Pratibha Patil , the USELESS commander-in- chief of the armed forces with all the time in the world: ABSENT.
Date: 08 Jul 2008
Comment:
08 Jul 08.
THE GREAT SOLDIER
SAM BAHADUR
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DAWN KARACHI
the INTERNET EDITION
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Rajab 2, 1429
Sam Bahadur
By Ardeshir Cowasjee
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/cowas.htm
SAM Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was his full name by which he was rarely called, as he was known familiarly and affectionately by his men and officers and friends as Sam Bahadur.
Manekshaw was no ordinary run-of-the-mill man. Born in Amritsar in 1914, he died in Wellington, Ootacamund, in the Nilgiri Hills of South India at the age of 94. Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw, MC, was the second Indian soldier to be so honoured, with justification, with the highest rank that can be bestowed upon a soldier, the other being Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa, the first Indian to command the Indian army, friend and contemporary of our Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the first Pakistani to command the Pakistan army. (However, unlike Ayub, both Cariappa and Manekshaw were honoured for their military skills and prowess.)
Sam Bahadur became India’s chief of army staff in 1969 and, as we in Pakistan must accept with heavy hearts, the highlight of his outstanding career was his resounding victory over the armed forces of Pakistan in 1971, when we lost East Pakistan to Bangladesh.
Anecdotes about the field marshal abound. His most famous remark, according to one obituary in the English press, was made on the eve of the outbreak of the December 1971 war when India’s prime minister, Indira Gandhi, asked him if he was ready for the fight. His reply came pat: “I am always ready, sweetie.” He famously said that he could never bring himself to call Mrs Gandhi ‘madam’ because it reminded him of a bawdy house. His other well-known exchange with Mrs Gandhi was when she once questioned him about rumours that he was plotting a coup. He asked her if she would accept his resignation on grounds of mental instability.
Held in awe by India’s politicians for his military professionalism, he was loved by the men of the army he led. I had the good fortune and honour of meeting him in Delhi, in 2001, when he was 87 years old, upright, with his moustaches bristling. I had heard much about him from my very good friend Lt Gen Attiqur Rahman who knew him from the days when they served in the British Indian Army and as young officers of the Fourth Frontier Force Regiment were sent to the Burma front.
In February 1942, they were together holding a bridge over the Sittang River when Sam nearly lost his life. After a night sharing a mackintosh in a bit of hollow ground, Sam was ordered to take his company down the road to investigate firing from the jungle. When Attiq later went off down the road, he saw Sam being carried on his orderly’s back, unconscious, his face ashen. He asked the regimental doctor how badly he had been wounded and was told that he would probably be dead by the time he reached the other end of the bridge.
Later, whilst reorganising, he heard that Sam was in hospital at Pegu. He went to see him and it was obvious he was in terrible pain. He hung on to Attiq’s hand, and whispering, asked him to leave his pistol so that he could shoot himself. Attiq told him not to be silly, that all would be well. As we know it was, but it was a close call. The surgeon attending to him almost gave up on the bullet-ridden body. The story goes that as he lay in hospital, an English general pinned his own military cross on to the chest of Captain Manekshaw as the medal could not be awarded posthumously. Attiq and Sam did not meet again until 1945 when Sam was one of his instructors at the Quetta Staff College.
Another good friend of Manekshaw from this side of the border was our Rangila Raja Gen Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan. At the time of partition Major Manekshaw and Major Yahya Khan were together on the staff of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck. Sam owned a red James motorcycle which Yahya had always had an eye on. He offered to buy it, and did, for the princely sum of Rs1,000 which he promised to send over from Pakistan. Yahya, being Yahya, let it lapse. After the 1971 victory, Sam was heard to quip, “Yahya never paid me the Rs1,000 for my motorbike, but now he has paid with half his country.”
When I met the field marshal I told him that Yahya had never forgotten the debt, but had never got round to it. I offered to pay back the Rs1,000 with interest, on his behalf. No, no, said the field marshal, Yahya was a good man and a good soldier, we served together. There was not one mean or corrupt bone in his body. Your politicians are as bad as ours. Yahya was condemned without being heard. After he was put under house arrest at the end of December 1971, up to his death in 1980, he clamoured unceasingly for an open trial. Why was he condemned unheard?
Sam was buried quietly in his home in Tamil Nadu, a modest affair rather than the grand funeral he should have had in the capital, Delhi. Last year his name was linked to bizarre allegations made by the son of President Gen Ziaul Haq, our ‘exceedingly clever’ politician Ejazul Haq, against an unnamed Indian brigadier who allegedly had sold Indian war plans to Pakistan. The slur lingered on and the prime minister, the army, navy and air force chiefs all stayed away from the field marshal’s funeral.
Many were angered by this lack of respect shown to the nation’s brave soldier and one website is devoted to the comments of Indian citizens on the reaction of their politicians: http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/if-you-have-to-die-can-you-please-do-so-in-delhi.
As the editor writes, “The death of the only Indian to be appointed field marshal when in active service has been remarkable for the warmth of the ordinary men and women who queued up to say ‘thank you’…. It was also remarkable for the complete lack of grace and gratitude, civility and courtesy, decency and decorum on the part of the bold-faced names rapaciously grazing the lawns of power in Delhi and elsewhere, for the brain behind India’s only decisive military victory.”
And a sentence which would have made Sam Bahadur chuckle: As he [Manekshaw] rightly surmised once: ‘I wonder whether those of our political masters who have been put in charge of the defence of the country can distinguish a mortar from a motor, a gun from a howitzer, a guerrilla from a gorilla – although a great many of them in the past have resembled the latter’.
arfc@cyber.net.pk
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Financial Times
On line
05 jul 08
Celebrated Indian field marshal with a razor-sharp wit
By Stephen Fidler
Friday Jul 4 2008 13:30
It was February 1942 on the Sittang River in Burma. Sam Manekshaw had already lost half his men as they fought to take Pagoda Hill from the Japanese invaders. He rallied what was left of his company, urging them to continue the advance.
