Dakota crash and the Naga ordeal

(This post is written by Jayanta Chowdhury, son of  Hony Flt. Lt. JC Chowdhury. This article has been posted here with the permission of the inspirational Chowdhury family)

A Real life incident involving Late Sh. Jitesh Chandra Chowdhury, Hony. Flt. Lt., Flight Signaller, Indian Air Force

 This is a real life incident in the history of the Indian Air Force and probably the only incident of its kind where a military aircraft was shot down and its crew were captured and kept as prisoners for 20 long horrifying and torturous months from 29-Aug-1960 to 05-May-1962.

The date: 29th Aug 1960 - An Indian Air Force Aircraft Dakota D.C. 3, flying over a beleaguered Indian Army post in Nagaland to drop ammunition, water and food supplies, was shot down by Naga Nationalist troops. This army post was surrounded by rebel Naga forces. Water and food supply routes to this post was blocked. As a result, S.O.S was sent on defence channels to the Indian Air Force base at Jorhat requesting for necessary supplies to be para dropped. Two Dakotas had got air borne on that fateful day loaded with ammunition, food and water. The first aircraft reported heavy firing from ground and could not carry out its mission. My father was in the second aircraft. The first aircraft informed the captain of my father’s aircraft, Flt. Lt. A.S.Singha, about the lurking dangers in such a mission and advised them to consider aborting the mission. Flt. Lt. Singha and his crew weighed the pros and cons of this dangerous mission keeping in mind the strategic importance of this Indian post, the precious lives of many many brave Indian soldiers and the ramifications on Indian security, in case the Naga and rebel forces take control. Finally, the brave crew members decided to go ahead with the mission even at the cost of their lives. “SERVICE BEFORE SELF” is what they were trained for. It was certainly close to a suicidal mission but their love for the country and countrymen prevailed. The crew decided to make two runs for the drop.

The First run - Flt. Lt. Singha flew low over the Army post between mountains (It is not an easy task to fly in hostile territory and also over hostile terrain) amidst heavy firing from ground and dropped the first set of supplies. The drop was not very accurate due to intense firing from ground. Second and fateful run - This time, they assessed the situation and once again came in low and fast and did a splendid drop amidst heavy firing from ground, when all of a sudden the Aircraft started shaking vigorously, akin to a massive earthquake.

My brave father’s aircraft was badly hit.

Both engines of the Dakota were hit and one cut out. Pilot Singha managed to crash-land on the partial power of one engine in a small area of paddy - the only possible landing place for miles in mountainous terrain without serious injury to any of his crew.

Picture of the ill-fated Dakota after crash landing

Soon after crash landing, the aircraft was surrounded by the rebels and they fired non-stop from all directions. My father and all crew members threw themselves on the floor of the aircraft. Luckily, the aircraft did not catch fire.

All the crew members of the Dakota were captured by the Naga Nationalist troops. Five of the crew members were released on the orders of the rebel Federal Government of Nagaland shortly after their capture. However, four crew members – Flt. Lt. A. S. Singha (pilot), Flying Officer Chandrashekhar Misra, Flying officer R.E.Raphael and Sergeant J.C.Chowdhury, my father, were made prisoners by the Naga Home guard (the Naga Nationalist Army). Their ordeal lasted for more than 20 months.

For more than seven months after their capture, Indian Army units in Nagaland (believed to comprise three divisions or 20,000 men) had been searching for the men in vain. All their efforts, including the use of military aircraft, were frustrated by the extreme difficulty of operating effectively in such savage terrain against a well-organized, well-armed and determined Naga military force which seems to have the support of most Naga civilians. It was this difficulty, too, which had baulked Indian attempts to end by force the Nagas’ war for independence for their remote, land-locked country; a bitter, costly struggle which assumed nation-wide proportions in 1955 and 1956.

A group photograph of the airmen taken by correspondent-photographer Gavin Young (by arrangement with the Observer, London) Left to right - Flt. Lt. A. S. Singha, 31, Sgt. J. C. Chowdhury, 32, F.O R. E. Raphael, 24 and F.O C.S. Misra, 23

The crew members were not allowed to rest in peace during their period of captivity due to continuous torture of various kinds like being buried neck deep in mother earth, being hung from trees with one leg tied up etc, the kind of stuff we see in movies. It was not easy at all.

“THAT we are alive at all is due partly to God and partly to the Nagas. It's a kind of miracle “, said 31-year-old Flight Lieutenant Anand Singha (who incidentally was also Actor Dev Anand’s brother-in-law) with feeling in an interview with Gavin Young, Correspondent, Observer, London, who had traveled to Nagaland and managed to interview the four crew members.

