Sunday, June 29, 2008

A ***** General, A Gorkha, And A True Indian

‘… Your airforce has been destroyed. You are surrounded on all sides. And if you don’t surrender, you will be killed unmercifully’ the voice thundered. These were the chilling words that I first came across when I was a kid and when I saw some video on air from the Films Divisions archives. I was so awestruck with that video and that person who said those words that I always wanted to get hold of that archive and record that address for myself to listen to. If that was the impact that speech had on me, I can but only imagine the impact that address would have had when it was originally aired… on All India Radio, way back when I was not even born. It was over a generation back! That original address would, I am sure, have given chills down the spines for the people it was meant for, serving its purpose. That was the first time that I have ever come across a picture and the name of this person. My first impression on him… he too had a long nose like me and he too is an Arian like me (am not trying to compare myself to this legend and neither am I trying to belittle him by comparing him with me, but, I seem to come across and have a liking to read about the persona of these people with long pointed nose… more about some more long nosed people some other day, may be), a fair complexion, trimmed moustache and an impeccable smile. I am talking about Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, the first of the only two Field Marshals of India till date. A Five Star General from Indian Army and the eighth Army Chief of Indian Army.

The more I started to read about this person, the more I started admiring him. Let me share some aspects or tit-bits of this person, which I have always been fascinated about:

He never budged down in front of any politician or any babu. It was only his faith, conviction and his caring about his people that would have changed any decision he wanted to take… no one else! There is this story about he being summoned by the then PM into a cabinet meeting where they were discussing the biggest problem of the day. There were at least 4 CM’s who have sent in telegrams that they were no longer in a position to absorb the mass exodus of refugees into their states. The entire cabinet, in one voice wanted some action to be taken (read: WAR). The PM briefed him about the background and the entire situation (with details that he did not have as he was privy to most of that information already). The long nosed PM asked him… ‘So what are you doing about it?’ And this man, with his cool smile, just said: ‘Nothing’. A pause and he continued, ‘It has got nothing to do with me. You did not consult me when you allowed our BSF, CRPF to encourage the Pakistanis (read: people of the then East Pakistan) to revolt. Now that you are in trouble, you come to me. I have a long nose. I know what’s happening’. He then asked her what she expected from him. Mercurial as she was, she said ‘I want you to enter Pakistan.’ To that he responded ‘That means war!’ This was a conversation in early 1971. This was what he himself shared with the world. Indira was stunned and puzzled. The reasons that he did not give to the cabinet, but only to her was that his armored division and two of his infantry divisions were away, in Jhansi and Samba sectors. If was to be declared right at that point in time, those three divisions should come back to the theatre. It meant that all the rail wagons of that time would have to be diverted to get them along with blocking the roadways. Even if the government of the day was ready for that, it meant that the railways would have to carry the army and all the harvest of the year from the Gangetic belt from Punjab to UP would not have any means of transport and without moving them to the godowns, the harvest of the year would have rotten. Besides, by the time the forces were moved to the theatre, the monsoons would have started. And monsoon in East Pakistan and the North East of India is to be faced to believe. When it rains, it pours. Even till date, starting from Bihar, Bengal to the ‘Seven Sisters’ and not to mention Bangladesh and Burma, this entire region reins in floods, without fail. Had it been some other person at the helm of Army, not to demean any other Generals who came before and after Sam, they would probably have budged to that demand, c’mon if the entire babudom and the cabinet and 4 CM’s wanted it, you need to be very strong to go against the tide. But we are not talking about anyone else. We are talking about Sam. After that meeting ended on that note, when the cabinet has left the room, and he was about to leave, Indira Gandhi asked him to stay back. The purpose was to know what was running in Sam’s mind and why he had to put his foot down firmly. But Sam, being proactive, asked, ‘… may I send you my resignation on grounds of health (mental or physical)?’ This took her aback and she rejected that idea of Sam’s resignation. And this, we are talking about the person whom Sam himself has referred to as the most short-tempered woman he had ever come across. Theirs was the best team that led India to its proudest military moment and got the Indian Army to its zenith.

Another story also is about this time. This war took just 13 days and the Indian Army was knocking on the doors of Decca (that was how it was called at that time, not Dhaka). But it was December and not before the onset of monsoon. Thank God and Sam that we didn’t do that mistake of starting the war any other time than in December 1971. OK, coming back to this story, we were in Decca. Sam has addressed the Pakistani Army and the entire East Pakistan through that AIR address asking the Pakistani army to surrender. After that, everyone, press, people, politicians and not to forget the babu’s have all assumed that Sam will personally go and accept the surrender by the Pakistani army at Decca. After all, over 93,000 troops, one of the largest ever in this world, were going to surrender. Sam just laughed at it. It was Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Arora (referred to as Jaggi by Sam) who accepted that surrender of the Pakistani army, which was represented by the maniac AK Niazi. Later Sam clarified that he would have gone to accept the surrender if it were the chief of Pakistan army that was surrendering, but to accept the surrender from Niazi, who was in-charge of Pakistan’s Eastern Command, would be demeaning his stature. It was. How many would have understood that logic all by themselves? He got elevated to the rank of Field Marshal for his leadership role. He commented on this, ‘While Jaggi did all the work, I got the baton’ with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

Well, I chose these two instances to highlight the fact as to how logical was Sam, not to forget the ‘think and understand from all angles before you decide’ and ‘think logically, think with past and present in mind and also the likely impact of your decision’ aspects of this person.