Then, just as they captured the hill, a burst of machine-gun fire hit Manekshaw in the stomach. As he lay there he was spotted by Major General David Cowan, who had seen the young captain's bravery but feared his wounds might be mortal. Kneeling beside him, Cowan took off his own Military Cross ribbon and pinned it on Manekshaw's chest, saying: "A dead man cannot be awarded the Military Cross."
The general was wrong to doubt the officer's powers of survival but right about his valour. The courage of Sam Manekshaw, who has died a field marshal at the age of 94, was to help make him one of India's most successful military leaders. His seminal victory over Pakistan's forces in 1971 led to the creation of Bangladesh and turned Manekshaw into a national hero. One biographer described him as having "charm and persistence, an irreverence towards red tape, an iron determination, an eye for details plus a strategic mind that embraced all". He also had a razor-sharp wit.
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Hindustan Times
Karan Thapar
July 05, 2008
First Published: 23:31 IST(5/7/2008)
Last Published: 01:35 IST (6/7/2008)
Unbelievable or deliberate?
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=3236dd5b-2690-4d31-8a1f-932baf1f01ac
It’s incredible the Prime Minister and Defence Minister did not attend Field Marshal Manekshaw’s funeral. Their presence wasn’t simply a duty, it was an obligation. And there was nothing else that could have claimed greater priority. But I’m even more amazed the President didn’t go. She is, after all, the Supreme Commander of the armed forces and Manekshaw was their greatest hero. Her absence is shocking.
Yet it’s not just India’s civilian leadership that failed. So too did the top brass of the armed forces. Whilst I can understand the Army Chief’s inability to attend, because he was out of the country, I cannot comprehend why the Air Force and Navy Chiefs were missing. They spent the day in their offices in Delhi! I’m curious to hear what excuse these gentleman offer, assuming, of course, they feel the need to do so. Did the government tell them not to go? Is that the explanation?
Sadly, the lapses in the official response to Manekshaw’s death don’t end with the absences at his funeral. How do you explain the fact that even one day of national mourning was not announced? And why weren’t flags flown at half-mast? Remember, as a field marshal, Manekshaw was still ‘in service’. Field Marshals don’t retire.
However, if you ask army officers — serving or retired — for an explanation they will point to the long-established distrust politicians exhibit for men in uniform. In countless ways, some small but many significant, politicians have contrived to reduce the stature of the armed forces.
Forty people have received the Bharat Ratna since it was first awarded in 1954. By my count at least 22 are politicians. A further 13 intellectuals or artists, two social workers and an industrialist. There are also two foreigners. But in 54 years not a single armed forces officer has qualified. Surely Manekshaw should have? Was he less deserving than M. G. Ramachandran, Rajiv Gandhi, Aruna Asaf Ali, Gulzarilal Nanda, VV Giri, Gopinath Bordoloi and Chidambaram Subramaniam?
Actually, the discrimination against the armed forces is yet more inexplicable if you analyze how service officers are ranked alongside civilian bureaucrats. For instance, in the states a brigadier and a district collector are treated as equals although it takes 28 years for an officer to become a brigadier and just 8 for a bureaucrat to become a DC. Worse, the central government ranks the Army Chief below the Cabinet Secretary. Yet the IAS comprises 4671 members and the army over a million. Even members of the Planning Commission, Chairmen of the UPSC, the CAG, the Attorney General and every single foreign ambassador have precedence.
Unfortunately, that’s not all. In the army promotions only happen against vacancies. In the civil service posts are created to provide promotions. Consequently state governments can have 10 or more permanent-secretary level posts, all of whom enjoy the same perks and salary.
Finally, to add insult to injury, where as practically every civil servant rises to be a joint secretary, only 3.5 per cent of army officers become major generals, the equivalent post. Therefore, when they retire, most civil servants at least get joint secretary level pensions. Very few army officers get major general level pensions.
And if you still doubt the services have legitimate reason to be upset, consider this — when the Cabinet Committee for Security discusses military procurement it invites civil servants to offer their opinion but the three chiefs, who are directly involved and clearly more knowledgeable, aren’t called.
Little wonder, then, that the armed services are aggrieved the Review Committee considering the 6th Pay Commission award for the military does not include a service officer, even though they had insisted on this. The government claims the Defence Secretary will represent them. The three chiefs — and all their predecessors — disagree. It’s not the incumbent they distrust so much as the attitude of civil servants. And when the government claims this is how civilian control manifests itself, they reply: this amounts to bureaucratic not political control.
So, through service eyes, the government’s response to Manekshaw’s death isn’t hard to explain. It’s part of a well-established pattern of political behaviour.
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THE TIMES OF INDIA
On Line - Delhi News
Paying a salute to Sam Bahadur
6 Jul 2008, 0225 hrs IST,TNN
NEW DELHI: In a world of cynics, it takes a child to immortalize a hero. The condolence book that lay open at India Gate from Monday to Friday for Sam Manekshaw, was full of heartfelt messages from school children, who had never met him, but had heard of or read about the Indian Army’s moment of glory in 1971.
Their simple messages perhaps belied the awe they felt for the country's first Field Marshal, responsible for mowing down enemy lines when they were mere toddlers: 'You will continue to inspire us forever,' wrote the students of Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehra Dun. Students of Sainik School, Purulia (West Bengal), in a brief message expressed a profundity beyond their years: 'You have been a great leader, warrior, and above all, a great human being.'