In Gavin Young’s own words, “We sat together in the bamboo officers' mess of a Naga Home Guard camp, remote in a wilderness of jungle-covered hills several muscle cracking miles from the Indo-Burmese border. Smiling Nagas, In battledress, with rifles, Sten and Tommy-guns slung, handed out tea and cigarettes. Singha and his fellow prisoners-Flying Officer Chandrashekhar Misra, 23; Flying Officer R.E. Ratphael, 24; and Sergeant J.C. Chowdhury, 32-were bearded and thin but cheerful. They were keen to know the results of last year's Olympic Games. For months they had received virtually no news of the outside world.”

As my mother, Mrs. Arati Chowdhury, now aged about 83 years, recollects, “Though we received the message of the Naga crash the next day, we did not hear anything about their whereabouts or well being for the next 4-5 months. I was later offered job in the Shillong office of the Indian Air Force, where I worked till his release in May 1962. It was Gavin Young’s report in newspaper and his letter to my brother-in-law that gave us some hope that they are alive!”

“The four crew members had been wearing the same flying overall (flying suit) and the same pair of shoes for the 20 months of their imprisonment by the Nagas. They were regularly kept on the move from one Naga mountain to another. All the crew members were kept in jungles at a single place in makeshift tents often bitten by deadly insects. They were provided only limited quantity of rice, just once a day, without any daal or vegetables.”

All the four airmen were finally released by the hostile Nagas on 5th of May 1962. While there was widespread joy at the impending arrival of the airmen after a rigorous captive life for long 20 months in the extremely difficult and hilly terrain of Nagaland and in virgin woods in Indo-Burmese border, military circles in India were of the opinion that the release of the airmen also denoted that the backbone of the Naga hostiles was now virtually broken.

The released airmen safely arrived in Rangoon by a Burmese Air Force plane where they were received by Burmese Army authorities and Indian Embassy officials. The plane arrived late that evening and each of the airmen carried a stick as they had become very weak and also as a souvenir from Nagaland. An IAF plane, which had left the Barrackpore aerodrome in the morning for Rangoon to fetch the freed airmen, landed at Delhi aerodrome on 12th May 1962 afternoon.

They were greeted at Palam airport among others by Mr. V.K. Krishna Menon, Minister of Defence, Mr. Raghuramaiah, Minister of State for Defence, Mr. D. R. Chavan and Air Marshal A. M. Engineer, Chief of the Air Staff, amidst high security. Then Prime Minister Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru had sent message to General Ne Win, Chairman of the Burmese Revolutionary Council, thanking him for his cooperation in securing the release of the airmen.

The little boy standing next to my mother is my eldest brother, Dr. Jyoti Prakash Chowdhury, Captain (Retd.), who served the Indian Army as a Short-service Commissioned Officer from 1980-1983. He is a Dental surgeon who served the Army Dental Corps with great dedication. The child in my mother’s lap is my elder brother, Wg. Cdr. (Retd.) Jugashree Chowdhury, who served the Indian Air Force as a pilot from 1981 to 2004. During his flying career, he has the unique distinction of safely landing Gnat (Ajeet) fighter aircraft which he was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet, when all of a sudden its canopy had blown off. Although he had lost his consciousness at that height due to extreme low air pressure, he somehow managed to land the aircraft safely. He was decorated with Commendation medal from the Chief of Air Staff.

Thus, ended the Naga saga of my late father, Hony. Flt. Lt. Jitesh Chandra Chowdhury, along with the three other crew members.

My father was a brilliant airman, who got the trophy for the best All-Round pupil at the 2nd Flight Signallers’ Course Passing-out-parade held on 20th Sep 1952 at No. 2 Air Force Academy, IAF Station, Jodhpur. He was a well decorated Airman, having won several medals, and went on to serve the Indian Air Force till 1984. He breathed his last on 28-June-1999 in Rohini.

This incident earned him the nick name “Naga Chowdhury” in Air Force circles and even today old timers remember him fondly as “Naga Chowdhury”. Indeed we feel proud to be the children of a great father, who is an example of hard work, intelligence, extreme courage and sacrifice! Our salute to him!

Salute to a great patriot, soldier & the greatest father: Jayanta Chowdhury, youngest son, along with Capt (Retd.)Dr. Jyoti Prakash Chowdhury and Wg. Cdr.(Retd.) Jugashree Chowdhury (sons) and Mandira Chakravarty (daughter)