Remembering a great soldier

Udhagamandalam, April 3, 2012 by D. Radhakrishnan of The Hindu

Defence Minister A.K. Antony signing the Visitors Book at Zoroastrian Cemetery in Ooty on Tuesday. Photo: M. Sathyamoorthy
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was a legend and the government will not forget his leadership and contribution to protect the sovereignity and prestige of the country, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said at the 98th birth anniversary of the Field Marshal here on Tuesday.
Army Chief General V.K. Singh joined the Defence Minister in paying floral tributes to the Field Marshal at the Parsi Zoroastrian Cemetery where he was laid to rest on June 28, 2008, but both of them steered clear of making any statement to presspersons on the controversy over the Tatra trucks.
Mum is the word
When The Hindu asked the Minister whether a joint statement could be expected, Mr. Antony only smiled and declined to respond. On whether Manekshaw would be conferred Bharat Ratna, Mr. Antony said he was not the authority to take a decision on that. In the visitors' book, Mr. Antony wrote: “I salute the respectful memory of Field Marshal Manekshaw”.
General Singh wrote: “A homage to a great soldier of the country. A great man who led the nation and its Army to a great victory. We salute the Field Marshal.”
Apart from the Defence Minister and the Army Chief, those who placed wreaths at the cemetery were Manekshaw's daughters Sherry Batliwala and Maja Daruwala, Lieutenant General Bikram Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command and Army Chief Designate, Lieutenant General S.K. Singh, Vice Chief of Army Staff and Colonel of the 8th Gorkha Rifles, which the Field Marshal was part of, Lieutenant General A.K. Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command and the Nilgiris Collector Archana Patnaik.
‘An honour for family'
Ms. Daruwala said that it was an honour for the family to be remembered in such a manner. The people who should be here were here. Many of those present recalled their association with the Field Marshal. Some of them adverted to the different ways in which he had made his presence felt in Coonoor where he had settled after retirement. They also remembered his funeral ceremony at Coonoor at which the government was represented only by the Union Minister of State for Defence, Pallam Raju.
Remembering a great soldier

Antony to make amends, give legendary Sam his due

Author: Ashok K Mehta The Poineer 03 April, 2012
Today at a special ceremony at the Zoroastrian Parsi Cemetary at Ootacamund, Nilgiris, India’s first Field Marshal and one who bestowed on the country its first military victory in a thousand years, Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, will be commemorated by laying his gravestone next to that of his wife, Siloo.
Rectifying the grave error of not according appropriate protocol on June 27, 2008, when Field Marshal Manekshaw died at Wellington Military Hospital, this time Defence Minister AK Antony will be present. Also attending the wreath-laying ceremony are Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh; Army chief designate Lt-Gen Bikram Singh; VCOAS Lt-Gen SK Singh; president of the Gorkha Brigade and from Sam’s own 8 Gorkha Rifles, and officers of the other two services.
“This is a very private occasion but the Army has been kind to help us with the military ceremonial which my father always relished,” said Maja Daruwalla, younger daughter of Sam and Siloo. Sam’s gravestone bears the inscription: “It is a Life Well Lived” with Siloo’s reading “Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds”. The combined inscriptions encapsulate their lives — well lived and spreading goodwill.
The Government was very niggardly in recognising Sam’s unprecedented achievements: Stemming the rot in 4 Corps after the catastrophic debacle in the high Himalayas, Sam saying: “Gentlemen, there will be no more withdrawals”; deterring the Chinese in Eastern Command during the 1965 war; and comprehensively defeating the Pakistan Army in East Pakistan in 1971.
But for Mrs Indira Gandhi, Sam would not have been made a Field Marshal in 1973 as Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram and the bureaucracy had opposed it. At the time, the Army had suggested that the Field Marshal’s appointment should be equated with Bharat Ratna. But this was turned down. Mrs Gandhi promised to make him the Chief of Defence Staff, but the offer evaporated mysteriously. He was sent home unsung, officers being forbidden to see him off in the special train from Delhi to Coimbatore.
The Government’s loss was the corporate world’s gain. He was on the board of a dozen private companies like Britannia, Bombay Burma, Harrison Malyalam, Nagarjuna Fertilisers and the Oberoi Group. A charismatic personality and gift of the gab made the Field Marshal Sam Bahadur to his Gorkhas who were with him all the time that he lived and died in Coonoor.
He won his Military Cross in the Battle of Sittang in 1942 — so spectacular was his action that GoC 17 Infantry Division Maj Gen Punch Cowan, thinking his wounds were fatal, pinned his own MC on Sam’s chest. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1968 and after 1971, Padma Vibhushan. The Padma series of awards for the military was soon stopped on the advice of the bureaucracy.
His lectures on leadership are stuff of legend and laced with illustrations from his career and peppered with humour. My favourites are: “My trouble is, I have too much energy and I don’t know what to do with it. I keep thanking the almighty for making a man out of me and not a woman. If I’d been a woman, since I cannot say no, I would have always been in trouble. I’d either be in the maternity home or on the pill.” The other: “Whoever says he knows no fear is either lying or a Gorkha.”
Two years from now, Sam would have turned 100. The Government must make him a Bharat Ratna as no one deserves it more than he — with a life well lived.
Antony to make amends, give legendary Sam his due