The grown-ups were there too, ex- army men, curious onlookers, tourists. Vice Admiral D K Dewan described him as the epitome of courage, sacrifice and devotion, worth emulating by all soldiers. Brigadier K J Singh, wrote with a raw sincerity: 'Sam Bahadur you were truly a Marshal, a soldier's general, one who could transcend the barriers of red tape.'
Amongst the messages was one written by Maniksha Bakshi from Daryaganj, who expressed his pride in being named after the great warrior: 'I was unaware of the grandeur I was being attached to.' Like him, there were others who were unaware - who stood around and watched, and sometimes questioned a guard: " Yahan kya ho raha hai? (What is going on here?)"
General J J Singh, Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and former Chief of Army Staff, arrived to add his name to the list of mourners. His tribute applauded the late hero's achievements and described him as 'an officer and a gentleman' who was and will always remain a role model for the armed forces. Each tribute reinforced a verse from the Upanishad that stood next to a framed photograph of the late Sam Bahadur, and reminded those present there: Not by action, nor by progeny, not by wealth. But by sacrifice alone can an immortal goal be achieved.
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newindpress.com
Bangalore
Jul 7, 2008.
Manekshaw remembered
Sunday July 6 2008 11:26 IST
Express News Service
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE120080706010509&Page=1&Title=Bangalore&Topic=0&
BANGALORE: The hero of the 1971 war Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was remembered on Saturday at a solemn ceremony held in his memory at the Army Service Corps Centre and College (ASC and Centre). Governor Rameshwar Thakur, retired and serving officers from the three forces, along with civil dignitaries came together to pay their tributes to Manekshaw.
The memorial service at Chopra Auditorium was a dignified and solemn affair befitting the occasion. The auditorium teemed with soldiers, both serving and retired, in ceremonial attires, each proudly sporting medals reminding them of the war. Rich floral tributes and wreaths were laid before the large photograph of the handsome Field Marshal, following which, a documentary film on the legendary soldier was broadcast.
Senior retired Army Officers recalled their association with Manekshaw, who they hailed as an outstanding leader, exceptionally genuine and humane.
Major General P K Chakraborti, Commandant, Services Selection Centre (South), Bangalore, while paying rich tributes to Manekshaw, described him as a personification of elegance, intelligence and charm, and one of the most inspirational leaders, whom men followed unquestioningly. Officers, JCOs, Other Ranks, Cadets of the Rashtriya Military School and many others penned their tributes into a condolence book.
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THE STATESMAN
27 June 08
OBITUARY
Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw 1914 - 2008
THE SOLDIER'S GENERAL
Sam Bahadur is dead, the Manekshaw mystique is immortal. As long as the Indian Army retains its traditions and ethos, memories of its first Field Marshal will serve to inspire, remain a matter of honour and pride. For even while his critics - greatness always attracts them - might question his
strategic capabilities they would have no hesitation in attesting to a unique hallmark: he was an unrivalled leader of men. The soldier's general, he went on to become the outstanding personality of his time. Even if he had not led India to the most decisive military victory in its history, Sam
would have left an indelible impression on everyone who interacted with him. To few others would the term 'living legend' have been so perfectly applicable.
Legend, however, is no respecter of fact and such was Sam's aura that exaggerated stories about him abound and few challenged their authenticity. He certainly did not, and relished basking in glory. Not for him was a mistaken sense of humility, yet he was devoid of even a trace of arrogance and blessed in abundance with that priceless but rare capacity to laugh at himself. The man who clashed with Krishna Menon, had a lively relationship with Indira Gandhi could also be gentle. He would kneel or bend when talking to a child - to establish eye-contact that endeared.
For the record, SHFJ Manekshaw was born on 3 April 1914 in Amristar, educated at Sherwood College, Nainital and was among the first batch of Indian Commissioned Officers in 1934. He won a Military Cross in Burma – Maj Gen Cowans taking his own medal from his tunic to decorate the young officer on a hospital bed - organized the airlift to Srinagar in 1947, fought the Chinese, and of course, won the 1971 War. For which he was elevated a Padma Vibhushan and then promoted the Indian Army's first Field Marshal. In between he came close to being sacked by the acerbic Krishna Menon. The record, impressive though it is, however is not what Sam Manekshaw was
all about. His singular magic is not to be measured by decorations earned, appointments held or other such mundane accomplishments by which lesser mortals are evaluated. He was a man who could be ruthlessly efficient, and critical to that efficiency was getting the right man to do the right job - such as leaving much of the planning for the Bangladesh Operations to Lieutenant General JFR Jacob, then Chief of Staff at Headquarters, Eastern Command.
Sam was not a Gorkha by birth having been commissioned into the Frontier Force Rifles that went to the Pakistan Army when assets were divided at Independence/Partition. But the men with slouch hats never had a more illustrious 'adopted son'. He loved them, they loved him. He once declared that a man who said he had never known fear was 'either a liar - or a Gorkha. Not surprisingly, at his last public function in the Capital to mark his entering his 90th year he cut his birthday cake with silver khukri!
While he was ever upright - in every sense of the word - Sam was no puritan. When the Army Commander visited him in hospital in Burma and asked if he wanted anything, he sought 'two Scotches before dinner'. He once confessed that he and his wife used separate bedrooms since she could not put up with his snoring -- adding that 'funny, no other woman has complained ' Yet he respected others, and when attending a function in a Delhi school in 1972 he bowed before a lady who had been his teacher at Sherwood.
A darling of the media he was, and it came so naturally. On the eve of his becoming Army Chief he noted a leading photograph stooping low to 'shoot him at a particular angle. Manekshaw offered to even stand on his head if that would guarantee his picture on the front page. The media, alas, also got him into hot water. An interviewer (after the 1971 war) asked what would have happened had he gone with his regiment to the Pakistan army. 'Then Pakistan would have won the war' he chuckled. Cold print did not reflect the warmth of his humour and New Delhi's politician's turned the heat on him.
