LT. General Jagjit Singh Aurora, who led the Bangladesh-India joint forces to the historic victory against the Pakistan army in December 1971, died in New Delhi on Tuesday at the age of 89. With his passing, we have lost one of our rare friends, who stood by us during the most difficult times in our history. We honour him and recall his contribution with a deep sense of gratitude.

He will be remembered for his deft handling of a highly complex military situation that arose in Bangladesh in December 1971. The advancing joint forces, consisting of the Mukti Bahini, the Bangladeshi regular forces, and the Indian troops, were facing resistance at several points, and then the thought of keeping civilian casualties at a bare minimum also weighed heavily in the minds of the late General. It was not a war in its usual sense; the retreating Pakistani soldiers were destroying everything on their way back and the entire unarmed population was still badly exposed to their brutality. So Aurora, as the man in charge of subduing the last resistance, had to proceed very carefully. And he accomplished the task with remarkable precision. The 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered at Dhaka on 16 December, leaving behind a trail of blood.

Aurora presided over the surrender ceremony which finally ended the presence of the Pakistani troops in Bangladesh. That alone elevated him to the stature of a noble rescuer as far as people in this country are concerned. It was a great moment that the late General shared with us.

The discipline with which the post surrender phase was conducted and the fact that there was no wholesale butchery of the collaborators or looting of their property speaks volumes for the restrain of the Mukti Bahini and the leadership of Gen Aurora. We, Bangladeshis can take great pride in this fact especially if we compare what happened in post Saddam Iraq, and that too in the presence of the US forces.

Aurora's death has rekindled the memories of the events that shaped the destiny of this nation. The memories must be kept alive for the posterity to know about the man who certainly occupies a very special place in the history of the Liberation War.

The late General lived for another 34 years, after achieving that glorious victory. It is a shame that independent Bangladesh did not give him due honour in his life time. However, we should not allow this military hero to slip into oblivion, for that entails the grave risk of forgetting the momentous events of December 1971. Our condolences for the bereaved family members of the late General.