On t he memorable day of Vijay Diwas, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa paid gratitude to the hero who lost their lives in 1971 Indo-Pak war at India Gate in the national capital today.Meantime, the Indian Army paid tributes to soldiers at Army Garrison Ground in Mumbai's Colaba earlier in the day.The Indo-Pak War of 1971 is heralded as one of the most convincing victories of the annals of the military history. It climax with the low-down surrender of Pakistani forces in East Pakistan (now, Bangladesh), with almost 1,00,000 being taken prisoners of war and eventually leading up to the liberation of Bangladesh on December 16.India and Bangladesh, since then, celebrate Vijay Diwas, also known as the Victory Day, every year to mark both the countries' military victory over Pakistan.Lt. Gen. PS Mehta had said, "The Indian Defence Forces celebrate Vijay Diwas on December 16 in the remember the day of the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. On December 3, Pakistan fired 11 of the Indian air areas because of which the war actually started. In response, India did take violative undertaking in Eastern and Western areas of Pakistan. Lt. Gen. PS Mehta further said that after this day, the rise of a new nation took place, which is now known as Bangladesh and this was the first time, in the 21st century, where India showed the whole world that it unfettered a new country. Another veteran and defence and security expert said, "The war was a result of genocide by the Pakistani Army in erstwhile East Pakistan which led to the inflow of lakhs of refugees into India and creation of a humanitarian crisis. Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, made many attempts to galvanise international action against Pakistan and support to India to look after the refugees, but it did not come by."