16 DEC ANNIVERSARY OF HISTORIC VICTORY OVER PAKISTAN IN 1071 WAR IS COMING
TIME TO REMEMBER HEROS & AWARD BHARAT RATNA TO INDEPENNDENT INDIAS GREATEST MILITARY LEADER
Sam Bahadur is Bharat's Ratna
Ashok K Mehta
Around Independence Day each year, military heroes are remembered mainly due
to the prodding by the media (one news channel did a special show,
remembering the armed forces). Grudgingly the Government commemorates Vijay
Diwas and only the Army celebrates the victory in Kargil, one of the most
difficult and self-disadvantaged Infantry battles won by our soldiers. Yet
warriors are forgotten quickly.
Cricketers on the other hand, are adulated 24x7, making cricket the de facto
national sport and its players the idols of the country. Government
Ministers, officials and others yearn to be associated with the game and its
heroes as it brings fame, money and power. Cricket has been besmirched with
corruption and market forces have overwhelmed the game. A young first time
politician and potential Foreign Minister became its first hit-wicket
casualty.
The disproportionate time and space provided to cricket has disoriented the
priorities of the nation to the detriment of other sports and activities.
One name that has gained folklore status is Sachin Tendulkar who is chasing
his hundredth hundred. A campaign to make him a Bharat Ratna has been
launched prematurely before other more deserving cases are recognised. The
stunning series defeat of the Indian Test team in England should bring them
down to earth. Its time to rethink cricket.
The nation and Government have been particularly ungrateful to soldier and
gentleman Sam Manekshaw who conferred on the country, in 1971, its first
military victory in more than a thousand years. While Sam was made Field
Marshal in 1973, he was sent home unceremoniously.
Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram, with whom he had differences, ordered that no
one would go to see off the special train taking Sam and his wife Silloo to
Coonoor in the Nilgiris.
The civil service had done the first Field Marshal of India a single
dishonour by placing him number 12 in the Warrant of Precedence, clubbed
with the Chiefs of Staff holding the rank of full General or equivalent
rank. At the very least, he ought to have been above the Cabinet Secretary,
if not in Block 11 with Ministers of State.
But this slight was deliberate. His pension was fixed at Rs 1,200 and a
measly Rs 400 allowance was given for being Field Marshal. When terminally
ill at Wellington Military Hospital, Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt went to
cheer him with his arrears of enhanced pension amounting to about Rs 1
crore. Typically Sam, he looked at the cheque and told Mr Dutt: I hope the
cheque wont bounce.
The biggest ignominy was reserved when the Field Marshal died. At the
funeral ceremony the Government was not adequately represented. Nor were the
Services, the slip-up being attributed to confusion in Warrant of
Precedence.The Ministry of Defence failed to put out an obituary matching
the contribution of Sam Manekshaw: Winning decisively a war and creating a
new country, Bangladesh.
Mrs Indira Gandhi was fond of Sam and went out of her way at least twice to
get him elevated to Chief of Defence Staff. But the nexus between civil
bureaucracy and the IAF killed the proposal on both occasions. She then
tried to get him as Member (Defence) in the Planning Commission, but this
appointment did not take off. In 1978, the then Prime Minister, Morarji
Desai, called on Sam to head the Sports Authority of India but nothing came
of it.
The Governments loss was the corporate worlds gain. He was invited to become
a member of the boards of a dozen companies across India and a director of
several others. Being a member of the Oberoi Group, he had his chosen room
in all Oberoi hotels as well as, courtesy the Army, a vintage car in Kolkata
complete with five stars, the Field Marshals flag and driver Yum Bahadur.
His intense association with the Gurkhas earned him the legendary title of
Sam Bahadur and a lifetimes passion for them.
Sams lectures on leadership and man-management were unrivalled. In one, he
talked about chronic shortages, power cuts, corruption, bribery, smuggling
and said: People ask me why is this happening. The answer is: Lack of
leadership, not just political but administrative, in industry& everywhere.
He enumerated his famous nine attributes of leadership to which he added: He
must have manly qualities (at another place he had said, He must be a bit of
a lad).
At another lecture he said: A lot has changed in the 60 years since I joined
the Army, including the English language.When in my days someone said that
Captain Manekshaw was gay, he meant that he laughed and joked. If an officer
was queer, it meant he would rather read Milton than join his friends for a
hunt. And General Officers were the only ones who had Aides.
The military, which still commands the top slots in probity, integrity,
dedication and continues to put its life on the block, feels it has been
unfairly marginalised. Civil servants have ensured the post-retirement
exclusion of valuable military expertise, even in appointments dealing with
defence and national security. Why is it that National Security Advisers and
their deputies are only from the police, foreign and administrative services
? In the US 80 per cent of these appointments are held by serving or retired
Armed Forces officers. The need for CDS was felt in 1972. We are still
dodging the inevitable.
Sam Manekshaw told cadets at a passing out parade at the Military Academy in
Dehradun shortly before he died at the ripe young age of 95: In war, there
are no runners-up and the nation has no room for losers. If you are
defeated, and should you come back, you would be a disgrace to the nation.
Even your gharwali (wife) will despise you, he growled.
You can be thrashed in a cricket series and sulk. The scars of defeat in war
do not heal easily. The country carries a collective guilt for the
self-inflicted national shame of 1962. Victor China has maintained its
psychological domination and fear till this day.
Soon after taking over the ill-fated 4 Corps in Tezpur after the Chinese
drubbing. Lt-Gen Sam Manekshaw told his staff: "I have arrived. There will
be no withdrawals. He went on to lead the Army to a resounding victory in
1971.
Its time for the Government to make up with Sam Bahadur by posthumously
awarding him the Bharat Ratna in recognition of public service of the
highest order. Sachin Tendulkar should propose his name.
