduced the risk of civilian casualties. Also, the sugarcane fields and irrigation canals were effectively used for Indian defence,” he said.

Lt Gen Shergill recalled the Battle of Asal Uttar and the bravery of Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid, who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

The Battle of Asal Uttar was one of the most decisive battles of the 1965 India-Pak War, in which Pakistan’s powerful 1st Armoured Division, equipped largely with American M47 and M48 Patton tanks, was defeated by Indian soldiers’ strategic use of terrain and agricultural fields.

Pakistan’s plan was to break through the Khemkaran sector towards Beas and Harike, capture operational routes

and important roads

towards Amritsar, cut

communications and threaten the Grand Trunk Road.

Asal Uttar came to be known as the “Graveyard of Patton Tanks” because of effective defensive planning and the use of terrain to restrict the movement of Pakistani tanks.

Havildar Abdul Hamid is one of the most celebrated Indian soldiers of the 1965 India-Pak War. He served with 4 Grenadiers and was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his actions at Asal Uttar in the Khem Karan sector.

While defending his position near Khemkaran, Hamid engaged and destroyed Pakistan’s armoured Patton tanks with a recoilless gun before achieving martyrdom, inspiring generations of Indian Army soldiers with his bravery and gritty last stand.

Lt Gen J.S. Cheema, former GOC of the Jalandhar-based Vajra Corps (11 Corps), said the 1965 War was not merely a chapter of history but a living saga of Punjab’s soil, its brave people and the indomitable spirit of Indian soldiers.

In the context of Amritsar, he stressed the resilience and cooperation of border communities remained an important part of national security.