Today’s history: Pakistan started Operation Gibraltar to capture Kashmir, this became the reason for the Indo-Pak war of 1965

In the early five years of the 60s, two major events took place. First- Indo-China war in 1962 and second- Jawaharlal Nehru died in May 1964. On one hand India had lost the war with China and on the other hand a vacuum was created in Indian politics due to the death of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Pakistan felt that India is still weak due to these incidents and this weakness can be exploited. Pakistan launched Operation Gibraltar to fulfill its nefarious plans.

Actually Spain has a small island named Gibraltar. When the armies of Arab countries moved west to conquer Europe, their first stop was Gibraltar. Proceeding from here, the Arabic army had won the whole of Spain. Pakistan thought that once it captured Gibraltar (Kashmir) of India, it would capture the whole of Spain (India).

Thousands of Pakistani fighters were trained in guerrilla warfare. Armed with weapons, these fighters entered Kashmir on 5 August 1965. He was given two jobs. First – to incite Kashmiri Muslims against India and second – to capture Kashmir by fighting with the Indian army.

The dress and living style of these fighters was exactly like that of Kashmiris. The reason behind doing this was that Indian soldiers felt that they were citizens of Kashmir, but soon this plan of Pakistan failed. The people of Kashmir recognized these Pakistanis living among them and informed the Indian Army about it. The Indian Army arrested many fighters in the very beginning. India gave the responsibility of capturing or killing these fighters to the special commandos. Pakistan felt that its plan was going to fail, so it started firing with cannons. This is where the 1965 war between India and Pakistan began.

Indian soldiers patrolling the Haji Pir Pass in Kashmir.

While Pakistan had occupied areas like Uri and Poonch in Kashmir, India entered 8 kilometers inside PoK and captured Haji Pir Pass. The war between the two countries continued throughout August. On September 1, Pakistan launched Operation Grand Slam.

Its purpose was to capture the strategically important Akhnoor sector for India. By doing so, India’s contact with Kashmir would have been cut off. To answer this, India crossed the border on 6 September and targeted Lahore and Sialkot. This was the official start of the war from India’s side.

A fierce war ensued between the two countries. Pakistan brought American Patton tanks into battle. Pakistan had great faith in these modern tanks, but India’s Veer Abdul Hameed single-handedly destroyed 7 Patton tanks. On 22 September the United Nations Security Council had to intervene. After this both the countries declared ceasefire and the war ended.

After the war ended, the amount of damage in the war was estimated. India occupied 1920 square kilometer of land and Pakistan 540 square kilometer of land. 2,735 soldiers of India and 5,988 soldiers of Pakistan were killed.

1962: Nelson Mandela was arrested

In 1960, some people were protesting peacefully against apartheid in Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, South Africa. Then the police came there, threatened and started firing indiscriminately on the protesters. 69 people died in this firing.

The police blamed the African National Congress for the violence and started arresting several party leaders. Nelson Mandela was also included in the list of police. Mandela went to many countries seeking cooperation, but on August 5, 1962, Mandela was arrested by the police. Mandela was accused of plotting to topple the government of South Africa.

Mandela was tried and the court sentenced Mandela to life imprisonment in June 1964. Mandela was sent to the Robben Island prison. Mandela was so irritable in the eyes of the government that he was allowed to meet one person in 6 months.

Nelson Mandela among his fans at a stadium after his release from prison.

After the death of his mother in 1968, Mandela was not even allowed to attend the funeral. The very next year, his brother also died in an accident. Mandela was not even allowed to attend his brother’s funeral. He also developed tumors and tuberculosis during his stay in prison, but he was not released.

Mandela remained in prison for 27 years. He was released in February 1990 after mounting international pressure. Mandela became president after the end of apartheid policy in South Africa.

1991: Leela Seth became the first woman Chief Justice of the High Court in India

On August 5, 1991, for the first time in the country, a woman was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court. On this day in 1991, Leela Seth, the first woman to top the London Bar Examination, became the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh.

Justice Leela Seth is also known for fighting for the rights of women and homosexuals.

Born on 20 October 1930 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Justice Leela moved to London after marriage. In 1958, she became the first woman to pass the London Bar Exam. After returning to India, he practiced as a lawyer in the Patna High Court for 10 years continuously. She was also the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court.

August 5 is also remembered because of these important events in history.

2019: The Government of India abolished the provision giving special status to Kashmir by removing Article 370.

2006: Turkey started building a disputed dam on the Tigris River at a cost of $1.5 billion.

1963: Britain, America and Russia signed a treaty to ban nuclear tests in underwater and open space.

1914: The world’s first electric traffic light has been installed in Cleveland, Ohio. It had two lights red and green.