IT was indeed a pleasant surprise to watch a telefilm on a private TV channel regarding the heroics of Pakistan Navy’s famous submarine Hangor during the 1971 war with India. Being an ex-submariner myself and also having served aboard Hangor soon after the war, I felt really proud.

The telefilm did to a large extent succeed in highlighting the life onboard and the difficulties the families of the crew members have to face while the submarine is on patrol, especially along the enemy coast. In order to conserve water, nobody shaves at sea and when you return home, even your family has issues recognising you. They recognise you only after you speak to them!

Hangor was the first submarine to have sunk any warship after World War II. The credit for this daring act goes to all its crew members headed by its commanding officer, Cdr Ahmad Tasnim, who later retired as a vice-admiral.

As the story goes, the first torpedo fired by the submarine missed the target. It is said that Hangor should have left the area to evade detection by the ships. In fact, the commanding officer was advised by some of his officers to leave the area quickly. However, while appreciating their advice, he acted against it and immediately ordered the firing of a second, followed by a third torpedo. Both the torpedoes hit the targets, immediately sinking INS Kukri and seriously damaging INS Kirpan.

At the completion of 50 years since the event, Pakistan Navy along with the entire nation is justifiably proud of what was achieved on that fateful day.

Cdre (retd) Sajjad Ali Shah Bokhari
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2022