Table of Contents

Part 1 A personal memoir: down memory lane; Indian Air Force Volunteer Reserve; contribution to the war effort. Part 2 The formative years: independence; Kashmir 1947-48 - the first round; coming of age; interlude - IAC; Chinese checkers; Indo-Pak war 1965 - the second round. Part 3 Conflict 1971 - the third round: the preliminaries; planning for operations; the Eastern sector; the Western sector; South-Western sector; central air command; summing up.

About the Author

Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal had a diploma in journalism from King's College London and was attending the Bar at the Middle Temple when World War II cut short his career in these spheres and he was called to join the Air Force. His span of service covers a period of thirty-three years, from the end of 1939 to the beginning of 1973. It includes the Burma campaign of World War II, the restricted fighting in Kashmir in 1947 and 1948, the Chinese debacle in 1962, and the two full-scale wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. After retiring from the IAF, he was recalled to the public sector. He retired as the joint chairman of Air India and Indian Airlines in February 1980. He was also the chairman of the National Institute of Training in Industrial Engineering and a member of the board of the Reserve Bank of India for a number of years.