The Jonga was used for multiple purposes, ranging from recon and patrol to ambulance and weapon carrier.
There's not an iota of doubt that India, despite earning its independence from the British colonisation 79 years ago, continues to deal with multiple internal issues. Be it poverty or lack of jobs, the country has no dearth of problems that test the patience of everyday citizens.
However, every coin has two sides, and while India lacks on multiple fronts, it has also done well in some sectors. For example, the country's defence sector is one of the world's largest in terms of strength or budget.
When it comes to a country's defence, it is dependent on multiple aspects, ranging from manpower to communication and, in this article's case, transport. Every country's defence needs multiple forms of vehicles, and when decades ago India started strengthening its forces, it added some of the most unique vehicles to its arsenal.
One of them was the Nissan Jonga.
The year was 1962, and India had lost the Indo-Sino conflict for multiple reasons, ranging from manpower to a lack of proper equipment and even vehicles. To deal with treacherous terrain on the northern borders, India did not have access to jeeps or SUVs capable of cutting through boulders, mud, and slush. That's when the country's defence heads turned their eyes to the Nissan Patrol PJ60.
The Indian defence forces made a deal with Japan. After the Indo-Sino conflict ended, initially, 3,500 PJ60s were imported from Japan. However, the deal proved to be too expensive for the defence budget. Therefore, the defence forces secured a new deal with Japan, according to which an exclusive licence was provided to India for the production of the jeeps locally.
The vehicle entered India's service in 1969 and remained in production until 1999. During this period, a civilian version of the Jonga was also produced with stripped-down equipment, but the number was limited to 100 units only. The vehicle's name was one of the most talked-about points because everyone wondered why the name 'Jonga'.
To produce the vehicle, the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur was given the licence, a factory that is still active and produces other vehicles for the Indian defence forces. Therefore, the vehicle got its name from the factory itself – Jabalpur Ordnance and Guncarriage Assembly – JONGA.
The Jonga is an essential part of India's automobile history, another sector in which India has excelled since gaining independence. Today, a few lucky celebrities have a civilian version of the Jonga sitting in their garages. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suryakumar Yadav are two eminent personalities of the country who own this timeless piece of machinery.
In 1999, after the Jonga's production ended, Mahindra's MM540 jeep replaced it, but its legacy will remain intact forever in the history books of the Indian defence forces and automobile industry.