A darling of his men too. Story goes that when Naga rebels took a Gorkha captive he rushed to the area, berated his subordinates, insisted on preparations to 'take out' the village, only to be unofficially informed that the Gorkha was actually philandering there. The 'capture' had been
shown to cover up his absence. Messages went out and the soldier returned, to face much flak from his officers. Sam only embraced the guy, and in a whisper queried, 'was she worth it, son'. Who would not die for that kind of a leader?
Manekshaw's passing to the battlefield of beyond will, undoubtedly, be mourned across a vast spectrum of humanity, even soldiers of the army he defeated' would acknowledge how he kept his promise on the treatment of prisoners-of-war. Sam would probably chuckle at all the tributes paid to him for he could actually be shy on occasions. All he would seek - nay demand - as a mark of respect was that India always honours its soldiers and, in return, the army ever proves itself worthy of that honour.
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Deccan Herald
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
No place for Field Marshal
in countrys protocol list
New Delhi, Agencies:
http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jul12008/national2008070176339.asp
The rank of Field Marshal, the highest-ranked officer of the Indian Army, does not figure in the countrys protocol list, leading to the sorry spectacle of no senior minister or armed forces chief being present at the state funeral of Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw which held on Friday, said an officer on Monday.
“The day Manekshaw died, there was a confusion about the protocol to be followed during his funeral as his rank does not figure anywhere in the warrant of precedence,” an Army officer said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. A furore was created after Defence Minister A K Antony and the three services chiefs failed to make it to Manekshaw’s funeral. Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju was the senior-most central minister present during the funeral.
Manekshaw died at the Military Hospital in Wellington in Tamil Nadu on Friday after developing acute bronchopneumonia. He was 94.
The decision to accord a state funeral to Manekshaw was taken after Antony spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “The decision to accord a state funeral to the iconic soldier was taken at the last moment due to the initiative of the Defence Minister. Even then, the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) did not go ahead with it, saying it did not have anything in writing from the Prime Minister’s Office.”
“It was only when Defence Secretary Vijay Singh gave it to the MHA in writing that the Ministry has agreed to a state funeral,” the Army officer said. The Indian President occupies the top-most position in the warrant of precedence to be followed at all the state functions. The three armed forces chiefs are at the 12th place in the list.
The MHA is the nodal ministry that takes decisions on amendments to be made to the list and notifies whether the National Flag will fly at half-mast in the event of a dignitary’s death. A proposal for making changes or additions to the list are considered by the warrant of precedence committee that is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and includes the secretaries of the Home, Defence, and External Affairs Ministries as members.
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The Pioneer
02 Jul 08
Edit Page
http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn11.asp?main_variable=Edits
Slinghting SAM
Govt should apologise, and keep quiet
Adding insult to injury, the Government has now put forward the dubious claim that the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister and three services chiefs missed the funeral of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw because he did not figure in the warrant of precedence. Apparently the Field Marshal -- a five-star General rank that has its equivalents in the Navy and the Air Force -- does not figure in the warrant of precedence. Hence, the Government argues, there was no automatic declaration of a state funeral; this was granted, almost as if it were charity, by the Prime Minister upon the request of the Defence Minister. Hence also no lowering of the national flag, no travel plans for senior officials to give Sam Bahadur, as India's best-known modern warrior was known, the last salute. What this facile reasoning fails to explain is how a Union Minister, the then Chief Minister of Karnataka and the three service chiefs made it to Field Marshal KM Cariappa's funeral in 1993. Not every well-known Indian figures in the warrant of precedence. There are many private citizens -- business barons, civil society leaders, scholars and cultural artistes -- whose death merits national mourning and tribute from the Indian state. This comes not from a narrow, legalistic interpretation of the person's official designation -- and place, if any, in the warrant of precedence -- but from sensitivity of the Government and the political class. Perhaps it is a question of priorities. When Baba Amte, great man as he was, died earlier this year, he was given a state funeral, with two Union Cabinet Ministers in attendance. Did he find mention in the warrant of precedence?
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MSN News
27 Jun 08
Manekshaw a truly inspiring leader: PM
Manekshaw, popularly called Sam Bahadur, had served the army with great distinction for over four decades.
New Delhi: Describing Sam Manekshaw as one of India's greatest soldiers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said military historians will forever record the strategic brilliance and the inpirational leadership of the Field Marshal, who died early on Friday.
94-year-old Manekshaw was "without doubt one of India's greatest soldiers and a truly inspiring leader," he said in his condolence message.
Singh said Manekshaw, popularly called Sam Bahadur, had served the army with great distinction for over four decades beginning with the very first military engagement free India was dragged into in the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Sam Bahadur was the architect and the inspiring leader of the operation and the consequent military victory in what is now Bangladesh," he said.
The Prime Minister said "military historians will forever record the strategic brillaince and the inspirational leadership of Sam Bahadur".
Singh said the people and the government expressed their deepest admiration and their profound gratitude for Manekshaw's leadership as Chief of Army Staff by conferring on him the prestigious title of Field Marshal.
He has "inspired several generations of Indian soldiers and officers over the past half-a-century. I am sure his legacy will continue to live with us for years to come," the Prime Minister said, expressing his "deepest and heartfelt" condolences.
