The 1971 Pakistan Instrument Of Surrender Was Signed By My Grandfather's Pen!

My grandfather is exactly like your grandfather with two minor differences - we call him 'Mike' (he's cool like that) and every now and then between bites of toast lathered with orange marmalade and tea, he likes scandalising me and my brother with history that, without fail, makes us drop our toast. Two weeks ago, on our annual vacation, he dropped this bomb - he had provided the pen that was used by Lt Gen AAK Niazi of the Pakistan Army to sign Pakistan's surrender document.

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After dropping the bomb, and us dropping our toasts, Mike went back to his tea and reading the newspaper, while my brother and I looked at each other, our eyes wide, dying to get details.

We succeeded finally. But before I get to the story, a little background is required.

My grandfather was a silversmith in Calcutta's (he prefers spelling it like that) bustling New Market. The outfit had been set up by my great-grandfather in 1931 after he moved to India from Sindh (Pakistan). By the time I was born decades later, the shop had grown into an institution of sorts, and my grandfather became a regular feature at New Market, sitting in his shop, waving and chattering with people while they went about their business.

Back to why I'm writing this -

A general from the army at Fort William (that's where the Eastern Command is headquartered in Calcutta) called Mike at 09.00 in the morning on 16th December, 1971. He asked him for 2-3 pens with broad nibs for the purpose of a signature. He told Mike to get them to Fort William in half an hour. Mike told him that it was really short notice, but the general insisted him it was extremely urgent. He told Mike that a helicopter was waiting to take him and his associates to Dhaka to sign the Liberation document, so the pens kinda, sorta, hadta be there.

Mallika Circar | Image of for representation

Mike drove somewhat like a maniac, breaking a couple of rules along the way. He even got pulled over by the cops, but was gentleman enough to leave his number, to attend to the issue later. Miraculously, the pens reached the general, and subsequently Dhaka, on time. Pakistan signed the surrender document, India accepted the surrender and Bangladesh was liberated.

India Strategic

44 years later as the ink from the silver-tipped Sheaffer pen has long dried and gathers dust in government records, I wonder what happened to the pens. Would Lt Gen Aurora's family have them? Or maybe the General who called my grandfather and asked for them in the first place? I guess I'll never know. Not till I visit my grandfather again next year for our family holidays. Unless there's another story for breakfast by then - he rarely repeats his stories.