Lt Gen JFR Jacob, 1971 Indo-Pak war hero, laid to rest

Lieutenant General (retired) Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob Jacob, who played a key role in the 1971 war which liberated Bangladesh from Pakistan, was laid to rest in New Delhi on Thursday.

Jacob, who was also Governor of Punjab and Goa, breathed his last at the Army Hospital on Wednesday at around 8 am.

He was admitted to the Army's Research and Referral Hospital since January 1 after suffering from pneumonia.

His body was first kept at the Brar Square in Delhi cantonment where Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha led the nation in paying their homage.

Bangladesh High Commissioner and an Israeli Embassy delegation were also present besides Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Raghavendra Rathore, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh (Retd) and senior BJP leader L K Advani among others.

Jacob was later laid to rest at the Jewish cemetery on Humayun Road.

"I had a special relationship with Gen Jacob because when he was the Goa governor, he used to tell me many stories about the 1971 War," Parrikar said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Wednesday condoled his demise and said India will always remain grateful to Jacob for his impeccable service to the nation. He had also recalled his association with him.

Jacob had negotiated the surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka after the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war when, as Major General, he served as the Chief of Staff of Indian Army's Eastern Command.

Born in 1923 in Bengal Presidency under British India, Jacob joined the army at the age of 19 in 1942 and also fought in World War II and the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 before he retired in 1978.

Post retirement, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and headed its ex-servicemen wing. He was appointed Governor of Goa during Vajpayee government and then Governor of Punjab. He was also the administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh.

During his stint as Punjab governor and UT administrator, he would often conduct check in government offices unannounced.

He authored two books - 'Surrender at Dacca: Birth of a Nation' and 'An Odyssey in War and Peace: An Autobiography Lt Gen J F R Jacob'.