Martyrs of the 1971 war were remembered in a memorial service in Kolkata on Thursday on the occasion of 50th Vijay Diwas celebrations, which mark India's victory over Pakistan.
Bangladesh, then part of Pakistan, became an independent country after the war.
Wreaths were laid by war veterans, next of kin of those who fought for the country, Army commanders of the three services and Lt General Manoj Pande, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command.
As buglers sounded the 'Last Post' and 'Rouse' from the rampart behind the magnificent edifice of the memorial at Fort William, the headquarters of the Army's Eastern Command, participants observed two minutes' silence to pay homage to all those who died in the fight.
Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall (retd) Arup Raha, Lt General (retd) J R Mukerji and Lt General (retd) Praveen Bakshi were among the retired officers who paid floral tributes at the Vijay Smarak.
Kolkata police commissioner Soumen Mitra was also present at the event.
The Army, which had lined up several functions during the week to commemorate the golden jubilee of the 1971 victory, has cancelled many of those following the demise of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 12 other officers in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu earlier this month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took part in the Vijay Diwas celebrations on Thursday. PM Modi visited the National War Memorial in New Delhi and paid respects to the fallen heroes of the country. He wrote on Twitter: "On this special day of Vijay Diwas, I had the honour of paying my respects at the National War Memorial and merging into the Eternal Flame, the four Vijay Mashaals which traversed across the length and breadth of the country over the course of last one year."
