Karan Thapar's Vilification of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw

Reference Veteran Major MG Devasahayam’s email reproduced below, Karan Thapar needs to be castigated in no uncertain terms for being the lead conspirator in running down Gen VK Singh, the present COAS; in his TV interview of imbecile Brajesh Mishra, on 1 April 2012.

Who is Major MG Devasahayam, IAS? Major MG Devasahayam was commissioned in the MADRAS Regiment (Infantry) of the Indian Army in 1964 and is a Veteran of the 1965 War with Pakistan. After a short stint in the Army, he joined the IAS and has done the Army proud by retiring as Secretary to the Govt. He is a soldier, a scholar and a prolific writer on matters socio-economic.

Who is Karan Thapar? Karan Thapar is the ‘illustrious’ son of an equally ‘illustrious’ father, the late Gen PN Thapar who had the privilege of leading the Indian Army to its ignominious defeat at the hands of the Chinese in 1962. Karan Thapar is a journalist and a TV anchor ‘par excellence’ who has the uncanny ability of turning writing of puerile articles and hosting of puerile TV shows into an ‘art’, for which he needs to be complimented. He being an ‘illustrious’ son of an equally ‘illustrious’ father; has had no qualms in vilifying Field Marshal SAM Manekshaw. Read Brig Gurmeet Kanwal’s letter to the Hindustan Times reproduced below.

Regards,

Col Rajan

 

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To: karanthapar@itvindia.net

 

Dear Karan Thapar.

You do not know me, but you are a known figure. I am one of the ordinary citizens of this country who happened to serve in the Indian Army and then stray into the IAS during which service; more than anything, I had the honour of knowing and moving with Mother Teresa and Jayaprakash Narayan.

Your 'Devil's Advocate' has been a must see for me. But what I saw yesterday (01 April) - a fumbling and rambling Brajesh Misra answering your highly leading and loaded questions using the most indecent, puerile and un-parliamentary language. We saw the strange and sorry spectacle of this man (with an ill-repute of his own) spouting venom and calling a serving Army Chief, head of a force of 1.3 million and a professional soldier par excellence as 'mentally deranged' in full public view, not once but twice/thrice just because the General chose to stand against the ravaging forces of corruption and dishonesty. The tragedy was that you were seemingly enjoying it every time and drawing out more and more from the foul mouth of Misra. 

I have never seen such a biased, prejudiced and indecent TV programme and hope not to see in the future also. 

We are all small people compared to media giants like you. All I can say is that I wil never again set my eye on any programme which you either anchor or participate in. As of now, that is all the feeble protest people like us can make.

Regards,

MG Devasahayam

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Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal's letter to Hindustan Times rubbishing Karan thapar.
Please click on the following link
http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/defence-strategic-issues/10061-1962-india-china-war-role-indian-political-leadership-consequences-2.html

MEDIA WATCH: On Karan Thapar's Vilification of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw

 Gurmeet Kanwal 

Normally print and TV media do stellar work in the national interest by exposing corruption, financial scams, fake killings and other wrongdoings by politicians, officials and policemen. However, sometimes the freedom of speech that India's Constitution guarantees to all its citizens is shamelessly exploited by small-minded media persons to settle personal scores. The vilification campaign launched by Karan Thapar on TV and in print over the last two weeks is a clear case in point.
Karan Thapar's tirades against Field Marshal Manekshaw (on CNN-IBN and in the Hindustan Times) are quite obviously motivated by ulterior considerations and smack of personal vendetta. Manekshaw was without doubt the finest COAS that the Indian army has ever had. He led the Indian army to its greatest victory. The creation of Bangladesh was by all accounts India's finest hour. By contrast, Karan Thapar's own father, General PN Thapar, was a weak leader and led the Indian army to a humiliating defeat against China. As and when the Henderson Brooks-Prem Bhagat report on the 1962 debacle is made public, the truth will finally emerge.

Thapar began his campaign by getting Lt Gen J F R Jacob to claim in a TV interview that he (Gen Jacob) had engineered the fall of Dhaka and that Field Marshal Manekshaw and Lt Gen J S Aurora had never planned to take the fight to Dhaka. The questions were provocative and meant to elicit the response that the interviewer wanted. Subsequently, Thapar gave full play to a silly old fool like Gohar Ayub Khan who has gone to outrageous lengths to sell his third-rate book. Khan claims that an Indian Brigadier who was the DMO in the 1950s had given military secrets to Pakistan for Rs 20,000. This frivolous claim had already been debunked one year ago. K. Subrahmanyam has written that even if the claim is true, it is likely to have been part of an Indian deception plan. By giving Khan an opportunity to imply on national TV that Field Marshal Manekshaw had let down his country, Thapar has acted most irresponsibly and has brought shame to India. The fact that he did it with a smirk on his face and a gleam in his eye makes the disgraceful act even more distasteful and slimy.

 Instead of belittling himself by casting aspersions on Manekshaw's  unimpeachable integrity, Thapar should take some time off and read some military history about the goings on in Army HQ during the 1962 war and his father's ignominious role in it. He should then contrast that sordid episode with Manekshaw's handling of the 1971 war and his exemplary conduct since then over a period of 35 years. Perhaps the experience will teach him to put in some effort into researching his subjects before firing loose volleys and harming the reputation of those who have served the nation in the dirt and grime of war trenches and laid their lives on the line over and over again. 

Thapar is a rude and arrogant interviewer and is so aggressive that he shakes and rattles those who choose to subject themselves to his Gestapo-like interrogation. He puts off viewers completely with his antics. It would be in the public interest to launch a campaign to restrain Thapar from misusing the liberty normally given to a columnist by respected newspapers and leading TV channels by indulging in settling old scores.

-- 

Gurmeet Kanwal
Senior Fellow
Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS)
P-284, Arjan Path, Subroto Park
New Delhi 110010, India
Email: gurmeetkanwal@hotmail.com, gurmeetkanwal@gmail.com
Web: www.aerospaceindia.org