Vijay Divas Celebration on 17 Dec 2011

Dear Veterans,
1. This is to remind you again that National Veteran Association, will be celebrating a function on 17 Dec 2011 at 10 AM at Air Force Golden Jubilee Auditorium, Subroto Park, near R&R Hosp, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Cantt to commemorate the historic victory of Indian Armed Forces against Pakistan, under the dynamic leadership of Late Smt Indira Gandhi, Bharat Ratna.
2. The gathering would include War Veterans of 1971, War Widows, Ex-Servicemen, most of retired Chiefs of Armed Forces and retired General Officers. Defence Minister, Raksha Rajya Mantry, Chief Minister of Delhi, President DPCC, Cabinet Ministers, MPs & National leaders would also grace the occasion.
3. War Widows & 1971 War Veterans would be honoured in the function.
4. Gen (Retd) OP Malhotra, Gen (Retd) NC Vij, Admiral RH Tahiliani,Air Chief Marshal(Retd) SK Kaul, and other retired Chiefs have confirmed to join the function. Besides ex Chiefs large number of general officers will be attending the function.
5. You are cordially invited to join the function.
With regards,
Dr TC Rao, Veteran
Convener

Comment: National Veteran Association sounds to be a new set up. One hopes it is a registered organisation under the Indian Society Act 1860.

Remembering the heroes of 1971 War

NDTV Correspondent, Updated: December 16, 2011 01:06 IST
New Delhi: Forty years ago, when Lieutenant General AAK Niazi, commander of the Pakistani forces in East Pakistan, signed surrender before Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, India's Eastern Army Commander, it marked the end of our subcontinent's most decisive war. In fact, the definitive liberation war in modern world's military history.

Bangladesh was born but about 3,900 Indian soldiers died, 9,851 wounded and 93,000 Pakistani soldiers were taken Prisoners of War.

"Only two such surrenders have happened in the world, one in Leningrad and another one in Bangladesh. We saw token a surrender of arms by the Pakistani troops, laying down their arms and the Indian people picking them up as mark of surrender," said Air Commodore Mirza Ali.

As the new nation asserted its identity before the world, 1971 emerged as India's finest hour, sweeping away as it did with a master stroke the ravaging blunders of the 1962 India-China conflict.

Awami League's Mujibur Rahman, an India loyalist, became the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh. And pushed to the corner, Pakistan had to sign the dotted line of the Shimla Pact that laid down the peace principles that should govern Indo-Pak relations. The accord also converted the 1949 UN Ceasefire Line into the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan.

Last, but not the least, was the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who emerged an icon for leading the war as she did against world opinion, to prove a point in a way India militarily and diplomatically has never been able to recreate.

Going against the Nixon-Kissinger snubs from the White House, she was able to position the 1971 War as a war for justice, ultimately turning global opinion in her favour.

Aiding her was another stellar personality - Army Chief Sam Maneckshaw - holding his own and refusing Indira as he did to start the war in March 1971. He went forward in December only after ensuring our military had readied itself and the nationalist freedom fighters Mukti Bahini within Bangladesh.

Our current Army Chief General VK Singh fought that war as a Second Lieutenant.
"It was a perfect synergy that was obtained between the political leadership and the military as well the nation. We should not forget all this. I would give great amount of credit to our then Prime Minister. I don't think people have appreciated what she achieved. She was able to get a consensus, she was able to build a world opinion, she was able to ensure that despite our own economic hardships we were able to look after thousands and thousands refugees who had come, and she allowed the military a certain amount of freedom to plan their operations in the best possible manner. It was unmatched leadership. When we look at the military, we were able to work out in great detail what is to be done and I have great pride in saying that it was the best manoeuvre war in the military history of the world. Nowhere in the world have they ever executed a manoeuver war like this. In a short time, we were able to achieve tremendous amount. You don't have wars where you get 93,000 prisoners. You don't have wars where surrenders take place like this," said General Singh.

Exactly four decades later, in a reappraisal of that military campaign in New Delhi this week, the Indian Army funded think-tank Centre for Land Warfare Studies or CLAWS, acknowledged the decisive role Mukti Bahini played in that war.

Mukti Bahini was a hastily assembled force of Bangladeshi students, lawyers and ordinary nationalist citizens - both Muslims and Hindu - who fought alongside Indian military to create Bangladesh.

Is such a war possible in this day and time? Theoretically, yes, in conflict areas where there is large-scale discontent among local people.

"If you have genuine grievances, like Kurds of Baloch, you have areas where the population has reached a stage where they have totally delinked themselves from the state they are part of. If that sort of grievances exist, an external intervention can create, and would create a state," said Alok Bansal, a military scholar.

But people who fought the 1971 War, like Air Marshall Inamdar and General VK Singh, remain sceptical.

"Look at the kind of surveillance capabilities everyone have now. Given that, something like this happening again, I think it's very difficult," said Air Marshal S G Inamdar.

"It depends on circumstances. It depends on how thing would come up. It depends on what are the factors which would guide such kind of a movement coupled with the type of resistance. This is not just a victory which was stand alone. This was a victory along with our brothers in arms from Bangladesh. It was a combined effort and if all these factors were to combine then may be, yes," Indian Army Chief, General VK Singh said.

Those factors may never come together as decisively as in 1971, making a repeat of the spectacular victory almost impossible.

