Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob

He was born Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob (J. F. R.) in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), West Bengal in 1923, when what is now India was part of the British Empire. His family were Baghdadi Jews originally from Iraq who settled in Kolkata in the middle of the 18th century. At the age of nine he was sent to boarding school by his father, a successful businessman named Elias Emanuel. Jacob's school, named "Victoria School", was located in Kurseong near the city of Darjeeling, about 500 kilometers from Kolkata. From then on, he went home only on school holidays. When he turned 18 in 1941, he enlisted in the Indian army, which was under British command at the time. His father objected to his enlisting. However, Jacob was motivated by reports of the Holocaust of European Jewry during World War II to join the British Indian Army. The various atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis of the Third Reich, including their genocide against the Jews, were instrumental in his decision to become a military man.
Upon his graduation from officer's training school in 1942, he was posted to northern Iraq in anticipation of a possible German thrust to seize the oil fields of Kirkuk. He trained with Glubb Pasha's Arab Legion. Jacob then joined an artillery brigade that was dispatched to North Africa to reinforce the British army against the German army under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The brigade arrived after the battles were over. From there, Jacob's unit was sent to Burma where he fought for three years against the Japanese. In the wake of Japan's defeat, he was assigned to Sumatra.
He attended and graduated from artillery schools in England and the United States and specialized in advanced artillery and missiles before returning to an independent India.
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he commanded an infantry and artillery division in the Indian state of Rajasthan, where he composed a much-praised manual on desert warfare. He was promoted to Brigadier in 1963 and became a Major General by 1967. He was appointed Chief of Staff, Eastern Army Command in 1969 by Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the Chief of Army Staff. Jacob’s immediate superior was Lt.General Jagjit Singh Aurora. His tactical abilities were widely regarded as "brilliant". Jacob was soon grappling with mounting insurgencies in Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.
He had said that his military career is the indelible proof of the acceptance of Indian society. That is the only way to explain how he succeeded as a young Jew and was appointed to one of the most senior command positions in the Indian Army.
Lt. General Jacob gained prominent fame in his homeland when he served as the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army's Eastern Command that vanquished the Pakistani army in the war of 1971 or Bangladesh Liberation War that broke out between the two countries over East Pakistan (which after the war became the independent state of Bangladesh). For his decisive role in the sweeping liberation of Bangladesh, Jacob was granted a commendation of merit.
In 1971, East Pakistan rebelled against the ruling elite of West Pakistan. The violence escalated when Yahya Khan, Pakistan's ruler, retaliated, with massive loss of life and the ethnic cleansing of Bengalis (both Muslims and Hindus), driving 10 Million refugees from East Pakistan into India. When India's prime minister, Indira Gandhi, extended assistance to the ethnic Bengalis in East Pakistan, Indo-Pakistani tensions rose and war was declared. Having watched these developments with mounting concern, Jacob realized that conflict was imminent. He recalled:
“ We knew we would have to intervene, but we hardly had any infrastructure and had to build it up. ”
After consulting with superior officers, he chalked out a plan for engaging Pakistan in a "war of movement" in the difficult and swampy terrain of East Pakistan. An initial plan, given to the Eastern Command by General Maneckshaw, involved a brief incursion into East Pakistan and the capture of two provinces, Chittagong and Khulna. Senior members of the Indian Army were reluctant to execute an aggressive invasion for fears of early ceasefire demands by the United Nations and a looming threat posed by China. That, together with the difficulty of navigating the marshy terrain of East Pakistan through three wide rivers, led the higher-ups to believe that the capture of all of East Pakistan was inconceivable. Jacob, however, disagreed and favored his "war of movement" plan which aimed to take control of all of East Pakistan. Jacob felt that the capital city of Dhaka, located deep in East Pakistan, was the geopolitical center of the region and therefore any successful campaign had to involve deeper incursions into East Pakistan and the eventual capture of Dhaka. He realized that any campaign had to be successful and swift as the United Nations was pressing for a ceasefire (which would have been advantageous to Pakistan) and the Soviet Union (an ally of India at the time) were not interested in exercising their veto anymore. He realized that the Pakistani Army commander, Gen. Niazi, was going to fortify the towns and "defend them in strength". Jacob's plan was to bypass intermediary towns altogether using subsidiary tracks to get to Dhaka directly. His plan was eventually approved by the Eastern Command. The strategy would eventually lead to the capture of Dhaka, the heart of East Pakistan. The Pakistani forces would be bypassed, their communication centers would be secured and their command and control capabilities destroyed. His campaign plan would take three weeks, but was executed in two.