TIME TO REMEMBER HEROS & AWARD BHARAT RATNA TO INDEPENNDENT INDIAS GREATEST MILITARY LEADER
Sam Bahadur is Bharat's Ratna
Ashok K Mehta
Around Independence Day each year, military heroes are remembered mainly due
to the prodding by the media (one news channel did a special show,
remembering the armed forces). Grudgingly the Government commemorates Vijay
Diwas and only the Army celebrates the victory in Kargil, one of the most
difficult and self-disadvantaged Infantry battles won by our soldiers. Yet
warriors are forgotten quickly.
Cricketers on the other hand, are adulated 24x7, making cricket the de facto
national sport and its players the idols of the country. Government
Ministers, officials and others yearn to be associated with the game and its
heroes as it brings fame, money and power. Cricket has been besmirched with
corruption and market forces have overwhelmed the game. A young first time
politician and potential Foreign Minister became its first hit-wicket
casualty.
The disproportionate time and space provided to cricket has disoriented the
priorities of the nation to the detriment of other sports and activities.
One name that has gained folklore status is Sachin Tendulkar who is chasing
his hundredth hundred. A campaign to make him a Bharat Ratna has been
launched prematurely before other more deserving cases are recognised. The
stunning series defeat of the Indian Test team in England should bring them
down to earth. Its time to rethink cricket.
The nation and Government have been particularly ungrateful to soldier and
gentleman Sam Manekshaw who conferred on the country, in 1971, its first
military victory in more than a thousand years. While Sam was made Field
Marshal in 1973, he was sent home unceremoniously.
Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram, with whom he had differences, ordered that no
one would go to see off the special train taking Sam and his wife Silloo to
Coonoor in the Nilgiris.
The civil service had done the first Field Marshal of India a single
dishonour by placing him number 12 in the Warrant of Precedence, clubbed
with the Chiefs of Staff holding the rank of full General or equivalent
rank. At the very least, he ought to have been above the Cabinet Secretary,
if not in Block 11 with Ministers of State.
But this slight was deliberate. His pension was fixed at Rs 1,200 and a
measly Rs 400 allowance was given for being Field Marshal. When terminally
ill at Wellington Military Hospital, Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt went to
cheer him with his arrears of enhanced pension amounting to about Rs 1
crore. Typically Sam, he looked at the cheque and told Mr Dutt: I hope the
cheque wont bounce.
The biggest ignominy was reserved when the Field Marshal died. At the
funeral ceremony the Government was not adequately represented. Nor were the
Services, the slip-up being attributed to confusion in Warrant of
Precedence.The Ministry of Defence failed to put out an obituary matching
the contribution of Sam Manekshaw: Winning decisively a war and creating a
new country, Bangladesh.
Mrs Indira Gandhi was fond of Sam and went out of her way at least twice to
get him elevated to Chief of Defence Staff. But the nexus between civil
bureaucracy and the IAF killed the proposal on both occasions. She then
tried to get him as Member (Defence) in the Planning Commission, but this
appointment did not take off. In 1978, the then Prime Minister, Morarji
Desai, called on Sam to head the Sports Authority of India but nothing came
of it.
The Governments loss was the corporate worlds gain. He was invited to become
a member of the boards of a dozen companies across India and a director of
several others. Being a member of the Oberoi Group, he had his chosen room
in all Oberoi hotels as well as, courtesy the Army, a vintage car in Kolkata
complete with five stars, the Field Marshals flag and driver Yum Bahadur.
His intense association with the Gurkhas earned him the legendary title of
Sam Bahadur and a lifetimes passion for them.
Sams lectures on leadership and man-management were unrivalled. In one, he
talked about chronic shortages, power cuts, corruption, bribery, smuggling
and said: People ask me why is this happening. The answer is: Lack of
leadership, not just political but administrative, in industry& everywhere.
He enumerated his famous nine attributes of leadership to which he added: He
must have manly qualities (at another place he had said, He must be a bit of
a lad).
At another lecture he said: A lot has changed in the 60 years since I joined
the Army, including the English language.When in my days someone said that
Captain Manekshaw was gay, he meant that he laughed and joked. If an officer
was queer, it meant he would rather read Milton than join his friends for a
hunt. And General Officers were the only ones who had Aides.
The military, which still commands the top slots in probity, integrity,
dedication and continues to put its life on the block, feels it has been
unfairly marginalised. Civil servants have ensured the post-retirement
exclusion of valuable military expertise, even in appointments dealing with
defence and national security. Why is it that National Security Advisers and
their deputies are only from the police, foreign and administrative services
? In the US 80 per cent of these appointments are held by serving or retired
Armed Forces officers. The need for CDS was felt in 1972. We are still
dodging the inevitable.
Sam Manekshaw told cadets at a passing out parade at the Military Academy in
Dehradun shortly before he died at the ripe young age of 95: In war, there
are no runners-up and the nation has no room for losers. If you are
defeated, and should you come back, you would be a disgrace to the nation.
Even your gharwali (wife) will despise you, he growled.
You can be thrashed in a cricket series and sulk. The scars of defeat in war
do not heal easily. The country carries a collective guilt for the
self-inflicted national shame of 1962. Victor China has maintained its
psychological domination and fear till this day.
Soon after taking over the ill-fated 4 Corps in Tezpur after the Chinese
drubbing. Lt-Gen Sam Manekshaw told his staff: "I have arrived. There will
be no withdrawals. He went on to lead the Army to a resounding victory in
1971.
Its time for the Government to make up with Sam Bahadur by posthumously
awarding him the Bharat Ratna in recognition of public service of the
highest order. Sachin Tendulkar should propose his name.
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