Iconic 1971 surrender painting relocated to Manekshaw Centre amid backlash from oppn, Army veterans

The painting portrays the surrender of the Pakistani Army in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Amid backlash from opposition over the replacement of the painting, which portrays the surrender of the Pakistani Army in Dhaka, the Indian Army said the “iconic 1971 painting” has been installed in the Manekshaw Centre in Delhi Cantonment.

General Upendra Dwivedi COAS, along with the President AWWA, with his wife Sunita, installed the iconic 1971 surrender painting to “its most befitting place”, The Manekshaw Centre, named after the Architect and the Hero of 1971 War, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.

“Senior hierarchy & serving officers of IndianArmy and veterans were present on this occasion. This painting is a testament to one of the greatest military victories of Indian Armed Forces and the commitment of India for justice & humanity for all. Its placement at the Manekshaw Centre New Delhi will benefit a large audience due to substantial footfall of diverse audience & dignitaries from India and abroad at this venue,” stated the Army on X on the occasion of Vijay Diwas.

Till now, the reproduction of the famous photograph showing Pakistan’s Lt-General AAK Niazi signing the Instrument of Surrender in Dec 1971, sitting alongside Lt General Jagjit Singh Aurora and others, the painting had adorned the lounge — next to the Army chief’s office in South Block where he meets visiting dignitaries.  According to Times of India, it was replaced few days ago with a painting titled "Karam Kshetra — Field of Deeds", which depicts Krishna’s chariot with Arjun, Garuda & Chanakya with modern tanks, rocket launchers and attack helicopters against a backdrop of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh &snow-capped mountains.

However, its removal, followed by the placement of a new painting depicting modern-day military technology at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), had led to public outcry, particularly among military veterans. Several had questioned the need to remove the painting.

Many veterans told Times of India it a “kitsch semimythological painting". “The photo/painting symbolising India’s first major military victory in 1,000 years, and the first as a united nation in 1971, has been removed by a hierarchy which believes that mythology, religion and distant fragmented feudal past will inspire future victories,” former Northern Army commander Lt-General H S Panag (retd) told TOI.

The Congress accused the Centre of attempting to erase and rewrite history. “The picture showing the Pakistan army surrendering to India has been removed from Army Headquarters. That picture should be put back,” Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in Lok Sabha Monday.