Jacob understood that a protracted war would not be in India's best interests. As fighting raged, he flew to Dhaka and wrested an unconditional surrender from Pakistan's military commander Lt.General A. A. K. Niazi, who would later accuse Jacob of blackmailing him into the surrender. Jacob quotes:
“ It was a total victory over a formidable, well-trained army. Had Pakistan fought on, it would have been difficult for us. We expected higher casualties. ”
The war was a significant victory for India, with nearly 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendering to the Indian Army. The war led to the independence of East Pakistan from the rest of Pakistan, and the new nation of Bangladesh was formed.
Jacob is a bachelor, preferring to remain unmarried due to his complete devotion to his chosen profession. He retired from the military in 1978, following 37 years of service. Jacob tried his hand in the business world, but remained in close contact with government echelons. In the late `90s, he joined the Pro-Hindu Indian Nationalist political party "Bharatiya Janata Party" or Indian People's Party. For many years, Jacob served as the party's security adviser and was eventually appointed the governorship of the state of Goa, and subsequently became the governor of the state of Punjab .
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel, Jacob has paid many visits to Israel. Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin invited him to attend the Jerusalem 3,000 celebrations. During one visit, he contributed items of Judaica from his parent's home to the Museum of Babylonian Jewry in Or Yehuda. His home in New Delhi has for years been a pilgrimage site for Israeli diplomats, researchers and security officers.
He is a staunch supporter for better India-Israel relations. When the Bharatiya Janata Party became part of the ruling coalition government of India following their victory in the elections in 1998, one of their first priorities was to improve relations with Israel, with whom India has had formal diplomatic relations since 1992. Even after the defeat of the B.J.P. in the 2004 elections and the emergence of the left-wing U.P.A coalition government led by the Indian National Congress party, Jacob was optimistic:
“ A victory by the Congress Party under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi in the elections to be held in India in May will not lead to any change in India's policy toward Israel. The good relations will continue, and in certain area even grow deeper. If I had to rank the present-day level of relations between India and Israel, I would give them a 9 out of 10. ”
He supports the purchase and trade of military equipment and technology from Israel by India, particularly the purchase of Israeli "Arrow" Missiles, which he prefers over the U.S-made patriot missiles on account of the Arrows' ability to intercept enemy missiles at higher altitudes.
He remains cautious about relations between India and Pakistan, given sections of Pakistani media's mistrust towards the military and intelligence cooperation between Israel and India which they term as a "Zionist Threat" on Pakistan's borders.
“ India has been attacked several times by Pakistan. We cannot take risks, and be unprepared for a surprise attack. India should be prepared for both Pakistan and China. Therefore, there is a need for anti-missile missiles. Due to the Pakistani danger and the threat of launch of missiles with nuclear warheads. ”
He is also positive about India's recent economic growth and the capabilities of the young Indian generation. He quotes:
“ As a country, we are at the threshold of an economic explosion and, hence, at this moment, empowerment means most to those who hold the key to the future. I talk of the younger generation. Sound economic and strategic planning will bring about this change. Unfortunately, since our prosperity comes in bursts, good governance, in the form of dedicated politicians and bureaucrats, is essential to usher any changes. ”
Lt. General Jacob is the author of the book: "Surrender at Dacca : Birth of a Nation" ISBN 984-05-1395-8. Jacob, whose book is "the most authoritative and objective account of the war to date, ascribed his victory to a few factors – imaginative planning, flexibility of approach, the capacity to react to shifting and perhaps unforeseen events and, of course, luck". A keen student of warfare, Jacob attached critical importance to historical context. As he puts it, “I’ve learned from every campaign since Alexander the Great and Napoleon.” On 13 January 2016, Jacob died at New Delhi's Army Research & Referral Hospital. He was laid to rest the following day in Delhi's Jewish cemetery on Humayun Road. His funeral was attended by India's top military officers as well as prominent politicians.