Forty years after their finest military victory, the Indian armed forces are in the midst of another phase of rapid modernisation to meet new-age challenges. And while the challenges still remain about the process of modernisation and its speed, the key question that perhaps confronts India is: Do we have a political leadership as strong as we had in 1971? And is the current political leadership capable of taking bold decision?
Remembering the heroes of 1971 War

Capt Vikram Batra
In a time of war, he became the face of the young Indian soldier who fought ferociously and died fearlessly.
click here for the Video clip of 1999 Kargil war

Vijay Diwas 1971 Bangladesh Operations

Dedicated to the Martyrs
VICTORY DAY
Some Interesting Anecdotes
By Col TN Raman (Retd)
At 1631 Hours (IST), on 16 December 1971, Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Chief Martial Law Administrator and Commander Eastern Command (Pakistan), signed the Instrument of Surrender, presented by Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Command, India. After the written Instrument was signed, General Aurora executed the Physical form of the Ceremony by demanding and accepting the Pistol and the Epaulette of Niazi. The venue was Paltan Maidan, Dacca . The event was watched by thousands of Bengalis and Mukti Bahini cadres, who were out to take revenge on the Pakistani soldiers. Timely intervention and a bold decision by the Indian Army Commander to allow the Pakistan Soldiers to retain their personal weapons, for their own protection, till the Indian Army could build up sufficient strength in numbers to ensure their protection, had prevented a possible catastrophe.
‘Pakistan was not defeated; it was humiliated’. This was the phrase used by the General Staff of Pakistan, which went into the debacle of East Pakistan, in March 1972. They could hardly believe that a Riverine Terrain like East Pakistan, which the Military Experts would vouch as the Defenders Paradise & the Attackers Nightmare, could be conquered in two weeks time. General Niazi, adopted the tactics of defending every inch of the East Pakistan , with the result he was strong nowhere. Had he planned to hold on to the few vital areas & attempted to stall the Indian advance based on the formidable Rivers as obstacles, the campaign would have prolonged sufficiently long. This would have given time for the Pakistan to negotiate an honourable Cease Fire, instead of the Surrender.

What was the back ground to such a brilliant campaign? Let us hear from Sam Manekshaw, the then Chief of Army Staff of India ( As per his interview published in the Quarter Deck, in 1996).
The gist is given below.
In April 1970, Sam was summoned to a Cabinet Meeting. Smt Indra Gandhi, the then Prime Minister urged him to immediately intervene to plug the flow of refugees to the Eastern States of West Bengal, Assam & Tripura. The General told her that meant war. She said ‘yes’. Now, over to Sam,
“My job is to fight to win. Are you ready? I certainly am not ready. Have you internally got everything ready? Internationally have you got everything ready? I don’t think so. I know what you want, but I must do it in my own time & guarantee 100 per cent success. I want to make it clear. There must be one Commander. I don’t mind working with BSF or CRPF. But, I will not have a Soviet telling me what to do. I must have one Political Master, who will give me instructions”.
After that, Indra Gandhi saw the light & agreed with the assessment. Sam was equally emphatic in eliciting further assurance from the Iron Lady. The lady agreed & the campaign was a historical success. Is it not strange, that the Arm Chair strategists & bureaucrats still keep humming the same tune of “war is too serious a business to be entrusted to the Generals”.
Later, Sam was to state that there was a very thin line between becoming a Field Marshal & being dismissed. No wonder Sam is called Bahadur!!!
Pakistan was beaten in war by superior generalship, exhibited from the Chief down to all Formation Commanders. The resistance continued in several garrisons even after the Surrender Ceremony in Dacca . But one by one, the outlying Garrisons realised the futility of carrying on a war, in which their Commanders, both at Dacca and Islamabad , had abandoned them. By 18 December, all guns fell silent in the East. One example will illustrate the tenacity of the Pakistani Army’s junior commanders.
Brigadier HS Kler, leading 95 Mountain Brigade, cleared Kamalpur, at the border on December 04, and proceeded to advance on to Jamlpur Garrison. The garrison was encircled by December 07. Despite several threats of annihilation, the garrison held on. Kler sent a message to the Garrison Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sultan Mahmood, ordering him to surrender. In reply, the Officer wrote back the following message, which is preserved as a document, in the War Archives.
Dear Brig,
Hope this finds you in high spirits. Thanks for the letter.
We here in Jamalpur are waiting for the fight to commence. It has not started yet. So let us not talk and start it. Forty sorties, I may point out are not adequate. Please ask for many more. Your remark about your messenger being given proper treatment was superfluous. Shows how you under estimate my boys. I hope he liked his tea.
Give my love to the Muktis. Hoping to find you with a sten in your hand next time, instead of the pen you seem to have so much mastery over.
I am, your most sincerely,
Col Sultan,
Commander Jamalpur Fortress.

Remembering Field Marshal SMH Manekshaw

Ref Blogpost: Field Marshal SMH Manekshaw
Dear Col Anand,
Thank you for your painstaking research on Field Marshal Manekshaw. I would however like to make a few observations so as to get the facts right.
Sam Manekshaw was never commissioned into the 8th Gorkha Rifles. He was commissioned into the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment which is now in Pakistan. On Partition he was transferred to the 5th Gorkha Rifles(FF) which was also a Frontier Force Regiment.
He was posted to MO Dte as a Lt Col at Partition and was promoted in situ as a Col. Sam never commanded an infantry battalion and has never served with the 8th Gorkha Rifles.
Although he was on the panel of the 5th Gorkha Rifles(FF), he was not made Col on the Regt because there were officers of the Regt who were senior to him. Sometime after 1958, when Maj Gen AS Pathania, MVC,MC was made Col of the 5th Gorkha Rifles(FF) Sam was offered and accepted Colonelcy of the 8th Gorkha Rifles and that regiment thereafter became ' His Regiment'. I hope I have been able to help you in some small way.
Best wishes
Maj Gen Ian Cardozo (Retd)

