Forty years ago, in a historic war that lasted just 13 days, India defeated Pakistan, marking the nation's greatest military triumph.
We salute the heroes of the 1971 War in this special section.

The flying hero of the 1971 war His gallant action remains undiminished. It was not his day, yet Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon made it his own.

In This Series

•1971 War, Memories of Another Day •Only lucky soldiers get to see war •A soldier remembers a battle won against the odds •Three Indian blunders in the 1971 war •'I cut my leg off and ordered: 'Go and bury it' •1971, A War Hero Remembers •'Karachi burned for seven days' • The Demons of 1971 • How the US tried to corner India • Exclusive: A War Hero Speaks: Part II • Exclusive: A War Hero Speaks: Part I • 'He taught us not only how to live, but how to die' • 1971 War: The Road to Bangladesh • A Prisoner of War Remembers: Part II • Memories of a Prisoner of War • Images: The Road to Dhaka • Should India have helped Bangladesh?Tell us!