There are some specialties to Sam… vast experience, of being a part of 5 wars (three Indo-Pak wars, one Indo-China war and also the WW II), the first Field Marshall, a five star General, a person who had a ‘love hate’ relationship with the political class of the country, a people’s General and last but not the least, a smiling and humane General. He was so humane that he never ill-treated his enemies too. There was this story about him, when he went to Karachi after India won the war, there were some people who just came and touched his feet. Sam was surprised at that and asked as to why they are doing that. In response, they said, ‘it was because of you that our children are alive. They have surrendered to your (Indian) army and we get letters from our children that they are being treated well, you have provided them Quran Sharif as per their request and no one is ill-treating them’. Years before this, actually when everything started, in 1947, Jinnah had offered him a good rank and a nice position if he chooses to join the Pak army instead of Indian. He was acceptable to an Islamic Pakistan, after all Sam is not a Hindu; he is a Parsi (something like what Jinnah’s daughter’s family, the Wadia’s of the Bombay Dyeing were). Sam did not accept that offer. Years later, Sam was asked this question ‘what would have happened had you accepted that offer by Jinnah and joined Pakistan army?’ to which pat came the reply ‘The result of the war would have been different’. How true! Though his dedication towards the country is unquestionable, he also had friends in Pakistan and he was proud of it. After the first Indo-Pak war, he told Nehru that Ayub Khan can do what he would like (in Pakistan) and at that time, what Nehru did was unquestionable in India. ‘Can we sort it out?’ asked Sam indicating that Kashmir dispute can be solved if his personal rapport was what it needed to solve it. He had created enemies thanks to his trait of speaking his mind out. He took Krishna Menon, the defense minister of India at the time of Indo-China war. He was totally sidelined as a result, in 1961. Nehru soon realized that Menon’s policies were not right and sought his resignation. After that, he sent Sam to the Eastern front for fire fighting. Immediately, after reaching the Eastern Front, Sam sent out a message that there will not be any withdrawal without any written orders and also that the written orders would never be issued. In other words, he meant that he wouldn’t mind dying than to withdraw or surrender. This, he said to the totally outnumbered and demoralized Indian Army of the day. These words worked magic on the troops and they rallied around Sam and gave their best shot. Compare this with the ‘My heart goes’ address of Nehru to the Assam and Arunachal people after the Chinese invaded those territories where people were confused if Nehru was going to surrender based on the way and the wordings of the address.

There was this saying in the Army that no one who worked under and with Sam ever had to worry about any injustice, for; there were no losers under Sam’s command. If there were any cases that were brought to his notice, Sam used to check and find out any reason, however trivial it might, to save that person, believing in natural and liberal justice system. But at the same time, Sam never tolerated any injustice by his people. There is this story about a General who was being court marshaled for misusing Army funds. The case came up to Sam. Sam just read through the entire case and made one statement to that General. He said, ‘your chief is not only accusing you of being dishonest but also calling you a thief. If I were you, I would go home and either shoot myself or resign. I am waiting to see what you will do’ and he postponed the hearing for the next day. The accused, so ashamed of this, quit the Army by the next day.

Everyone knows that Sam was the product of the first batch of pass outs of the IMA, Dehradun, that he was awarded a Military Cross by his superior, one Major General Cowan, who spotted him after being hit point blank in stomach, took out his own Military Cross and pinned on Sam and said ‘A dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross’, not knowing that, contrary to his thoughts, Sam would survive, to reach the heights that everyone who dons an olive dress or any other service dress would aspire to. Everyone knows that he came from the Gorkha Regiment and that headed the infantry division and a command before he became the Chief. That he was born in Amritsar in a family where serving the Army was never heard of. He was awarded with the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushans while serving and that he became the first Field Marshal of India just about 15 days before he retired. But not many know that he had a great sense of humor.

He was known to have challenged, in lighter spirits though, the power of Indira Gandhi. He is known to have said ‘… don’t you think I would prove to be a worthy replacement? You have a long nose and so have I. I don’t poke my nose into other people’s affairs and you don’t poke your nose into my affairs’ when Indira Gandhi drew his attention to the reports that he might launch a coup against her after the ’71 war, for which she replied ‘No Sam, you can’t’ and then Sam responded with ‘what do you mean I can’t, do you think I am so incapable?’ and Indira had to change her statement and say, ‘not that Sam, I meant you wont’ and he wouldn’t. He believed in the principle that it is his job to fight, to win and not to run the country. He said ‘I don’t poke my nose in other people’s affairs’ and he did his own work, at the same time not letting others poke their noses into his affairs of running the Army.

He was so close to his people, the Gorkha Regiment that he is quoted to have said, ‘If someone says that he doesn’t fear anything, then, either he is lying or he is a Gorkha’. He was a true Gorkha and would remain one, someone like the Lawrence of Arabia, born a Parsi in Punjab to being ‘born again’ as a Gorkha.

He probably was the last of the military leaders who have and will remain captured in popular imagination. They simply don’t make generals like him anymore I guess!

This one is for Sam Bahadur: April 3, 1914 – June 26, 2008.