Amid the controversy over the removal of the iconic painting of Pakistan’s surrender, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army installed it at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, moving it from the Army headquarters.

The Indian Army shared on Monday that the iconic 1971 surrender painting has been installed in its ‘most befitting place’.

“On the occasion of VijayDiwas, General Upendra Dwivedi, COAS, along with the President AWWA, Sunita Dwivedi, installed the iconic 1971 surrender painting to its most befitting place, the Manekshaw Centre, named after the Architect and the Hero of 1971 War, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Senior hierarchy & serving officers of Indian Army and Veterans were present on this occasion,” IA shared on X.

However, the painting was earlier installed in the Army Headquarters, New Delhi.

A controversy surrounding the picture started when Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the Modi government for replacing it with a Mahabharata-inspired painting.

Gandhi accused the government of ‘trying to rewrite history and downplaying the achievements of the erstwhile Congress government’ on Monday.

The painting depicts a historic moment where Lieutenant General AAK Niazi of the Pakistani Army could be seen signing the surrender document to India’s Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora on December 16, 1971. 

The picture is highly celebrated in India as it marked India’s historic victory in 1971 for liberating Bangladesh within 13 days and forcing the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops – the largest in modern history. 

The ceremony of the signing instrument of surrender took place at the Ramna Race Course in Dacca, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), on 16 December 1971.

Other Indian officers present in the picture include Vice Admiral Krishnan, Air Marshal Dewan, Lt Gen Sagat Singh, and Major General JFR Jacob.

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