An operation was launched in Mizoram on 28 February 1966 to drive out the Indian security forces. Its name was 'Operation Jericho'. This operation was started by the Mizo National Front. This was the period when the then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri had passed away in Tashkent. Just 13 days after this, Indira Gandhi took command of the country, but the biggest challenge before her was to deal with the Mizo National Front as soon as she took over as the PM. In fact, just three days before Indira Gandhi became the PM, Mizo National Front leader Laldenga wrote a letter to the then President of Indonesia, Sukarno, expressing his desire to make Mizoram a separate country from Assam.
Operation Jericho, which started in Mizoram in 1966, was so terrible that to suppress it, the Indian Air Force bombed a major part of its own country. A round of political war and counterattack is going on in Congress and BJP regarding this incident of bombing, in which it is being said that Rajesh Pilot and Suresh Kalmadi were also included in the pilots of the fighter jet sent there. Let's understand what happened in Mizoram 57 years ago, about which debate is going on in BJP-Congress.
What was operation jericho
Mizoram was a part of Assam in 1966. The Mizo National Front had announced to liberate it. At that time the soldiers of the Indian Army were stationed there, to drive them out, the Mizo National Front started Operation Jericho. It was announced on 28 February 1966 and the military cantonments in Aizawl and Lunglai were first attacked. On February 29, the Mizo National Front announced that Mizoram is now independent.
Government treasury looted, military weapons also looted
The Mizo National Front attack was so strategically strong that it could not be countered. Militants dominated, the government treasury was looted in Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram. Weapons were looted from soldiers in Champhai. Jawans were taken hostage and Aizawl's main telephone exchange was targeted so that information could not reach Delhi.
Helicopters sent earlier
Somehow the information reached Delhi, two cities were under the control of Mizo National Front, first helicopters were sent, so that soldiers and weapons could be delivered, but this could not happen. The spirits of the Mizo National Front were getting high, the condition had become such that the flag of the Mizo National Front was being hoisted after taking off the tricolor from the headquarters of the Assam Rifles. After this the responsibility was given to the Air Force. According to a report in East Mojo, on March 5, 1966, four planes of the Indian Air Force surrounded Aizawl and started bombing. This struggle continued till 13 March. The retaliatory action of the Air Force broke the morale of the militants and the Indian Army again captured Mizoram.
Bombing caused heavy destruction
The bombardment on Mizoram had caused huge devastation. Although it was never confirmed by the government and the army. In 1966, a report was published by the then PM Indira Gandhi in the Kolkata-based Hindustan Standard, in which it was claimed that Air Force planes had gone to Mizoram, but only for airdrops and supplies. However, questions kept arising as to why fighter jets were sent for airdrops and supplies.
This is how the Mizo National Front was established
Mizo Hills was a part of Assam in the 1960s. In 1960, the Assam government declared Assamese as the official language, which was opposed by the Mizo people. After the decision of the Assam government, those people who did not know Assamese cannot get government jobs. In protest against this the Mizo National Front was formed, its founder was Laldenga. At first the organization kept its word in a peaceful manner, but when the Assam Regiment dismissed one of its battalions in 1964, the matter worsened. Most of the soldiers in this battalion were Mizos, who joined the Mizo National Front. Got the support of the extremists and this organization descended on violence.
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