By Col JC Sindhwani (Retd)
This 15 August 2025 will be our 78th Independence Day. There are occasions when old memories come back to mind. My thoughts go back to the year 1972 when we had just emerged from the historic war with Pakistan, split its eastern wing to create a new nation called Bangladesh, and were moving back to our Cantonments. My Battery was earmarked for Ceremonial Duties and was moved to Gurgaon which was then a small town like any other. With my 6 guns (25 pounders of WW-2 vintage) we were located on a patch of Defence Land in Dhundhahera, next to the Maruti Factory. We were required to convert one Gun into a Gun Carriage designed to take VIP departed souls to their last journey, towed by a decorated truck. And polish up the rest for rendering Gun Salutes to leaders who were State Guests of Government on official state visits.
During this period there was lot of political activity as the Simla Conference with Pakistan PM ZA Bhutto was also being worked out and the repatriation of 93,000 prisoners of war was a hot topic, etc. Even I was asked to stand by with my Guns and personnel to move to Chandigarh airport to give a gun salute to the Pakistani PM who would land there and proceed to Simla for negotiations. I went over the Manual of Ceremonies which clearly stated that 21 Gun Salutes were given to Heads of State who come to the National Capital on State Visits. This was neither a state visit, nor in the Capital. It was a meeting to negotiate peace and sort out allied matters. On my pointing out this situation, I was told to stand down.
This is an event I mention as it happened a little before our Ceremonial commitment for the 25th Independence Day.
Normally, on 15 August our guns are deployed, wheel to wheel, to fire gun salutes in an allotted area close to the Red Fort. And the Battery Commander is located on the ramparts close to the guest seating area. He is required to coordinate and synchronise the first round of fire, with the unfurling of the flag and the first beat of the band playing the National Anthem. This year there was an added requirement at the Parliament House on the previous night. It was to give a 25 Gun Salute at the stroke of midnight. For this, my guns were placed at an allotted plot within the Parliament compound. The function was to re-enact the parliamentary session as was done in 1947 inside the Parliament.
The band was in position inside the house, my guns ready with their blank shells, and I was at a suitable place with my radio set to order the guns to fire.
There was first a speech by the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, then by the President VV Giri, which was paused at the stroke of midnight, and there was the National Anthem, and firing of our 25 Gun Salute to mark the occasion.
The Capital administration had made arrangements to inform the residents around Parliament and in other areas too about the midnight firing of guns in celebration, lest the public panicked with fear and caused rumours.
In fact, the prior information about gunfire brought lots of people near the Parliament building to have a look and there were volleys of shouts each time a gun fired. This was a one-time event for our Regiment to be part of, being the Silver Jubilee of our Independence Day.
Soon after, we moved the guns to the Red Fort gun area for next morning’s event.
‘Memories are all I have to cling to’ (a line from Bobby Darin’s song) of the good times gone by. And, by sharing them we re-live those moments and celebrate.
Wishing all readers A Very Happy Independence Day. 2025.
(Col JC Sindhwani (Retd) is a resident of Dalanwala since Partition, whose family migrated from Sargodha. He was educated in SJA before joining the Army and retired in 1992.)
