Early 1948. The armies of the newly independent nations of India and Pakistan were engaged in battle in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. It was a strange war. Many of the combatants on either side knew each other well (1/n)
Less than a year ago, they were comrades in arms. But now they were in battle against each other. One battle was particularly poignant. An Indian Major was leading his troops in battle. His bullet hit his opposite number (2/n)
As the Pakistani Major gave out a cry of anguish, the Indian Major immediately identified the voice. He composed himself, and shouted out "Don't grieve Chhotey! We are soldiers and we did our duty" (3/n)
The speaker was Major Sahibzada Yunus Khan, Indian Army. His "chhotey" was Major Sahibzada Yaqub Khan, Pakistan Army. They were siblings who now ended up in a battle against each other (4/n)
Sahibzada Yunus & Yaqub belonged to the royal family of Rampur. The brothers fought in WWII & both earned the Indian General Service Medal (IGMS). Sahibzada Yaqub was taken PoW at the Egypt/Libya border (5/n)
Few months later, he made a daring escape with two fellow PoWs who in time would become Army Chief of India & Pakistan respectively, Kumarmangalam & Yahya Khan! When independence & partition beckoned, Sahibzada Yaqub opted to move to Pakistan (6/n)
His older brother opted to remain in India. And in some months, they were battling each other in Kashmir. After the above mentioned conflict, Col. Manekshaw & Col. Jasbir Singh both commended Sahibzada Yunus on his conduct (7/n)
They also expressed regret about his younger brother getting hurt. From Yaqub leaving India at partition till 1960, the firing incident was the only contact between the brothers. In 1960, Sahibzada Yaqub got married to a girl from Calcutta (8/n)
Ayub Khan, president of Pakistan, invited Yaqub's parents from Rampur to Pakistan on a state sponsored visit. Sahibzada Yunus didn't travel but sent a congratulatory message to his younger brother, their first communique in 12 years (9/n)
Sahibzada Yunus retired from the army as a Colonel & served as deputy military secy. to the President of India. Sahibzada Yaqub rose to become a 3-star general in the Pak army. In 1971, he was governor of East Pakistan (10/n)
When Yahya Khan decided to launch military crackdown in East Pakistan, Yaqub, despite being a lifelong military man, advised him against it. When Yahya refused to relent, Sahibzada Yaqub resigned as governor (11/n)
After the '71 war, Yaqub served as Pakistan's envoy in multiple countries. After coming to power in a coup, Gen. Zia appointed Yaqub as foreign minister (12/n)
It was in this capacity that he visited Delhi in 1982 and finally met his older brother after 36 years. Two brothers separated by geo-politics and sense of duty, but always connected emotionally (13/n)
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
