9 December 1971. 8.45 p.m. Torpedoed by a Pakistani submarine, the INS Khukri
sank within minutes. Along with the ship, 178 sailors and 18 officers made the
supreme sacrifice. Last seen calmly puffing on his cigarette, Captain Mahendra
Nath Mulla, captain of the Khukri, chose to go down with his ship. This defining
moment of the 1971 war between India and Pakistan is the basis of Major General
Ian Cardozos attempt to understand what happened that day and why. Major General
Cardozo brings fresh insight into the hellish ordeal by including the heartfelt
accounts of the survivors and of the members of their families. These accounts
transform