Battle of Hilli

The Indian side consisted of the 20 Indian Mountain Division led by Maj-Gen. Lachhman Singh. The constituent units of this division were 66 Brigade, 165 Brigade, 202 Brigade and 340 Brigade (all infantry units), 3 Armoured Brigade, 471 Engineer Brigade and two artillery brigades augmented by 33 Corps Artillery. The ground troops were aided by aerial support provided by the Indian Air Force which had acquired air superiority in the east and were armed with rockets, guns, and 100 lb bombs.

On the Pakistan side, the Area of Responsibility (AOR) was on 205 Brigade of Pakistan Army led by Brigadier (later retired as General) Tajammul Hussain Malik. He had joined the brigade four days prior, when he volunteered to leave GHQ, Rawalpindi and command troops in the East Pakistan. He put up a stiff resistance that earned praise from many quarters.

Tajammal Hussain Malik had placed screens along the railway line nearby and at the Railway Station complex in the area. The defensive positions were sited in depth to cover all routes leading into East Pakistan. They fought the entire Indian division and the Mukti Bahini soldiers until the Indians decided to bypass Hilli and establish a block in its rear. Brigadier Tajammal Hussain Malik then withdrew the forces in Hilli to avoid being cut off and to defend from the Bogura itself.

Bogura was surrounded from all sides by the greater numbers of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini. Brigadier Tajammal Hussain Malik's resistance continued even after the Pakistani Eastern Command surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December. He, in his staff car with flags and stars uncovered, went around the streets of Bogura motivating his soldiers to keep fighting. The Indian army had by then, surrounded the city of Bogura. The Brigade Major along with some 50 ORs surrendered, but Tajammal Hussain Malik, still full of vigour, refused to give up.

Brig. Tajammal Hussain Malik ordered the rest of his brigade to break out in small groups to Naogong, where one of his units was still fighting on. However en route, his jeep was ambushed, severely injuring him and his orderly. Muktis captured both of them and subjected them to torture. They broke his arms and split his head after which he was taken semi-conscious to an Indian army hospital. Major General Nazar Hussain Shah, was specially flown in from Natore for the surrender of this brigade on 18 December 1971, due to the refusal of Brigadier Tajammal Hussain Malik to surrender. Upon return from captivity, he was the only brigadier out of 32 or so who fought the 1971 War in East Pakistan to have been promoted to the rank of major general.