From Kutch to Tashkent: The Indo-Pakistan War of 1965

by Farooq Naseem Bajwa

Decades of Pakistani resentment over India's stance on Kashmir, and its subsequent attempt to force a military solution on the issue, led to the 1965 war between the two neighbours. It ended in a stalemate on the battlefield, and after a mere twenty-one days, the war was brought to a dramatic end with the signing of a peace treaty at Tashkent. The opposing sides both claimed victory, however, and also catalogues of heroic deeds that have since taken on the character of mythology. Although neither prevailed outright, the one undoubted loser in the conflict was the incumbent President of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan, who staked his political and military reputation on Pakistan emerging victorious.

With the superpowers unwilling assist in negotiations, and Pakistan reluctant to damage its alliance with America, the agreement that followed only reinforced India's position not to surrender anything during diplomacy that Pakistan had failed to gain militarily. This book examines in detail the politics, diplomacy and military manoeuvres of the war, using British and American declassified documents and memoirs, as well as some unpublished interviews. It provides a comprehensive overview of the conflict and makes sense of the morass of diplomacy and the confusion of war.

Genres: History, India, Politics

256 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An even-handed treatment of the clash in South Asia in 1965 which I acquired to observe the 50th anniversary of the war. Generally, Mr. Bajwa blames Pakistan for starting the fighting, and also claims that while the fighting itself was more or less a draw, Pakistan suffered a strategic defeat by failing to bring the Kashmir issue to the table, which is what brought the war on in the first place. I didn't enjoy the book as much as I might have because 1) most of the narrative is taken up describing the diplomacy that surrounded the whole dreary affair in excruciating detail, 2) the treatment of the fighting itself is not as detailed as I would have liked it to be and, most importantly, 3) there are NO maps accompanying the descriptions of the battles. Just an incredible oversight, and it made reading about those battles a frustrating experience. I will try and find a better book on the topic, and can't recommend this work to anyone who takes their military history seriously. A few photos of the principles and the gear would not have gone amiss either.

[Syed Hassan Abbas Zaidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"From Kutch to Tashkent" is a fairly neutral account of the war of 1965. Apart from the military aspects, Bajwa has briefly touched upon the background of the war along with political and diplomatic dynamics while narrating the event of Tashkent talks in detail. Fighting episode is more or less a summary of Mehmud Ahmed Khan's book but the war account lacks battle maps without which military operations are slightly hard to comprehend.

[Hassaan Bokhari · Rating 1 out of 5]

More than 50 years have elapsed since the 1965 war. Many books have been written on the topic. So while reading a new book on this topic one would expect to find a fresher perspective or a systematic accumulation of facts paired with a good analysis. Sadly this book fails on both counts. As far as military history is concerned it is a very poor book. There isnt even a single map in the whole book. The portion concerned with diplomatic history is somewhat better but the author almost exclusively relies on US and British sources. The writer doesnt delve much into independent analysis and most of analysis presented in the book is hackneyed. Instead of analysing the subject, the writer seems more interested in allocating equal points to both sides. In his quest to appear neutral the author has sacrificed objectivity on many points.The sources are few and even those havent been properly utilised. In short a book not worthy of the time spent on reading it.

[Danial Qazi · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1965 President Ayub was convinced that India is not interested in diplomatic solution of Kashmir. So he let his jingoistic hawks loose to force India towards a desired solution of Kashmir issue. There is enough circumstantial evidence to prove that Ayub was convinced that by halting his Army advance towards Akhnoor, He provided enough gesture to India, to not escalate the War further and let the issue decide on table. Pakistan was not in any way prepared for an all out war with India and almost wholly dependent on US, militarily and economically. After the Arms embargo by US, Pakistan was simply not able to sustain a long War. There was no decisive battle in this war and both armies were able to hold a defensive line as India in Asal Uttar and Pakistan in Chamb sector and Lahore. Hence Militarily this war was ended on stalemate but Pakistan loose much on diplomatic front and ultimate looser.

[Syed Haris Mahmood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very free flowing book, very readable and neutral account of a highly contested time and event. As a consequence, the volume had me hooked all the time. Only oversight is the missing maps from the authentic military sources which seems like an inexplicable miss given the book is very well researched and referenced otherwise. But that you can live with now as Google Maps will atleast let you have your bearings right as you move through Operations Gibraltar, GrandSlam, Riddle, Mailed Fist and Nepal and the diplomacy during and after this time with some very interesting insights into the US, Soviet, Chinese and British thinking about the intractable India- Pakistan issues. Recommended for all history buffs as well as people poking their noses into the subject for the first time and require a one volume no non-sense type of a book to take them through!

[Crimson 786 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read Mahmood A Khan’s (predominantly military) account of 1965 war between Pakistan and India over Kashmir, I was searching for two things. Firstly, An account of pre and post war global and regional environment and secondly an alternate insight into the war by a non military author.

Farooq Bajwa has (by and large) done justice to his work. This is definitely a fair account of war, its battles, amply exposing the motives and mindset of leaders and enables reader to form a sound opinion about the issue. Author’s reliance on official documents as primary source lends credibility to the work.

Excellent research work, unbiased analysis and intellectual honesty makes this a pleasure reading.

[Muhammad Huzaifa · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Kutch to Tashkent is by far one of the most detailed books on the ‘65 war that one can find in a Pakistani bookstore which in spite of its detail and length neither relies entirely on heavy military jargon that a layman would not understand nor goes to the extent of oversimplifying concepts related to modern warfare. It is an excellent read covering the major parts leading to the buildup of the war and how the ceasefire occurred afterwards. Throughout the books the author doesn’t shy away from praising either side or criticising them for their shortcomings and instead of relying on one version of events the author lays before the reader all known versions and expects the reader to choose whichever suits them best. An excellent read.

[Umair · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author tried his best to give an un biased view and picture of the 1965 Indo pak war. And so much information is given which is essential to understand the build up towards the war.

[Vijay Rayasam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books gives an insight about the plans which Pakistan had before launching an attack on Indian soil with infiltration which was very much similar to that of the Kargil war in 1999. The book gives us an idea about the blunders which Pakistan had done and some misconceptions which Pakistan had about Indian army owing to their recent defeat to China in 1962 and also in Kutch against Pakistan in early 1965, where India had territorial disadvantages which was misinterpreted by Pakistan as inefficiency of Indian army which was consequently proved wrong. At last even though Pakistan had to sign the Tashkent treaty without any real diplomatic gains, India also did not gain much from the war, except for a bit of diplomatic victory. On military point of view both the sides had suffered equal loss and after the war nothing had changed geographically.

[Hassan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book kept me glued and the narration was gripping. The good thing was that most of the things were quoted from authentic sources and these sources were mentioned right within the text. The only thing lacking were maps which could have helped in better understanding of battles. I would surely like to read other books written by the author.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a detailed account and analysis... should be essential reading for those on both sides who feel war is an answer

[Abdul Moiz Malik]

A very compelling read. It lays out the events leading to the 1965 war in great detail. A fairly unbiased account of what transpired.

[Ali Murtaza]

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