Cabinet ministers, senior military officers and a former Indian prime minister, I.K. Gujral, attended the funeral in New Delhi of retired lieutenant general Jagjit Singh Aurora who died of a heart attack Tuesday at the age of

Diplomats from Bangladesh also laid a wreath on the funeral pyre of Aurora.

Aurora is survived by a son and daughter.

The Sikh is best remembered as the chief of India's eastern command who led Indian troops and Bangladeshi guerrillas to victory over Pakistan in December 1971 after a bloody conflict.

Aurora secured the surrender of more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers in the lightning 17-day war that resulted in the emergence of Bangladesh as a separate nation.

A picture of Aurora watching Pakistan's eastern forces commander General A.A.K. Niazi signing the treaty of surrender December 16, 1971 is commonly found in Indian history books.

Following the surrender signing in Dhaka, the Pakistani commander handed over his pistol to Aurora.

Afterwards a cheer went up at the race course where the ceremony took place and Dhaka became capital of an independent Bangladesh.

Following Aurora's death, Bangladesh issued a statement, saying he would be "remembered in the history of Bangladesh for his contribution during our War of Liberation."

Bangladesh formed part of India when Britain ruled the subcontinent. After the subcontinent was carved up at independence in 1947, Bangladesh became known as East Pakistan.

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