Dear Brigadier Kamboj,
I read with interest the details about Sam Manekhaw compiled by Brig LK Anand. Without detracting from his splendid effort, I would like to submit a few corrections and additions. These are based on Sam’s biography that is part of my book LEADERSHIP IN THE INDIAN ARMY – BIOGRAPHIES OF TWELVE SOLDIERS. The draft was vetted by Sam himself, not once but thrice, so I think it should be accurate.
The name of Sam’s mother was Hilla, and not Heerabai.
Sam did his Senior Cambridge from, Sherwood Collge, Nainital. He then joined and Hindu Sabha College, Amritsar, to study for his F.Sc. He Joined IMA on 1 October 1932. Sam passed out on 22 December 1934. He was commissioned on 1 February 1935, with the date of seniority fixed as 4 February 1934.
Sam was commissioned in 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment (FFR) and not 8th Gurkha Rifles. In fact, he never serviced in a Gurkha unit. Shortly after Independence, while he was in MO, he was posted as CO 3/5 Gorkha Rifles. However, before he could move, fighting broke out in Kashmir and his posting orders were cancelled. He was promoted Lt Col and Brig in MO itself. He never commanded a battalion. In April 1952, Sam was given command of 167 Infantry Brigade at Ferozepur. IN December 1957, Sam was promoted Major General and posted as GOC 26 Infantry Division. He became a Lt Gen in November 1962 (and not Dec 1963, as stated) and given command of 4 Corps. In December 1963, he was appointed GOC-in-C Western Command
He was married on 22 April 1939, to Silloo Bode. He has two daughters, Maja and Sherry. As regards the anecdotes, there are just too many. A large number are there in my book.
Regards
Maj Gen VK Singh

Dear Brig Kamboj
The following Para from the biography of Sam Manekshaw (RMS 140/2011) illustrates that for want of this element alone in our chiefs, not only the Defence Forces, but also the whole nation is suffering the manipulations of babus and politicians. Courage, gallantry, bravery, valour and all such words which every general chants at meetings with juniors sound hollow after witnessing all that is going on in this country. We are not the sentries of the nation; we are the guardians of the nation.
Is Military Watchdog for the Looters?
"Sub Para(h) Professional Competence. Once a defence secretary made an observation on the note written by Manekshaw for the PM and the Defence Minister. He walked straight into Mrs Gandhi’s office. He politely told her that if she found the defence secretary more competent than him on military matters, then she did not have a need for him. The defence secretary was given a new job."
Col Ram Gulrajani

Dear Chander,
Dehradun remembered Field Marshal SMH Manekshaw on 3rd April his birthday by cutting cake and paying rich tibutes to this unique soldier by lighting candles before his portrait at Hotel Regent. arranged by Marshal School and Dehradun Ex Servicemen. Different Papers in the town published articles eulogising his traits to mark the occasion. One such article published Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw’s Birth Anniversary- click here. We can never forget this illustrous soldier and he will keep youngsters inspiring the great traditions of Army which he practically followed in his life and rose to achieve the highest position.
Regards
Gopal
Veteran Brig KG Behl
President DESL

Soldiers lost in the babu maze

Deccan Chronicle September 15th, 2010 Soldiers lost in the babu maze by S.K. Sinha

Since 1947, career prospects in the armed forces, compared to the civil services, have become phenomenally worse. Wholesale proliferation of higher ranks in the civil services since 1947 has resulted in India having the most top-heavy civil administration. This only undermines efficient functioning. In a state there used to be one chief secretary, but now there are dozens of super chief secretaries with higher rank and pay. Similarly, instead of one inspector general of police in a state, we have dozens of DGPs, ADGPs and numerous IGPs. There used to be only four levels of civil servants in the Central Secretariat, from undersecretary to secretary. That has now increased to seven levels, to principal secretary. In the police a new zonal level of functioning has been introduced in many states to supervise the supervisors. Almost all IAS officers end up as secretary or additional secretary, and all IPS officers as DG or additional DG. In the Army, the majority of officers cannot go beyond colonel. The shortage of several thousand officers in the Army underscores that the Army is now a very unattractive career.

The protocol status of the Army in the table of precedence has also been successively downgraded with every revision of the table. After Independence, the Army Chief was initially ranked with the judges of the Supreme Court but above the secretary-general (this appointment was abolished after a while and in 1963 the appointment of Cabinet Secretary introduced). The Army Chief was now placed below Cabinet Secretary, and thereafter to many others. Today he ranks below members of the Union Public Service Commission.

This persistent downgrading of the Army applies to all officer ranks in the Army. In 1972 we had proposed that the Field Marshal should get his full pay as he is not supposed to retire and be ranked with Bharat Ratna holders, that is, just below Cabinet ministers. This was not accepted and he was ranked along with the service chiefs, that is, below Cabinet Secretary. As for salary, Manekshaw was given arrears amounting to `1.2 crores after 33 years, a few weeks before he died. Imagine. Such shabby treatment of India’s first Field Marshal who led Indian arms to a great victory. A minister of state represented the Indian government at his funeral.

The cause of the neglect of the Army in India is our irrational higher defence organisation on which the bureaucracy has a stranglehold, isolating the Army from decision-making. This does not happen in any other democracy. Unless this is set right, the Army will remain neglected.

