Flight Lieutenant

Vijay Vasant Tambay
Tambay c. 1970
Nickname(s)Uncle[1]
Born(1943-04-11)11 April 1943
Nagpur, Maharashtra[2]
Allegiance India
Service/branch Indian Air Force
Years of service1963-1973
Rank Flight lieutenant
Service number7662 F(P)
UnitNo.32 Squadron IAF
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Alma materBishop Cotton School, Nagpur.
Spouse(s)Mrs Damayanti V. Tambay
Disappeared5 December 1971 (aged 28)
Shorkot, Jhang District, Punjab province, Pakistan
StatusMissing for 52 years, 1 month and 3 days

Flight Lieutenant Vijay Vasant Tambay was an officer of the Indian Air Force whose aircraft was shot down on 5 December 1971 over Shorkot in what was then West Pakistan while on a strike against the Pakistan Air Force Rafiqui Airbase during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[3]

Officially recorded by the Indian Air Force as killed in action,[4] Tambay is believed to be one of the five pilots reported by the Pakistan Observer to have been captured alive on 5 December 1971.[5] However, although a number of reports from eyewitnesses have subsequently suggested that Tambay was indeed captured alive, he was not repatriated at the end of the war, while the Pakistan Government denies having any Indian prisoners of war from the 1971 war,[6] making him one of the missing 54 Indian defence personnel from the war who are believed to remain in Pakistani custody.[3][7] His uncle, Jayant Jatar, claimed that in January 1999 he was permitted by Tikka Khan, then Governor of Punjab, Pakistan, to see his nephew on condition that he inform only his immediate family.[3] He broke his silence in 2002, after the death of Tikka Khan.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Shorkot Road Attack".
  2. ↑ "नागपूरचा 'वाघ' केव्हा सुटणार?" [When will Nagpur's 'Tiger' leave?]. Maharashtra Times. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ittaman, Shali (10 August 2007). "Vijay Tambay was declared missing in 1971 Indo-Pak war". The Times of India.
  4. ↑ "Martyrs of the IAF". Indian Air Force. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  5. ↑ "Kin of PoWs present evidence to Pak media". The Tribune, Chandigarh. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  6. ↑ "Bring them home, say relatives of missing defence personnel". The Tribune, Chandigarh. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  7. ↑ "Families search Pakistan for lost PoWs". BBC. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
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