You Surrender Or We Wipe You Out: Sam Bahadur’s Message To Pak In 1971

Vijay Diwas is a day to remember the great soldier of India, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who led India to victory in the 1971 war against Pakistan. “You surrender or we wipe you out.” was the message given by Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw to Pakistan on December 13, 1971. Field Marshal Manekshaw was as a fearless patriot revered as the country’s best-known soldier. When former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had asked him if he was ready to go to war with Pakistan over Bangladesh in 1971, he reportedly replied, “I am always ready, sweetie.” Field Marshal Manekshaw’s distinguished military career spanned four decades, in which he participated in five wars, including the India-Pak War of 1971. Born as Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw (1914-2008), he was lovingly known as ‘Sam Bahadur’.