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Organiser
(Weekly On line Magazine)
Issue July 13, 2008
Editorial
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=245&page=7
We Salute The Great Field Marshal
Post-Independence India has not produced many real life heroes. Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who passed away on June 27, was undoubtedly one of the greatest soldiers who walked on this holy land before our eyes. He was the most celebrated fighter general modern India produced. He was an icon not only because of his courage, integrity, patriotism and strategic mastery but also because by all accounts he was a fantastic human being. The Field Marshal, according to the reminiscences of his other decorated contemporaries, ranked along with military geniuses like Rommel, Montgomery, Cariappa and Patton who led brilliant campaigns and raised the morale of their soldiers when faced with insurmountable obstacles in war. His victory over Pakistan, the crushing battering he delivered on the enemy soldiers in 1971 in East Pakistan, his supervision of the creation of Bangladesh established him as a legendary leader of titanic dimensions, but his sense of humour, soldier-like simplicity and grace endeared him to every Indian. For those of us Indians in their prime, Manekshaw was a youth ideal. He might have inspired many youngsters in the seventies and eighties to choose the army as their career option. We salute him.
It is unfortunate that the funeral of this great man also had to become yet another instance of the UPA government’s callous indifference, disdain and contempt for all that India holds in esteem. The controversy could have been avoided. But it is not surprising considering that it has at its helm a person who has not grown up in the political milieu and whose only reference point is a person of foreign origin and who is alien to the country’s national cultural moorings. Though a seasoned politician with impeccable nationalist credentials the Defense Minister, A.K. Antony also by default got bracketed with this lot for his inexplicable absence at the Field Marshal’s funeral.
From the UPA the country cannot hope anything better. It is not bothered about hurting the national sentiment when it capitulated before a bunch of separatist jehadi hooligans on the safety and sanctity of Amarnath.
The UPA did not find anything unusual in not celebrating the Kargil war victory anniversary or the tenth anniversary of Pokharan-II. It also did not honour India’s war heroes of the Indo-China or Indo-Pak war. With similar irreverence its leaders gave a miss to Veer Savarkar’s centenary.
At the funeral of Sam Manekshaw, the lone Minister of State represented the government. Service Chiefs too gave a miss to the last rites of Manekshaw. The attendance of other politicians was also low. There were not many condolences from Indian politicians, though even the US Democratic Party Presidential candidate Barack Obama did not forget to pay his homage to the great Indian. The Indian politicians as a class live in a world of their own-make belief surrounded by sycophants. They have no time to hear the heartbeats of the people. By honouring men of valour and character like Manekshaw they would have rather ensured their own honour. Their cussedness and colossal boorishness were once again played out by their absence at Manekshaw’s funeral. In this all parties are to be blamed. But the Indian media thankfully did not fail in giving adequate coverage and spirited editorial pieces on Sam Bahadur.
Actually the facile late explanation given out officially by the UPA government for not declaring a state mourning is in keeping line with its distorted vision of national priorities. In 1993, when Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa passed away his funeral was attended by the Chief Minister of Karnataka and three Service Chiefs. Protocol did not stand in the way. It is only the changed Congress values that are to be blamed. What is of concern here is the singular lack of sensitivity and finesse in this government’s handling of issues concerning national pride.
A political establishment should genuinely represent the state, and reflect the cherished beliefs and values of its people. By insulting Sam Manekshaw quoting the rule book that he did not figure in the warrant of precedence the UPA has insulted itself and let down India. The warrant of precedence is only a bureaucratic roster. The UPA cannot hide behind it. It owes an unqualified apology to the memory of Sam Manekshaw and his family and the people of the country.
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The Tribune
Chandigarh
On line edition
July 7, 2008
Sam Bahadur and Jaggu
by Roshni Johar
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080707/edit.htm#5
THIS is the story of a military giant, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, and an unknown Lilliputian called Jaggu.
It unfolds when daddy was posted in Trivandrum, where we lived in the imposing colonial Pangode House. I was a schoolgirl then. Field Marshal (then Lt-General) Manekshaw was on a visit to the place. Out of the blue one night daddy announced that Lt-General Manekshaw was to lunch with us the next day, sending the entire household into a tearing hurry. We started getting brassware shined, crystal rinsed in vinegar, etc.
After all, it isn’t everyday that a famed general visits you. We were, nay, the whole Indian Army was in awe of this person: decorated with many medals, having a distinguished military history behind him, adorned with a distinctive moustache and loaded with a sense of humour and charm.
The menu and the guest list was fixed, including who was to sit next to whom, seniority-wise. Though mom could beat any Cordon Bleu chef, it was decided to call in Jaggu, the Army Club’s cook, to prepare his masterpiece pudding, the Rainbow Soufflé — a dome-shaped fluffy incollapsible soufflé of seven layers of different colours and flavours.
Jaggu often boasted that “Gen Sam Bahadur Sa’ab” had always relished his preparation when the two were together in some cantonment. We thought that Jaggu, a name-dropper, just fibbed.
Jaggu was a rotund chap. Mom and I couldn’t enter the kitchen to see his culinary secrets being revealed, as modesty prevented us. Jaggu worked bare-chested, wearing only his wide-flared shorts!
The lunch went off aplomb. The melt-in-the-mouth fluffy dessert was simply heavenly. Soufflé, a French word, means “light as air”, which it certainly was.
“Mmm…who made this pudding?” the General asked, digging his spoon into a second helping, trying to recall the familiar taste.
“Sir, it’s Jaggu, the club’s cook”, daddy said. “Send the guy to me at once”, he ordered.
Jaggu came running, buttoning his shirt and saluted him smartly.
“Oye Jaggu ustaad, shabaash, tu ne phir kamaal kar ditta”, Lt-Gen Sam Bahadur commented, giving him a pat on his shoulder. Master cooks are called ustaad in common parlance. He also enquired about ustaad’s family’s welfare. This bonhomie put us all literally at stand-at-ease.
Generals are also human beings. Lt-General Manekshaw certainly knew the knack of how to get around men. That was the sort of man Sam Bahadur was. Indeed, it was a unique meeting, though a very brief one between a general and a cook, both growing in stature, in our eyes. And Jaggu, though boastful, had not been lying.
