Karsha Kakar
I first saw Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw at the Navy Ball in Mumbai in Dec 1972, when I was still in school and had accompanied my parents there. He was already a legend for his leadership role in the 1971 war. He walked around with a slight hunch, the result of his bullet wounds of the second world war, personally meeting soldiers deployed in uniform for managing mass crowds attending the event. He met most army soldiers, punching some lightly in the stomach, shaking a few hands followed by young officers from all branches of the military, almost all wondering if they could ever replicate his career. He was more visible than the film stars who had descended for the event, in full glory, as it was just a year post the liberation of Bangladesh and Manekshaw was the chief guest.
My next encounter with the legend was in Wellington, where he had settled post his retirement. I was there, attending the Staff College in 1989-90 and we would occasionally run into him, either at the sole petrol pump of Wellington or in the local Gymkhana. Immaculately dressed, he would await his turn at the gas station, politely refusing any offers for moving ahead, always smiling and joking with those in line.
At the club, he would walk in, wife Siloo by his side, flirting gently with the youngladies sitting and playing tambola, while joking with officers. We always remained in awe, after all he was a living legend, for all of us. I also had the privilege of listening to two of his lectures, one in Wellington and the other in Devlali. It was only when he was on duty, did he come in an official car and it was the only car in India in those days with five stars displayed at the front and rear.
The legend was born Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw on 3rd April 1914 in Amritsar. He joined the first batch of the Indian Military Academy on its establishment in 1932. Sam Manekshaw was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry while serving with the 4th Battalion of 12 Frontier Force Regiment, in the second world war, in the Burma theatre. The legend goes that he was severely wounded in the fighting around Pagoda Hill and witnessing his courage, Major General David Cowan, the General Officer Commanding of the division, rushed to pin the Military Cross, as the award cannot be presented posthumously. He was evacuated by his orderly, Sher Singh, who also compelled the Australian doctor at the camp to treat him. When asked by the doctor as to what had happened, Sam commented that he was kicked by a mule.
Post-Independence, Manek-shaw was in the military operations directorate during the Kashmir operations of 1947 and the Hyderabad action. He was promoted to Director General Military Operations (then a Brigadiers appointment), as he was considered too valuable to be moved out. His career graph moved steadily upward, but never once did he bend to politicians or his superiors, sticking to his guns as a true soldier would. On 8th Jun 1969, he was appointed the eighth Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Amongst the first actions which he took as the COAS was to stop the implementation of reservations for scheduled castes and tribes in the army. In his opinion, which many agree with today but fear to implement, is that reservations would compromise the ethos of an organization. Hence, all must be given an equal chance.
His role and statements during and post the 1971 war are remembered by those who have followed him. A soldier to the core, unwilling to bend before any political authority, responsible for his command, without caring for its consequences, he has had few parallels in the world. In Apr 71, when Indira Gandhi wanted him to prepare for war, he politely refused, claiming he needed time for the army to be redeployed and ready, as also restrictions were likely to be imposed by the monsoons and harvesting seasons. He prepared the army, launched operations when he was ready and the result is history.
A lesser known story by Sam of the 1971 war was that the army was short of 130 mm artillery ammunition, which would severely impede operations. He proceeded to Moscow, with a letter from the Prime Minister, which however, failed to convince the Russians, for early supply. India was then still not manufacturing the ammunition. It was on his return stopover in London that he was approached by an Israeli arms agent, who offered the ammunition, since Israel was manufacturing it, post their capture of a large quantity of 130 mm guns in the 1967 war. Sam agreed, but with the condition that the ammunition would be delivered to India, from a port other than Israel and it would have Russian markings, since India did not have diplomatic relations with Israel. It was agreed and India fought the war with Israeli ammunition, a country we had no official relations with.
Sam understood that there would always be leadership issues within the army as careers took preference over righteousness. Hence whenever he addressed officers on courage in any forum, his favourite topic was moral courage and not physical. He stated in a lecture, “What is moral courage? It is the ability to distinguish right from wrong and having so distinguished it, be prepared to say so, irrespective of the views held by your superiors or subordinates and the consequences to yourself”. The day the army brass truly follows his statement, it would become an army of lions and led by lions.
He never confined himself to army issues alone, but even the nation. He realized that the youth of the nation remain frustrated with national leadership and continued to support their frustration, even stating, “The youngsters of this country are disappointed, disturbed and confused. They cannot understand why all these untoward things are happening in this country. They want to know who is to blame. Not them. If they want to study at night, there is no power. If they want to have a bath, there is no water. They want to know, who is to blame. Not them.” In his opinion, the problem was solely, lack of leadership in every walk of life, political, administrative, education etc. It has been years since he made these comments, yet nothing has changed. Problems remain the same.
It is known that Indira Gandhi, aware of his popularity and ability to carry the masses, worried that he could become a political threat, appointed him as India’s First Field Marshall in 1973. This implied he could never seek political office. However, even his salary of a Field Marshall was never granted by the government. It was restored when President Abdul Kalam took the initiative and presented him with a cheque of almost one and a half crores after thirty years, in 2003.
The icon of the nation passed away after battling pneumonia on 27 Jun 2008, at the age of ninety-four. It was a sad day for India that neither the defence minister nor any of the service chiefs attended his last rites. The man who broke the back of Pakistan and became a national icon was ignored at the very moment when he deserved maximum respect. However, those who met him even once or served with him, would always remember him as a true soldier, never scared to call a spade a spade and the architect of the 1971 war victory.
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