Dacca Diary – Dec 4, 1971 by WSJ’s Peter R Kann

DACCA Diary from InterContinental Hotel by Wall Street Journal's Peter R Kann

Saturday, Dec 4, 1971

Day starts early. About 3am sky lights up with fantastic fireworks display by Pak antiaircraft batteries out by airport. Indian air raid or jumpy ack-ack gunners? Moot question because by breakfast time, Indian MIGs making regular rocket runs on airfield. Makes you wish you were a photographer. MIGs diving through clear blue sky. Little white puffs from the ack-ack. Even couple of inconclusive dogfights above the hotel. Several Indian planes shot down. But every observer has different count. "Better than Pearl Harbor," one of television types says. Air strikes continue almost hourly rest of day.

Dacca streets deserted except for few military vehicles with palm leaves and other assorted foliage tied to tops. Policeman down the street also sprouting foliage from his cap. Run into Nepalese consul, dean of diplomatic corps in Dacca. He says he arranged a diplomatic corps conference on the crisis – but cancelled it because of crisis.

Peter R Kann joined the staff of The Wall Street Journal in 1964 to become its publisher eventually. In 1972, he earned a Pulitzer for his coverage of the Liberation War of Bangladesh.