- The author, a retired lieutenant-general, was Vice-Chief of Army Staff and has served as governor of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.
Extracted: Click Link for full article
Soldiers lost in the babu maze

Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV Was Won

Manekshaw Paper No. 22
Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV Was Won: Maj Gen Ashok Mehta, AVSM (Retd)
How did Sri Lanka’s current generation of political and military leaders manage to pull off a brilliant but brutal military victory, defying all predictions and assessments that comprehensive battlefield success against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was not feasible? The synergy of political will, military doggedness, unrestrained resources, diplomatic agility and the backing of the majority Sinhalese community produced the winning formula that dared to spurn the calls for restraint and ceasefire from the Western world and humanitarian agencies. The best-kept secret is India’s decisive role in helping Colombo win the war.
The paper traces the background to the failed negotiations with the LTTE and the wars fought by earlier regimes to maintain a line of control that ran along Mannar-Vavuniya-Mullaithivu, yielding control from the North of this line to the Tigers, while ferociously guarding Trincomalee harbour in the east. The eastern and northern offensives culminated in the fateful ‘last battle’ fought on a coastal strip off Mullaithivu. It will be difficult for less resolute countries to replicate the elimination of a deadly guerilla force like the LTTE. Yet, for now, the ethnic conflict is far from over.
The full Mankeshaw Paper is in PDF format click here to locate the article in CLAWS webpage

Remembering Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw

Remembering Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw on his 96th Birthday on 3 April – A Unique Soldier
There are very few persons who have done or brought so much honour and glory to the Country as late Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. He had so many firsts to his credit that one wonders the esteem with which he worked. Such outstanding persons are, normally, confronted with jealousy but Sam had no such problems as all his colleagues liked or rather loved him. He had his own style of meeting people with humour and smile but without any ego. He reflected no feelings of superiority and mixed with one and all as if their own and participated in practically all events and functions. He was smart, handsome with a smiling countenance, always ready to crack jokes creating humour and happiness. It is during one of such meetings when the writer first encountered him sitting cross legged, in his typical style on a dining table in one of the transit messes, in the evening, entertaining with his jokes, young officers, who were going to join their units, mostly for the first time, looking tired, probably due to long dusty journey by convoys, which moved only during day time due to condition of roads in 1964. When one of the youngsters entered murmuring who the hell is sitting on the dining table like that, Gen Manekshaw simply smiled and told him to sit down by waving his hand and continued with his jokes. It was his unscheduled visit in civvies probably to see how the transit messes were running and above all to cheer up young Officers.

One of the finest officers of the Indian Army, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, has had a long and illustrious career. Born on April 3, 1914 in Amritsar, Punjab, Field Marshal Manekshaw became the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army in 1969 and under his command, Indian forces achieved a splendid victory in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. and rose to become the First Field Marshal in Indian Armed Forces on 1.1.1973.

Though being a Parsi, he had all the traits of Amritsar where he was born. But it was at Sherwood where he developed his personality and learnt the art bullying by living amongst a variety of students some of whom in order to show off or satisfy their ego bullied others and at times got rebuff. He joined Hindu Sabha College Amritsar but was soon got selected for the first Batch of trainees of newly opened Indian Military Academy at Dehradun for commission in British Indian Army where he got his commission on February 4, 1934 in British Infantry in 2nd Battalion of Royal Scots. He later joined the 4th Battalion of 12 Frontier Force Regiment- commonly called the 54th Sikhs where in Second World War in Burma got a second life as young Captain he survived near fatal wounds during the War and had the rare distinction of being honoured for his bravery – Military Cross – right on the battle front itself during the Second World War.

Manekshaw, got a handsome, witty and sporting trademark of handlebar moustache, which distinguished his personality. He was also the first Indian officer to command the Gorkhas after India got Independence. He showed his strategic acumen during the 1947-48 Jammu & Kashmir Operations and later became commandant of the Infantry School before becoming the Colonel of 8 Gorkha Rifles. The Indian government, made a highly costly strategic blunder by sidelining him during the Indo-China war just because he didn’t wag his tail.

In 1961, his outspoken frankness got him into trouble with Defence Minister V K Krishna Menon and his adviser Lt Gen B M Kaul. He refused to toe Menon’s line and was sidelined. Manekshaw was vindicated soon after when the Indian army suffered a humiliating defeat in North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), now Arunachal Pradesh, the next year, at the hands of the Chinese that led to Menon’s resignation. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru rushed Manekshaw to NEFA to command the retreating Indian forces. This had an electrifying effect on the demoralised officers.

In no time, Manekshaw convinced the troops that the Chinese soldier was not "10 feet tall". His first order of the day said, "There will be no withdrawal without written orders and these orders shall never be issued." The soldiers showed faith in their new commander and successfully checked further ingress by the Chinese.

He was appointed as GOC-in-C Eastern Command where he handled the insurgency in Nagaland. He became the 8th Chief of Army Staff on 7 June 1969. Affectionately called "Sam Bahadur", Manekshaw was the architect of many a military triumphs but his finest hour came when in 1971 Pakistani forces were vanquished in 14 days flat when Bangladesh was born. His distinguished military career spanned four decades from the British era and through five wars, including the Second World War.

Flamboyant by nature, Manekshaw always had his way with people, including his seniors and even the country’s Head of Government. At one stage his jocular remarks almost brought his career graph down and was denied of certain privileges he was entitled to. When Mrs.Gandhi asked him to go to Dhaka and accept the surrender of Pakistani forces, Manekshaw declined, magnanimously saying that honour should go to his army commander in the East (Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora).