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'Jawaharlal, do you want Kashmir,
or do you want to give it away?'
Sam Manekshaw, the first field marshal in the Indian army, was at the ringside of events when Independent India was being formed. Then a colonel, he was chosen to accompany V P Menon on his historic mission to Kashmir. This is his version of that journey and its aftermath,
as recorded in an interview with Prem Shankar Jha.
(Excerpted from Kashmir 1947, Rival Versions of History, by Prem Shankar Jha, Oxford University Press, 1996, Rs 275, with the publisher's permission.Readers in the US may secure a copy of the book from Oxford University Press Inc USA, 198, Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016, USA. Tel: 212-726-6000. Fax: 212-726-6440.)
At about 2.30 in the afternoon, General Sir Roy Bucher walked into my room and said, 'Eh, you, go and pick up your toothbrush. You are going to Srinagar with V P Menon. The flight will take off at about 4 o'clock'. I said, 'why me, sir?'
'Because we are worried about the military situation. V P Menon is going there to get the accession from the Maharaja and Mahajan.' I flew in with V P Menon in a Dakota. Wing Commander Dewan, who was then squadron leader Dewan, was also there. But his job did not have anything to with assessing the military situation. He was sent by the Air Force because it was the Air Force which was flying us in.'
Since I was in the Directorate of Military Operations, and was responsible for current operations all over India, West Frontier, the Punjab, and elsewhere, I knew what the situation in Kashmir was. I knew that the tribesmen had come in - initially only the tribesmen - supported by the Pakistanis.
Fortunately for us, and for Kashmir, they were busy raiding, raping all along. In Baramulla they killed Colonel D O T Dykes. Dykes and I were of the same seniority. We did our first year's attachment with the Royal Scots in Lahore, way back in 1934-5. Tom went to the Sikh regiment. I went to the Frontier Force regiment. We'd lost contact with each other. He'd become a lieutenant colonel. I'd become a full colonel.
Tom and his wife were holidaying in Baramulla when the tribesmen killed them.
The Maharaja's forces were 50 per cent Muslim and 50 per cent Dogra.
The Muslim elements had revolted and joined the Pakistani forces. This was the broad military situation. The tribesmen were believed to be about 7 to 9 kilometers from Srinagar. I was sent into get the precise military situation. The army knew that if we had to send soldiers, we would have to fly them in. Therefore, a few days before, we had made arrangements for aircraft and for soldiers to be ready.
But we couldn't fly them in until the state of Kashmir had acceded to India. From the political side, Sardar Patel and V P Menon had been dealing with Mahajan and the Maharaja, and the idea was that V.P Menon would get the Accession, I would bring back the military appreciation and report to the government. The troops were already at the airport, ready to be flown in. Air Chief Marshall Elmhurst was the air chief and he had made arrangements for the aircraft from civil and military sources.
Anyway, we were flown in. We went to Srinagar. We went to the palace. I have never seen such disorganisation in my life. The Maharaja was running about from one room to the other. I have never seen so much jewellery in my life --- pearl necklaces, ruby things, lying in one room; packing here, there, everywhere. There was a convoy of vehicles.
The Maharaja was coming out of one room, and going into another saying, 'Alright, if India doesn't help, I will go and join my troops and fight (it) out'.
I couldn't restrain myself, and said, 'That will raise their morale sir'. Eventually, I also got the military situation from everybody around us, asking what the hell was happening, and discovered that the tribesmen were about seven or nine kilometres from what was then that horrible little airfield.
V P Menon was in the meantime discussing with Mahajan and the Maharaja. Eventually the Maharaja signed the accession papers and we flew back in the Dakota late at night. There were no night facilities, and the people who were helping us to fly back, to light the airfield, were Sheikh Abdullah, Kasimsahib, Sadiqsahib, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, D P Dhar with pine torches, and we flew back to Delhi. I can't remember the exact time. It must have been 3 o'clock or 4 o'clock in the morning.
(On arriving at Delhi) the first thing I did was to go and report to Sir Roy Bucher. He said, 'Eh, you, go and shave and clean up. There is a cabinet meeting at 9 o'clock. I will pick you up and take you there.' So I went home, shaved, dressed, etc. and Roy Bucher picked me up, and we went to the cabinet meeting.
The cabinet meeting was presided by Mountbatten. There was Jawaharlal Nehru, there was Sardar Patel, there was Sardar Baldev Singh. There were other ministers whom I did not know and did not want to know, because I had nothing to do with them. Sardar Baldev Singh I knew because he was the minister for defence, and I knew Sardar Patel, because Patel would insist that V P Menon take me with him to the various states.
Almost every morning the Sardar would sent for V P, H M Patel and myself. While Maniben (Patel's daughter and de facto secretary) would sit cross-legged with a Parker fountain pen taking notes, Patel would say, 'V P, I want Baroda. Take him with you.' I was the bogeyman. So I got to know the Sardar very well.
At the morning meeting he handed over the (Accession) thing. Mountbatten turned around and said, ' come on Manekji (He called me Manekji instead of Manekshaw), what is the military situation?' I gave him the military situation, and told him that unless we flew in troops immediately, we would have lost Srinagar, because going by road would take days, and once the tribesmen got to the airport and Srinagar, we couldn't fly troops in. Everything was ready at the airport.
As usual Nehru talked about the United Nations, Russia, Africa, God almighty, everybody, until Sardar Patel lost his temper. He said, 'Jawaharlal, do you want Kashmir, or do you want to give it away'. He (Nehru) said,' Of course, I want Kashmir (emphasis in original). Then he (Patel) said 'Please give your orders'. And before he could say anything Sardar Patel turned to me and said, 'You have got your orders'.
