Build bonhomie with civilians: Arunachal Guv to soldiers

Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig (Retd) Dr B D Mishra has exhorted soldiers of the 18th Battalion of Madras Regiment, where he was posted, to maintain discipline, train hard and build bonhomie with civilians. Addressing a 'Sainik Sammelan' organised to commemorate the 1971 India-Pakistan War at the battalion's unit location in New Delhi on Friday, he said that their determination will lead to success in all military endeavours.

The battalion was awarded theatre honour 'Sindh' for making a deep thrust in the western front across the Thar Desert into Pakistan's Sindh province in the 1971 war, an official communique said.

Mishra recalled his days as a young officer in the battalion in which he was commissioned on December 17, 1961.


"The Madras Regiment, the oldest in the Indian Army, has played an active role in many campaigns during the colonial period and after independence. 'Thambis', as the soldiers of the regiment are popularly known as, have always been known for their valour, sacrifice and devotion to duty," he said.

He said that the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 was a golden chapter in the military history of India.

Mishra said that the Indian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined to make the country self-sufficient in the defence sector.

Earlier, he laid a wreath at the battalion's war memorial and attended a special 'Bara Khana' with the troops, and Commanding Officer Colonel OLV Naresh briefed the governor on the war fitness and other achievements of the unit, the communique added.