A shrewd tactician, Manekshaw meticulously planned the Indian attack on Pakistan on both fronts — East and West. While the Indian forces captured the then East Pakistan in the eastern sector, the army made heavy inroads in the western sector going up to Lahore. This legendary soldier received several awards and accolades. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1968, the Padma Vibhushan in 1972 and was conferred the rank of Field Marshal on 1 January 1973.

He settled down in Coonoor, a town next to Wellington Military Cantonment where he had served as Commandant of the Defence Services Staff College. As Field Marshal, whereever he visited or was invited, he with his personality, grace and dignity he inspired in youth the Spirit of service and Sacrifice and cheerfully carrying out the assigned duties. He was a towering figure to emulate in every field as a true soldier.

He died of complications from pneumonia at the Military Hospital in Wellington, Tamil Nadu on 0030 hours, 27 June 2008 at the age of 94. He was laid to rest in Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu, with full military honours. The Nation remembers and pays gratitude to this great and unique Soldier, today, on his birthday. Keeping his exemplary record of service to the Nation he deserves to be conferred the Title of ‘Bharat Ratna’.
Brig KG Behl (Retd)
President Dehradun Ex- Services League

Indo Pak War 1971: "Hands in your Pockets"

It was in September 1971 that my tank regiment received its long anticipated orders to move to the Indo-Pak border. Those last few days in Patiala cantonment were full of palpable excitement, intense preparation, anticipation of combat and the brash feeling of invincibility that all subalterns seem to have in their DNA.

Forgotten were the endless dinner nights when we would sit bolt upright in stiff summer formals, compelled by intractable Mess protocol to listen with sham interest as our 1965 Indo-Pak war veterans carried on animatedly, sometimes fractiously, about the mystique of war; inter-unit war rivalries and the like.

With war near certain, the ’65 veterans suddenly found us now listening with rapt attention on what it actually felt like when “crossing the border,” or firing to destroy a real Patton tank 800 metres away; crushed with the kinetic force of tank-defeating ammunition generating a massive force of 50 tons per square inch on impact.

I recall the memorable night when we hit the GT road in an endless column of ammunition-carrying vehicles and our monstrous, 80 feet long, Centurion tank-carrying tank transporters, all headlights blanked out. Lying facing a starlit sky in our black dungarees on bundles of camouflage nets dumped in the transporter-trailer, Pushkar, a fellow subaltern and I spoke in monosyllables, each lost in his thoughts. We instinctively sensed that, in an ineffable way, the war would change us; converting from callow subalterns to real men of substance.

The long wait in our operational area under cover and camouflage was one of intense activity. In keeping with our higher plans, the regiment moved several times, each movement conducted in pitch darkness and filled with excitement and anticipation. Most available time was spent on day and night border reconnaissance or in battle-group operational planning.

One day in late November, we received the electrifying news that “Sam Bahadur”, our iconic Army Chief, General SHFJ Manekshaw, would address us in our operational area close to the border. I had a vantage view of his handsome, dapper, faultlessly turned out visage, as he bounded to the stage with his swagger stick raised to his rakish side cap in acknowledgement. You could have heard the proverbial pin drop when he spoke to us soldier-to-soldier.

Recounting the monstrous evil that Pakistan had wrought in then East Pakistan, he said that the Pakistani Army had raped, murdered and pillaged, thus dishonouring and defiling the noble profession of arms.

“When you go in, soldiers, remember to ‘keep your hands in your pockets,’ he thundered. “Do not do anything that brings dishonour to our just war! Now give me your word!” he demanded. We did, with a roar that must have been heard up to Shakargarh. In the war that followed in West Pakistan, we regrettably did not go deep enough, but, hell, we honoured his diktat fully — right through the 1971 Indo-Pak war!

“Hands in your pockets” by Raj Mehta: The Tribune

Commemorating Victory: Indo Pak War 1971

PRESS RELEASE COMMEMORATING VICTORY DAY-INDO PAK WAR 1971
A public function to pay homage to those “who laid their lives for our today” and sharing of personal experiences by War veterans of 1971 Indo Pak War, is being organised by Ex –Servicemen League (CBD) Navi Mumbai, on 17 Dec. 2009 from 10.00 AM to 12.30 PM at SIES Management Institute Auditorium, Sector 3, Nerul, Navi Mumbai.
The war clouds were hovering around Indo-East Pakistan (Bangladesh) border during 1971 with large number of refugees forced out of East-Pakistan by Pak army’s crack down on its civil Bangla speaking population who had voted SHEIKH MUJHIBAR REHMAN with absolute majority.
Pakistan Air Force attacked number of Indian airfields on 3rd Dec 1971 evening. By mid same night Indian Prime Minister Late Smt. Indira Gandhi, announced that India was at war with Pakistan.
Two weeks later the war was over, the Indian Army had over run East Pakistan. On 16 Dec. 1971, 93000 Pakistani Prisoners Of War surrendered to Indian Army. A new nation BANGLADESH was born. The stunning victory highlights between Indian Army, Navy and Air force.
Above could not have been possible but for EXEMPLARY & SUPREME sacrifice by members of Armed Forces.
You are invited to above function. Visit: ESM League, Navi Mumbai- click me

Lt Col (Retd) DP Singh
President

Vijay Diwas: Indo Pak War 1971

Best remembered for his stand on the Indo-Pak war in 1971, he was a man of conviction. No one can forget how he stood up to Indira Gandhi (then the Prime Minister in 1971) when she had called a cabinet meeting to declare a war on Pakistan in April 1971. In front of the cabinet Sam Bahadur rebuked her giving the reason that in April with the snow melting he could not advocate that risk when even China was a threat, and stood firm. After the cabinet meeting he politely asked Mrs Gandhi “When should I send you my resignation letter?” Rest in Peace Sam Bahadur!

