Author: Tarun Vijay
Publication: The Times of India
Date: June 30, 2008
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Columnists/Tarun_Vijay_Saluting_Sam_Bahadur/articleshow/3179920.cms
Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was
the name of the hero India saluted. He died at the age of 94 at Wellington
early last Friday. The only Indians who didn't mourn were the people in the
UPA government.
It's still unbelievable that a government
formed by Indians would be so rude and indifferent to the greatest military
leader India has produced post-independence, to use the words of former army
chief General V.P. Malik. Rare are the heroes of a nation admired by commoners
as their idol, inspiration and icon. Manekshaw was one such hero India always
looked up to with pride and excitement. A government that decided to lower
the national flag for three days as a mark of mourning when the Pope died
didn't send its defence minister to attend the funeral of Field Marshall Manekshaw;
nor did it allow the other two service chiefs to attend.
Manekshaw was the only living Field Marshal,
was listed on the active list of army officers as number one and hence drew
a full salary. He participated in action in the Second World War, in the 1947
war with Pakistan, the '62 war with China, and the Pakistan wars of 1965 and
1971. Manekshaw received the Military Cross, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.
Above all, he provided hope when light was dimming and courage when disillusionment
was setting in. He was utterly contemptuous of politicians and often spoke
fearing no one. He was proven right about them. The Field Marshall became
a legend, leaving behind the dwarves occupying South Block as dustbin material
for history.
A nation that can't honour its heroes can't
produce them either. A Bharat Ratna can't be given to persons like Manekshaw.
In fact till this date no soldier has been given the highest award though
they won four wars for us. We hardly see a politician whose child is serving
in the forces. If you know some, kindly pass on the information to me.
The people ruling the nation today are infested
with a slavish mentality - taking orders sheepishly and trying to preserve
their wealth and position. History will do justice. It's not wealth and power,
but grit and spine that matters ultimately. Sam Bahadur, as Gen. Manekshaw
was affectionately known, had both in abundance. The leaders who chose to
stay away from giving a last salute to this brave man one last time may have
huge money but that's not a factor to give them a place in history and public
memory. They die a double death, one of the body and the other of infamy.
Their system orders the national flag to be lowered for a third-rate corrupt
politician, but the nation's bravest man was denied the honour because some
bureaucrats in the defence ministry looked at Sam just like another career
officer ranked at par with the Cabinet Secretary, hence undeserving of an
official national mourning. The heavens would not have fallen if the President
and Prime Minister had attended the last rites of our Field Marshall. But
chained to 10 Janpath, the smallness couldn't rise to the Himalayan call of
duty. The government failed but the nation rose to say: "Sam Bahadur
Zindabad."
When Nehru's two protégés, V.K. Krishna Menon and Gen B.M. Kaul,
failed the nation during the 1947 war (remember the infamous jeep scandal
involving Menon?) and after the 1962 defeat at the hands of the Chinese, Maneksahw
was called to take command of the eastern sector. His first order was: "No
more withdrawals, march to the posts and recapture." This re-energised
the demoralised troops but both Kaul and Menon tried their best to make life
hell for the brave Manekshaw, though they couldn't succeed beyond a point.
I was told by a senior military officer that they also instituted an inquiry
against him for committing "anti-national activities" when Manekshaw
replaced the name of a Gandhi Hall with Sardar Patel's at Wellington (though
there are other more interesting stories for that inquiry having been set
up).
Fighting on the Burma front against the Japanese
in 1942, Manekshaw was almost pronounced dead when brought to Rangoon hospital
with nine bullets in the lung, liver and kidneys. The military surgeon was
reluctant to operate seeing the hopeless condition even though Sam was just
about conscious. The surgeon asked what had happened to him. Sam replied:
"Oh, a donkey kicked." The surgeon decided that if a soldier could
have such a sense of humour at that critical hour, he must operate to save
him. Sam survived and rose to become India's eighth army chief.
He led India to glory in 1971 when after many
centuries our soldiers decisively defeated a foreign force and ensured its
complete surrender. Able lieutenants always assist a leader, but the credit
should always go to the commanding abilities of the captain. Sam had great
colleagues in Lt. Gen. JFR Jacob and Lt. Gen J.S. Aurora. Yet it was his leadership
that won the day for us.
Manekshaw was outspoken. He literally refused
to take Indira Gandhi's orders and finally had the cabinet accept his timing
on when to declare war. At the height of his popularity Indira Gandhi feared
he might take over in a military coup, but he assured her that he didn't have
such ambitions.
