Col. Tara being honored in Bangladesh in 2012

He continued walking up towards the gate, undeterred by how close his life was to getting over. When he was just meters away from the gate, the voice of a Pakistani soldier bellowed in chaste Punjabi asking him not to take a step further, else they would shoot.

Major Tara knew it was now or never. He seized the moment. Much like in a game of chess, the response from the Pakistani soldier had given him a whiff of an opportunity; he sensed the door was slightly ajar and he’d try and kick it down. This indeed was the opening he was seeking and he was willing to take a calculated risk. “I’m an Indian Army officer in uniform. I’m unarmed. I’ve come to tell you that the Pakistani forces have surrendered…”

A volley of abuses in chaste Punjabi followed from inside the house. The Pakistani soldiers stationed at Dhanmondi had no knowledge about the surrender of their fellow army men the day before. So, they continued to belittle the Indian Army and its people. One of them shouted that Indians were cowards, not fit to fight, and they’d finish them all. They were not afraid of the Indian Army, the same leader of the pack screamed. All kinds of threats followed, punctuated generously with words not fit for a family magazine.

Major Tara had moved in closer now. He made a quick evaluation that between 10 and 12 Pakistani soldiers with loaded weapons were manning four pickets in the 200 sq yard single-storey house and keeping a close watch on Rahman’s family. The soldiers were awaiting instructions from their seniors regarding their next steps. One of them suddenly opened fire at the crowd and bullets flew agonizingly close over Major Tara’s head. Clearly these Pakistanis were capable of causing much damage if provoked.

The Pakistanis kept foul-mouthing the Indian Army and the Indian people. Major Tara kept telling them that it was all over for the Pakistanis, that more than 90,000 soldiers had laid down their arms and surrendered the day before. There was disbelief. “We don’t trust you,” the leader of the pack shouted back hoarsely.

Time was running out and Major Tara knew that he had to somehow convey to them that the Pakistani army had indeed surrendered. Just at that moment an Indian Army helicopter flying overhead provided him with another opening that he was desperately looking for. Once again he did not fail to seize the moment. Pointing his finger at the chopper he said, “You can see the Indian Army is in control in Dhaka. That is why our helicopter is flying above our heads. I myself am standing here before you in an Indian Army uniform. I could not have been here if the Indian Army was not in control. It is in your best interest to surrender now.”