Vijay Diwas (Victory Day) is celebrated in India on 16 December to mark the Indian victory in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. In Bangladesh, this is commemorated as Victory Day. In addition, Kargil Vijay Diwas, sometimes also called Vijay Diwas, is celebrated on July 26 in India with an event held in Drass, giving remembrance to the soldiers who died in the 1999 Kargil War between India And Pakistan. The Indian Armed Forces have a long tradition of valor and courage, in the face of overwhelming odds. Nowhere was this better demonstrated than in the heroic endeavors made by the Indian Armed forces in the liberation of Bangladesh, in 1971.

From the moment the operations were planned it was apparent that speed was going to be the key factor in the Operation for both political and military reasons; yet it was also clear that achieving speed and mobility was going to be the most difficult. The plan succeeded due to close cooperation among the three services and the highest standards of political and military leadership, skill and boldness in execution and consummate logistical management. While the Indian Army advanced in cooperation with freedom fighters of Bangladesh and converged on to Dhaka, the IAF within 48 hours completely pulversied the airfields achieving complete air superiority after the Naval fleet moved in to blockade the Bay of Bengal. Air Force dropping of Army personnel at Tangail and Navy Guarding the Bay of Bengal was a classic example cooperation of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The basic aim of the Western Sector was to maintain a position of offensive defence and hence did not result in a major offensive.

Operations in 1971 saw some of the greatest heroic deeds by our officers and men. As many as four Param Vir Chakras were awarded during the operations which stands testimony to the bravery of the Indian Armed Forces. On the occasion of Vijay Diwas, we salute our brethren who have laid down lives in the service of the nation.

Tomorrow as we celebrate the 37th Anniversary, we salute our officers and men who maintain eternal vigil along the vast international borders encompassing some of the most inhospitable terrains in the world to preserve the integrity of our country.
VIJAY DIWAS

Modi dedicates flyover to Manekshaw

Modi dedicates flyover to Manekshaw
23 Oct 2008, 0253 hrs IST,

AHMEDABAD: Security personnel and members of armed forces from the state who gain martyrdom on the battlefront and while fighting terrorists would be immortalised with schools in their villages named after them.

This was announced by Chief Minister Narendra Modi while dedicating the newly-built Shivranjani flyover on the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) route, to the city and Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw at a ceremony hosted by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in the presence of members of the Parsi community and senior defence personnel from the three armed forces on Wednesday.

Hailing Manekshaw, as hero of India's victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan, Modi said, "Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was known globally for his daredevil acts and he was instrumental in creating a new country, Bangladesh."

Taking a dig at central government, Modi said, "Cental government leadership never checked on the war veteran when he was ailing and admitted at the hospital in Ooty."

On the recent political cries over Azamgarh emerging as a terrorist hub, Modi said, "There have been nefarious activities among political parties in supporting terrorists and these people also had termed Sardar Patel as a terrorist."

In the end, Modi took credit for bringing the Nano project to the state and criticised the Congress for raising questions over Nano shifting to Gujarat.

Field Marshal Manekshaw, MC, was born to Parsi parents who settled in Punjab after moving from Valsad. He died at the age of 94 in June this year. The newly built flyover is located on 132 feet ring road and is part of the BRTS project under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
Modi dedicates flyover to Field Marshal Manekshaw

Field Marshal Manekshaw Memorial Lecture

Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw is our national icon whom we failed to give an appropriate farewell when he passed away recently. I am glad that the Conclave of Defence Services Veterans have started Field Marshal Manekshaw Memorial lecture series. I feel greatly honoured to be invited to deliver the first lecture. I was privileged to serve under the Field Marshal in various capacities for several decades.

I recall that in September 1946 when the Interim Government had come to power in Delhi and India’s Independence was fast approaching, three Indian officers were posted in three different sections of the Military Operations Directorate of the then General Headquarters (India), which later became our Army Headquarters. Till then this Directorate was manned exclusively by British officers and British clerks. These three Indians were Lt Col Manekshaw, Major Yahya Khan and myself in the rank of Captain.

Later I served under him as instructor first at Mhow and then at Wellington, when he was the Commandant of these training institutions. Thereafter I served as a Brigade Commander when he was the Army Commander and as a Deputy PSO when he was the Army Chief. The war clouds had gathered in 1971 and I was due to command a Division. He held me back as Deputy PSO on his staff. I told him that the G-1 was going to war with the G-2 and the G-3 should not be left out of battle. He turned down my request saying that he needed me more on his staff.

I last met him in 2007 when he was terminally ill on life support system in Wellington Military Hospital. A little earlier at the intervention of the then President, he had received over one crore as arrears of pay of a Field Marshal for the past 35 years. At last the bureaucracy had relented and given him his due which had been denied to him. We had taken up the case in 1972 when he was promoted Field Marshal. I congratulated him for this. He smiled and told me,”A Babu came from Delhi to give me the cheque which I have sent to my bank, but I am not sure if the cheque will be honoured.”

