Escape from Oblivion — Story of a Pakistani PoW in India
In November last year, on a visit to Karachi, I had the honor to meet Ikram Sehgal — whom until then I have known as Defence Analyst only — and it was a pleasant surprise to know about his entrepreneurial success story — Pathfinder Group. Getting an Autographed copy of his book, titled Escape from Oblivion: The Story of a Pakistani Prisoner of War in India, was a great honor.
In “Escape from Oblivion” Ikram Sehgal back in troubled times of 1971 was serving as a Capt in Pakistan Army Aviation, recalls his escape from the Panagarh prison camp and eventual refuge in an American Consulate in Calcutta, after which he reached Pakistan. “Escape from Oblivion” is a fascinating story of emotions, nationalism, and professionalism of a soldier with parentage of a Bengali Mother and Punjabi Father — stuck in a Bengali-Punjabi conflict in East Pakistan — fueled by India — ends up being Prisoner of War in India for 99 days— without official war started as of then between India & Pakistan.
The trauma of spending 99 days in Indian imprisonment resonates throughout the book, highlighting the psycho-emotional imprints that a period of imprisonment & severe torture can leave behind on human mind. Ikram Sehgal escaped from Panagarh and reached American Consulate in Calcutta — only to find American assistance in a very American way — leaving him back on the streets of Calcutta — eventually reaching Pakistan High Commision in New Delhi. President & COAS Yahya Khan actively supported Ikram’s safe exit from Pakistan High Commision in New Delhi, as he himself escaped from a Italian prisoner camp during second World War.
The pick of the book for me is “Choosing to go to 2E Bengal had been led by my heart”, “I was a Prisoner of War in Indian custody … and my love for 2E Bengal was complete”, “US Marine code of conduct, if you become a prisoner it's your duty to escape” and “Freedom from Captivity is worth risking one’s life for”. The book is a great motivational script and defines ‘Courage & Passion’ as fundamental requirements to achieve your goals in life.
Ikram Sehgal is related to Bengali-origin politicians (grandmother’s first cousins) Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and former federal Minister J.A. Rahim, who happens to be mentor of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and J.A. Rahim inspired Bhutto’s leftist politics. J. A. Rahim was instrumental in framing PPP’s socialist manifesto: “Islam is our religion; democracy is our politics; socialism is our economy; power lies with the people”
Ikram Sehgal is a successful entrepreneur, Chairman Pathfinder Group. He is foundation member of World Economic Forum and has organized a Pakistan Pavilion at World Economic Forum this year.
About the Author: Imran Jattala is National Director of Hult Prize Pakistan, contributing towards development of an Impactful Startup Ecosystem in Pakistan — Sixth largest Nation on Earth. He is Co-Founder of meraPaisa Islamabad based FinTech Startup and UrbanBazaar a Dubai based e-Commerce Startup. He tweets at: @ImJattala
