📰 Gazette of India, 1951

The Gazette of India is a public journal and legal document published by the Government of India. It’s the government’s newspaper. During a random rabbit hole rambling of internet browsing, I came across a version of it that mentions Major MK Basu! (My maternal grandfather, who I knew had retired as Lt. Col. MK Basu) It was an announcement confirming his military position in 1951 (two years before my mom was born). Excited at uncovering this past ancestral treasure nugget, I immediately sent it to my Uncle, Biswajit Basu, hoping for another gem of a story about his father, my grandfather. As always, he brought the picture alive for us. 

From Biswajit Basu:

Its a bit of a story but here it is.

Daddy was conscripted into the British Indian Army for the War in 1939.  He fought in N. Africa, Italy and in the evacuation of Singapore when the Japanese overran the Malaysian peninsula.  The WW2 ended in 1945 and Daddy continued in the BI Army.  He was in Peshawar (I think) when India was partitioned in 1947.  All the Army officers were given a choice to join the Indian or Pakistan army.  He naturally joined the Indian Army.  Meanwhile in the chaos of partition everything was a mess.  Finally by this Gazette Notification of 1951, he was appointed officially into the Indian Army with his substantive rank as Major.

There were strange results from the partition.  I remember when we went by MV Batory to England in 1955, the ship stopped at Karachi and Daddy took me there to his dear friend's house who had fought shoulder to shoulder with him in N Africa and Italy!

Another little gem in our treasure box of stories.