I walked out, and we started flying in troops at about 11 o'clock or 12 o'clock. I think it was the Sikh regiment under Ranjit Rai that was the first lot to be flown in. And then we continued flying troops in. That is all I know about what happened. Then all the fighting took place. I became a brigadier, and became director of military operations and also if you will see the first signal to be signed ordering the cease-fire on 1 January (1949) had been signed by Colonel Manekshaw on behalf of C-in-C India, General Sir Roy Bucher. That must be lying in the Military Operations Directorate.
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Army officers upset
over low-key Manekshaw funeral
By Vishnu Makhijani
New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Several serving and retired Indian Army officers are livid over the low key although state funeral accorded to the legendary Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
And Defence Minister A.K. Antony's comment that the government had given a state funeral to one who scripted India's greatest ever military victory - in 1971, over Pakistan - has only added to the anger of the officer corps.
"What is the minister talking about? Doesn't he realise that Field Marshals never retire and Manekshaw was the senior-most serving officer and was entitled to nothing less than a state funeral?" a retired three-star general who has served as a principal staff officer at the Army Headquarters here asked.
Besides officers, even soldiers at various levels are angry over what they feel is a specious argument of the defence ministry that the low key government representation at Manekshaw's funeral Friday was because Field Marshals don't figure in the protocol list.
"Where is the question of protocol in such matters? Does the government consider it a shame to honour a legend like Manekshaw who led the Indian Army to a historic victory in 1971 and to the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops?" asked a serving two-star general.
All those who spoke to IANS requested anonymity considering the sensitivity of the subject and because they did not want to offend the establishment.
Manekshaw was the Indian Army chief 1969-73. He presided over the Indian Army's brilliant surgical strike Dec 3-16, 1971 that saw the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation out of the erstwhile East Pakistan.
Manekshaw, 94, had been battling a series of age-related diseases and died of acute pneumonia Friday at the Military Hospital at Wellington in Tamil Nadu. He was interred the same evening in the hill station of Ooty next to the grave of his wife Siloo, who died in 2001.
The highest Indian government representation at Manekshaw's funeral was in the form of Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju. The Indian Army was represented by vice chief Lt. Gen. M.L. Naidu, who took an early morning flight from New Delhi for the ceremony.
The three service chiefs absent at the funeral. And it was only the Indian Air Force head, Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, who issued a condolence message on the occasion.
There was no word from Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who is chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee and thus the nominal head of the military. Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor also issued no statement. He was in Russia at the time.
Perhaps in an attempt to atone for their lapses, Antony and the three service chiefs Monday signed a condolence book opened at the India Gate war memorial to the Unknown Soldier here for the public pay their last respects to Manekshaw.
Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh, the air chief in the 1965 war with Pakistan and currently the only serving five-star officer in the armed forces, was also present at India Gate.
"If the government thinks this is enough, it is sadly mistaken. First you promote Manekshaw to Field Marshal for his role in the 1971 operations and then you treat him in this shabby manner," lamented a serving three-star general.
Asked why he was not representing the government at Manekshaw's funeral, Antony answered: "My colleague Pallam Raju is going." On a later occasion, as the controversy refused to die down, he added: "We accorded him a state funeral."
Asked a general: "Is the minister suggesting the government did the army a favour? How sad it is that we have been reduced to this."
Indo-Asian News Service
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----- Original Message ----
From: Ramachandran S.V. <colsvr@hotmail.com>
To: kamboj_cs@yahoo.co.in
Sent: Saturday, 5 July, 2008 4:48:44 AM
Subject: Late Sam Manekshaw we are sorry...
Dear Brig. Kamboj,
A mail received from my civilian friend is enclosed. Just shows the perception and mindset of the politicians... nay our Chiefs also!!
Regards,
Col.S.V.Ramachandran
Flat F-7, 'A' Block, Brindaban Apartment
Chikoti Garden, Begumpet Hyderabad 500016
Tel: 91 40 6633 3009 Mob:98493 37650
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SORRY SAM, WE INDIANS NEED TO HANG OUR HEADS IN SHAME
The passing away of the only Indian to be appointed Field Marshal when in active service has been remarkable for the warmth of the ordinary men and women, who queued up to say meebeenamet to the adorable dikra who put his life on the line for them. It has also been remarkable for the complete lack of grace and gratitude, civility and courtesy, decency and decorum on the part of the bold-faced names rapaciously grazing the lawns of power in Delhi and elsewhere, for the
brain behind India's only decisive military victory. Sam, the Bahadur, had been unwell for a while now.
From about 1000 hours on June 26, reports of his being 'critically ill' had appeared in the media. Yet, when the 'expected tocsin' sounded at 0030 hours till the guns were fired in salute around 1500 hours on
June 27, 'civil society' chose to show its incivility.
Pratibha Patil, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces with all the time in the world: Absent
Hamid Ansari: Vice-president releasing books and writing reviews of books by fellow-travellers: Absent
Manmohan Singh, the prime minister who could do with a bit of the field marshal's charisma and heroism: Absent
Sonia Gandhi: daughter-in-law of the woman the field marshal called 'sweetie': Absent
L K Advani: prime minister in waiting of the party which would like to do to Pakistan what Manekshaw did: Absent
M Karunanidhi and Surjit Singh Barnala: chief minister and governor of the state which Manekshaw had made his home for
35 years: Absent Politicians may have their reasons. They always do.
Maybe, there are issues like protocol. Maybe, this is one way in which 'civil India' shows the armed forces its place. Maybe, this is why we are not as militaristic as Pakistan.
Maybe, the knees are just too old to climb the hills.But what about the armed forces itself?
A K Antony: the defence minister 'now behaving like the chairman of the confederation of the armed forces' trade unions: absent 'due to prior political engagements'.