Retired Lieutenant General Srinivas Kumar Sinha, who was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir from 2003 to 2008, has had an eventful stint for nearly six years as the governor of Assam earlier.
Full Text of Speech: Gen Sinha's speech on National Security: J&K Perspective

Sam Manekshaw Man of destiny Adored by the public

Sam Manekshaw World's Finest Military Leader
Some historical events of far reaching consequences, though widely separated by time and space, have striking similarities. Manekshaw’s refusal to be hustled into attacking East Pakistan during April-May 1971 bears a marked parallel with the refusal by Marshal Kutuzov, the commander-in-chief of Russian armies, to defend Moscow against Napoleon’s march on that city in 1812. Both came under increasing pressure, one from his government, the other from the Czar and his entourage. One refused to defend and the other declined to attack! By refusing to defend Moscow, Kutuzov saved the Russian armies from destruction by Napoleon which eventually saved Russia. Manekshaw by declining to attack East Pakistan in April-May, preserved India’s honour. Both resolutely held on to their professional assessment of the military situation and nothing could make them budge from that position.

A whispering campaign of calumny was mounted against both of them. Manekshaw, they said, had no stomach for a fight and had developed cold feet: such was the refrain of the chattering classes of Delhi’s cock-tail circuit. Kutuzov’s detractors whispered of his senility: he was then in his late seventies. Both ignored such barbs. Manekshaw was faced with the prospect of a war on two fronts with the possibility of the opening up of the third front as well. It was a problem, more complex than what had been the bane of the German General Staff for more than half a century, across two World Wars. He wanted the Himalayan winter to set in so that threat from the North gets recessed, and redeploy troops from that front, against East Pakistan.

Had it been a lesser army chief than Manekshaw, the government would have stampeded him into going over to the offensive in April/ May as it so easily did in the 1962 war against China (recall the order from Nehru to ‘throw the Chinese out’ ), operation Blue Star, misadventure in Sri Lanka and the suicidal frontal attacks at Kargil. Undoubtedly, had India attacked East Pakistan in April-May 1971, without the essential logistics build-up etc, it would have been an unmitigated disaster for the country.

Indian troops won their last great victory against a foreign army of importance in 303 BC, when Chandragupta Maurya’s army defeated Seleucus Nicator: Alexander's general. Now after a period of twenty three hundred years of unremitting defeats for the armies of India against every invading army, Manekshaw made the country experience the glow of a stunning victory. It was a victory worthy to rank amongst the great victories and a campaign as brilliant as any in history.

Magnanimous and forgiving of nature, he exuded captivating charm and his quick wit, light hearted banter and inimitable style of command endeared him to the rank and file and others who came in contact with him. He took seven bullets in his stomach from a Japanese machine gun at the Sittang Bridge and in a critical state was put on the last ship to leave Singapore before it fell to the Japanese. Twice destiny had intervened to pull him from the jaws of death, perhaps for fulfilling a larger mission in life.

Marshal Kutuzov, at the battle of Borodino, had madean unsuccessful attempt to halt the invader’s advance into Russia and had barely managed to save the Russian armies from being destroyed by Napoleon. His strategy, aided by the Russian winter, finally brought about the decimation of Napoleon’s ‘Grand Army’ without a battle. On any working day in Moscow the queue for entry into the cyclorama, depicting the battle of Borodino is half a kilometer long. Marshal Kutuzov is a great national hero to this day. Compare this to the way we dealt with Manekshaw, who had won a stunning victory for India.

The passing away of Manekshaw, a few days ago, was mourned by the nation and the press but ignored by the Government of India, the political class and the chiefs of Air Force and Navy. Earlier he was honoured with the rank of Field Marshal (though opposed by the bureaucracy), in a rather slip-shod manner, where army HQ had to over-night deploy workmen in Chandni Chowk to make the badges of rank and baton of a Field Marshal. His privileges and place in the scheme of things not determined. His pay was fixed at the level of pension of service chief with Rs 500 as additinal allowance!

Though omitted from the government’s Warrant of Precedence, is believed to be just above the service chiefs! Amendment to WoP issued by the Home Ministry in October 2007, lifts chairperson of UPSC from Article 17 (position) to article 9-A placing him above the three service chiefs (so also a Field Marshal) who are at article 12 (12th place). What is chairperson UPSC! Earlier he ranked even below an officiating army chief of the rank of Lt Gen. A Field Marshal continues to skip the WoP!

This warrant of precedence is periodically revised by a committee of three secretaries which is rubber-stamped by the supreme commander of Indian armed forces, who has, not even once, raised a query as to why, this sustained assault on the status of his/her service chiefs and his officers, and why no place for a Field Marshal on this list!

The media which is now so much in praise of the Field Marshal would not, as late as last year, accept an article suggesting the award of Bharat Ratna to him. When high achievers from every walk of life have been honoured with this award why, in this dispensation, is there no place for one of the most eminent soldiers in Indian history. An award given to him in his life time is quite apart from one that may come to him posthumously. Why this total lack of grace, gratitude and decorum on the part of the Government of India; firstly during his life time and now on his passing away. Credit for the only decisive victory in India’s military history still belongs to him!

Lt Gen Harwant Singh (Retd)
Army to Hold Memorial Service on 15 July 2008 for Manekshaw
Sam H.F.J. Manekshaw Key to India's victory in 1971: The New York Times

Field Marshal Manekshaw dies