Khemkaran

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Khem Karan | type = city | latd = | longd =
state_name = Punjab
district = Amritsar
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population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 11,938| population_density =
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Khem Karan is a town and a nagar panchayat in Tarn Taran district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was the site of a major tank battle in 1965 resulting it also being known as the "graveyard of tanks". [citebook|title=Societies and Military Power: India and Its Armies|author=Stephen Peter Rosen|pages=246|publisher=Cornell University Press|id=ISBN 0801432103]

The 1965 Indo-Pakistani War was witness to the largest tank battle in military history since World War II. This battle lead to the creation of Patton Nagar (or Patton City) at the site of the battle viz., Khemkaran. This is because many Patton tanks fielded by the Pakistani forces were either captured or destroyed at the scene.

Patton Nagar

Near the Bhikiwind village in the Khemkaran area, a strip of land was given an imaginary name Patton Nagar for a short while in 1965. It was at Patton Nagar that more than 60 tanks of the Pakistani army were displayed at the end of the September India-Pakistan conflict. The Pakistan Army tanks were captured at the Battle of Asal Uttar by India's 4 Mountain Division and it became a memorial to the Pakistani tanks being bogged down in the marshes during the 1965 War. The tanks were displayed for some time after which they were shipped to various cantonments and army establishments for display as war trophies.

Introduction

The tank battles of 1965 form part of military history as the most intense ones ever, since World War II. Close to a thousand tanks, on both sides, took part in the pitched battles and offensives. At the start of the war, Indian strength was limited to one armored division and one independent armored brigade, along with six armored regiments supporting infantry divisions. Pakistan had two armored divisions, with the then very modern M-48 Patton tanks. India had an equivalent tank in the Centurion, but their strength was limited to only four armored.

97 tanks captured at Assal Uttar

(Patton).

The Indian forces in the field that day consisted of three Armoured regiments with inferior tanks, the Deccan Horse (Shermans), 3 Cavalry (Centurion) and the 8 Cavalry (AMX-13). The battle was so fierce and intense that at the end of the war, the Fourth Indian Division a.k.a. "The Fighting Fourth" had captured about 97 tanks in destroyed/damaged or intact condition. This included 72 Patton tanks and 25 Chafees and Shermans. 32 of the 97 tanks, including 28 Pattons, were in running condition. The Indian forces lost 32 tanks. Fifteen of them were captured by the Pakistan Army, mostly Sherman tanks.

Demographics

As of|2001 India census, [GR|India] Khem Karan had a population of 11,938. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Khem Karan has an average literacy rate of 47%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 54%, and female literacy is 39%. In Khem Karan, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.A very well famous place in this village is the mazaar of pir baba shekh brahm.

References