After retirement Manekshaw was denied the
honours usually given to a Field Marshall. No assistant, no bungalow and staff
car and no emoluments befitting his rank. Only last year when he was in military
hospital, the old dues were restored and a cheque of Rs 1.6 crore presented
to him covering all his past dues. But to what avail?
He was a true Parsi. The story goes that when
the Parsis landed in India a thousand years ago driven out of their land,
Iran, by Muslim rulers, they prayed for shelter in the Hindu kingdom of Jadu
Rana in Gujarat. The king offered a jar of milk filled to the brim and the
Parsis returned the jar after adding sugar to it indicating they would be
part of the larger society as a contributing, sweetening factor and not as
an alien segment demanding extra space. And they proved it too.
During the framing of the Constitution Parsis
were offered special status as minorities but politely refused. They have
contributed greatly to the national wealth, pride and valour. Dadabhai Naoroji,
Jamshetji Tata, Madam Bhikaji Cama, Ardeshir Godrej, Homi Jehagir Bhabha and
Nani Palkivala are among the best who have added to the glory of their adopted
nation without ever asking for anything special in return. Manekshaw was one
of the greatest gems among them, nay among us all. Recently, a book by Bakhtiar
K. Dadabhoy titled Sugar In Milk (Rupa publications) has admiringly presented
the great lives of 12 eminent Parsis, which I recommend as a must-read.
Honouring Manekshaw doesn't mean he was an angel incarnate. But he was a man
with a capital 'M'. He had weaknesses and an officer's arrogance. But who
among us and among the "worshipped tall deities" comes without their
share of such points. Any dearth of tall men with feet of clay? But the primary
driving force to bestow honours on men and women has always been their principal
achievements and conduct. Manekshaw too should be judged on his greater contribution
to national life. In our daily lives we see ordinary people doing great deeds
and becoming extraordinary. The nation must learn to appreciate them and bow
her head before such people.
Such acts alone enliven a civilisation and
provide oxygen to grow. Every nation worth her name does that. The body of
the lone officer to die in the Entebbe operation was received at the airport
by the Israeli Prime Minister. The British monarchy and the democratic government
take the greatest pride in honouring their soldiers and so do other nations
who have a soul. Heroes are always beyond the regime of bureaucratic protocol
but this can be understood only by those who have their own mind to decide
and do not follow others' diktats. In India, soldiers are treated second rate,
their prestige is often mocked at and their fate is decided by the IAS babus
who have earned notoriety for reasons other than providing a clean administration
and efficient governance. Hence joining the forces is no longer a matter of
pride and preference, see the number of vacancies the forces have now. When
the ugly politicians look down on patriotism and honour of the soldier, we
see heroes laid to rest unsung and soldiers committing suicide.
This is the government which has put up special
instruction boards at airports authorising free access to a gentleman belonging
to the royal family to pass security gates without frisked, for reasons not
unknown, but has denied that privilege to army chiefs, who are entrusted with
defending our nation. This government has also another dubious distinction
of having been returned the bravery medals awarded posthumously to security
personnel who died fighting the jihadis while protecting Parliament and the
MPs sitting inside it. The medals were returned because the parents of these
armymen were stunned to see the rulers protecting the attacker, Afzal Guru.
They regarded this as an insult to their brave children who had laid down
their lives fighting Afzal for the sake of the nation.
The government also refused to celebrate the
Pokharan-II blast anniversary as it thought the day eulogises the Vajpayee
government. Pokharan made the nation proud but the government of the day didn't
want to share that elation. There is no more a Kargil victory day celebration
and the level of Vijay Diwas, celebrated on December 16 each year to commemorate
the 1971 victory, has also been drastically scaled down. There is not a single
Victory Memorial worth its glory dedicated to the Indian soldiers' bravery.
The Jai Jawan Jyoti lies under the shadow of a memorial erected by the colonial
masters in honour of those who fought for their empire and not for Indian
freedom. And the British memorial is so gigantic and overpowering that it
literally dwarfs the small memorial lit for the Indian national heroes.
The politicians ruling our nation have myopic
dreams and a shrunk vision for the great land called India but huge manoeuvring
power and insatiable greed for their personal empowerment. Hence their houses
are clean and ostentatious, but public hospitals stink, railway platforms
are dirty and airports look like anemic bodies dating back to the 1950s famine.
Policies are not people-oriented but commission-driven. Any surprise if the
Manekshaws are ignored and traitors of the 1962 war honoured?
The author is the Director, Dr Syamaprasad
Mookerjee Research Foundation.
