16 December. Vijay Diwas. A day of glorious victory for India in the war for liberation of Bangladesh. And unconditional surrender of Pakistani forces in the East. But how significant was 1971? What did it lead to?

1971 was the coming of age of the Indian armed forces. From an ignominious defeat at the hands of the Chinese in 1962, it was a spectacular turnaround in a mere nine years. From its British-era legacy of a defensive force, capable of fighting static battles, Indian army had evolved into a formidable strike force by 1971. The Indian Air Force, which had not been used in 1962, established complete air superiority within first three days of the war. And it is not going to be any different if the situation were to repeat itself now. 1971 was also the first time the Indian Navy was deployed in a war. Since then, it has raised its profile to emerge as India’s foremost strategic arm.