The chief of army staff: absent (away in Russia)
The chief of navy staff: absent
The chief of air staff (incidentally, a Parsi): absentThe fact that the defence minister was represented by his deputy Pallam Raju, the fact that the navy and air staff sent two-star general rank officers, shows that however high or mighty, however rich or powerful, civilian or military, if you should die as you must, you should do so somewhere in the vicinity of New Delhi - or Bombay. Or else, they must have some use for you.Or else, too bad.As he rightly surmised once: 'I wonder whether those of our political masters who have been put in charge of the defence of the country can distinguish a mortar from a motor; a gun from a howitzer; a guerrilla from a gorilla - although a great many of them in the past have resembled the latter'.The contrast couldn't be starker.
When Amitabh Bachchan was ill after being socked in the stomach during the shooting of Coolie, Indira Gandhi flew down to Bombay to show her concern.
When Dhirubhai Ambani died, L K Advani cut short his Gujarat tour to pay his respects to an 'embodiment of initiative, enterprise and determination'.
When Pramod Mahajan was shot dead by his brother, Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekawat had the time to attend the funeral.Our VIPs and VVIPs have time for dead and dying celebrities, charlatans, fixers.
Not for a field marshal?
In his biography, K M Cariappa, the only other field marshal India has had (and who too died at age 94), writes of his father's cremation in May 1993:'Honouring him in death as they did in life were Field Marshal Manekshaw, the three service chiefs all of whom belonged to the same course and at whose passing out parade from the joint services wing father had presided, the gracious chief minister M Veerappa Moily and C K Jaffer Sharief, Minister for Railways
representing the President as the supreme commanded of the armed forces.'Somebody should have told the geniuses in Delhi that Sam, the Bahadur, passed away in Wellington, Ooty, not Wellington, New Zealand. The nearest civil airport is Coimbatore, just 80 km away.If this is how we say goodbye to Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, any wonder why Rang de Basanti could successfully tap into the angst of an entire generation?
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June 28, 2008 17:07 IST
If you have to die,
do so around Delhi or Mumbai
Krishna Prasad
The passing away of the only Indian to be appointed Field Marshal when in active service has been remarkable for the warmth of the ordinary men and women, who queued up to say meebeenamet to the adorable dikra who put his life on the line for them.
It has also been remarkable for the complete lack of grace and gratitude, civility and courtesy, decency and decorum on the part of the bold-faced names rapaciously grazing the lawns of power in Delhi and elsewhere, for the brain behind India's only decisive military victory.
Sam, the Bahadur, had been unwell for a while now. From about 1000 hours on June 26, reports of his being "critically ill" had appeared in the media. Yet, when the "expected tocsin" sounded at 0030 hours till the guns were fired in salute around 1500 hours on June 27, "civil society" chose to show its incivility.
Pratibha Patil , the commander-in- chief of the armed forces with all the time in the world: Absent
Hamid Ansari: Vice-president releasing books and writing reviews of books by fellow-travellers: Absent
Manmohan Singh , the prime minister who could do with a bit of the field marshal's charisma and heroism: Absent
Sonia Gandhi : daughter-in- law of the woman the field marshal called "sweetie": Absent
L K Advani: prime minister in waiting of the party which would like to do to Pakistan what Manekshaw did: Absent
M Karunanidhi and Surjit Singh Barnala: chief minister and governor of the state which Manekshaw had made his home for 35 years: Absent
Politicians may have their reasons. They always do. Maybe, there are issues like protocol. Maybe, this is one way in which 'civil India' shows the armed forces its place. Maybe, this is why we are not as militaristic as Pakistan. Maybe, the knees are just too old to climb the hills.
But what about the armed forces itself?
A K Antony: the defence minister 'now behaving like the chairman of the confederation of the armed forces' trade unions: absent 'due to prior political engagements'.
The chief of army staff: absent (away in Russia )
The chief of navy staff: absent
The chief of air staff: absent
The fact that the defence minister was represented by his deputy Pallam Raju, the fact that the navy and air staff sent two-star general rank officers, shows that however high or mighty, however rich or powerful, civilian or military, if you should die as you must, you should do so somewhere in the vicinity of New Delhi -- or Bombay.
Or else, they must have some use for you.Or else, too bad.
As he rightly surmised once: "I wonder whether those of our political masters who have been put in charge of the defence of the country can distinguish a mortar from a motor; a gun from a howitzer; a guerrilla from a gorilla -- although a great many of them in the past have resembled the latter."
The contrast couldn't be starker:
When Amitabh Bachchan was ill after being socked in the stomach during the shooting of Coolie, Indira Gandhi flew down to Bombay to show her concern.
When Dhirubhai Ambani died, L K Advani cut short his Gujarat tour to pay his respects to an 'embodiment of initiative, enterprise and determination'.
When Pramod Mahajan was shot dead by his brother, Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekawat had the time to attend the funeral.
Our VIPs and VVIPs have time for dead and dying celebrities, charlatans, fixers. Not for a field marshal?
In his biography, K M Cariappa, the only other field marshal India has had (and who too died at age 94), writes of his father's cremation in May 1993:
"Honouring him in death as they did in life were Field Marshal Manekshaw, the three service chiefs all of whom belonged to the same course and at whose passing out parade from the joint services wing father had presided, the gracious chief minister M Veerappa Moily and C K Jaffer Sharief, Minister for Railways representing the President as the supreme commanded of the armed forces."
Somebody should have told the geniuses in Delhi that Sam, the Bahadur, passed away in Wellington, Ooty, not Wellington, New Zealand . The nearest civil airport is Coimbatore, just 80 km away.
If this is how we say goodbye to Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, any wonder why Rang de Basanti could successfully tap into the angst of an entire generation?
Krishna Prasad, former editor, Vijay Times and one of India's finest young journalists, is the guiding spirit behind www.churumuri. com
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