Major Tara with Bangabandhu’s family

Rescue Mission

At around 4 p.m. on December 16, 1971, Pakistani general A.A. Niazi along with 93,000 soldiers of his army laid down their arms and surrendered before the Indian Army and the Mukti Bahini, effectively ending what had been a 13-day Indo-Pak war, and a nine-month long Liberation War. Almost immediately after, Major Tara received a message instructing him to secure the Dhaka airport as plenty of VIP movement was expected there, including the arrival of world leaders.

Things, though, were to change dramatically the very next morning. At 9 a.m. on December 17, 1971, a Mukti Bahini Jodha (fighter) who was also an aide to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, came and informed Major Tara’s commanding officer that the Bengali leader’s family was in captivity at their Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka, and some Pakistani soldiers could murder them any time. The news came as a surprise to Major Tara and his CO since the Pakistanis troops had surrendered a day earlier.

Accompanied by the Jodha and two jawans of the Indian Army, Major Tara reached Dhanmondi. At a distance of about one hundred yards from the residence stood a large crowd, demanding the safe release of Sheikh Mujib’s family. They were, however, afraid to go near as there were several heavily armed Pakistani soldiers still inside the house. Major Tara too was warned by some people in the crowd to not go near as the Pakistanis would not hesitate to open fire. In fact, a lady reporter who’d ventured towards the house a few minutes ago had been shot dead.

Not in every man’s life does a moment come when he has to choose between life and death. Major Tara was now confronting that extremely difficult moment. He knew that if he involved his seniors at this time, plenty of questions would be asked, and by the time reinforcements arrived it could be too late to save the lives of the members of what was East Pakistan’s first family.

“Time was slipping away. I knew it was my duty to save the family. I decided to face the Pakistani captors, and take a chance,” recounts Col. Tara nearly 53 years later at his residence in Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi. “It would be my guts, and my wits, against theirs,” he said.

Guts and wits he showed in astounding measure as he handed over his weapon to one of the jawans and started walking towards the Dhanmondi residence, all alone. He was literally walking down a stretch of road that could turn into a graveyard for him. He saw a car parked across the house and when near it, he called out in Hindi, “Koi Hai?” (Is anybody there?). He was greeted with an eerie silence. A few moments later he repeated his question, this time in English, “Is there anybody?” Once again he could only hear the sound of silence. He wondered whether everything was alright, and the family members were safe.