New Delhi: Lt. Gen. J.F.R. Jacob, who played a critical role in the 1971 war that led to the birth of Bangladesh, and later served as governor of Punjab and Goa, died here on Wednesday, aged 92, of “old age complications”.
He died at the Army’s Research and Referral Hospital, where he had been admitted on January 1 after suffering from pneumonia, at around 8 am on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “India will always remain grateful” to Gen. Jacob for his “impeccable service to the nation”, and recalled his association with him.
“RIP Lt Gen JFR Jacob. India will always remain grateful to him for his impeccable service to the nation at the most crucial moments...,” he tweeted.
Rich tributes paid to Lt. Gen. Jacob
“Lt Gen JFR Jacob and I interacted often. Had a memorable interaction when he presented his autobiography to me,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
Army chief Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag expressed his deepest condolences and described Gen. Jacob as a “pillar of the military leadership” and said he “personified the best qualities of a soldier and a statesman who will always be remembered as one of the most prominent leaders in the annals of Indian military history”. As a major general serving as chief of staff in the Army’s Eastern Command headquartered at Fort William, he had negotiated the surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka in December 1971. He retired from the Army after 37 years of service in 1978. “Lt. Gen. J.F.R. Jacob was born in 1923 in Calcutta. He enlisted in the British Indian Army in 1942. He served in Northern Iraq, North Africa, Burma and Sumatra. After World War II, Lt. Gen. Jacob attended and graduated from artillery schools in England and the United States. He returned to India following the Partition, and joined the Indian Army. During this period, Lt. Gen. Jacob composed an Indian Army manual on desert warfare,” the Army said.
