Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw - 1

The Human history is filled with wars. Wars – where everything is considered fair – is a game of power, tactics and leadership as much as is a game of weapons. Similar to the big corporations, these wars are considered to be good lessons of Management and Leadership.

These wars have given the world a lot of great warrior leaders, right from Alexander, Julius Caesar, to Napoleon, to Admiral Nelson, to Shivaji Maharaj and the list goes on…They only underscored that fact that what a good General can do with his leadership skills becomes much more important than the weapons, during the war. When things would go out – of – control, these leaders could motivate their men to give their best for the nation.

The post Independence era saw rising of one such great General who rose to become the Army Chief and later on the First Field Marshal of India.* He is S.H.F.J (Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji) “Sam” Manekshaw. Sam had played an instrumental role in defeating Pakistan convincingly in 1971’s war, freeing Bangladesh in the process.

Born in Amritsar on 3rd April 1914 to a Parsi couple, Sam was fifth amongst four boys and two girls. He had his schooling in Amritsar and at Nainital's famous Sherwood College. It would have been quite appropriate if Sam would have followed his two brothers to England to pursue higher studies – medicine to be specific. But then, his Doctor father saw him too young to go on his own in a foreign country. **

Sam then decided to join Indian Army. I guess, that was one of the best things that could happen to the Indian Army.

Joining the first batch of 40 cadets at Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehra Dun on 1st October 1932, Sam passed out of the IMA in December 1934 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the British Indian Army.

During World War II, he was leading a counter-offensive against the invading Japanese Army in Burma. On a fateful day of 22nd February 1942, as he charged forward with his men, a Japanese soldier suddenly emerged from the bushes and fired at him, wounding him seriously in the stomach. Fortunately, Major General D.T. Cowan spotted Manekshaw holding on to life and was aware of his valour in face of stiff resistance from the Japanese. Fearing the worst, Major General Cowan quickly pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on to Manekshaw saying, "A dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross."! In spite of 7 bullets piercing through his stomach, Sam survived!

Again, fighting in the then Burma, he got wounded again and was sent back to India.

With the end of the war, he was sent to Indo – China to rehabilitate Japanese PoWs. In 1946, he was sent to Australia to give lectures on Military warfare for about 6 months. ***

Soon, India got independence from the British rule. The subsequent unfortunate partition forced India into her first war against Pakistan. Manekshaw showed great acumen for planning and administration while handling the issues related to partition in 1947, and later put to use his battle skills during the 1947-48 Jammu & Kashmir Operations.

In 1959, Sam was posted as the commandant of the Defense Services Staff College. There, his outspoken frankness got him into trouble with the then defense minister, V K Krishna Menon, and his protégé of the time, the late Lieutenant General B M Kaul. A court of inquiry was ordered against him but he could manage a narrow escape.

The year 1962 saw the most humiliating defeat for the proud Indian Army. India was worst hit in the North East Frontier Agency (Now Arunachal Pradesh). Ironically, Lt. Gen. B.M. Kaul was commanding the 4th Corps in NEFA. The deteriorating situation soon forced the Indian Government to call back Kaul and replace him with Sam. There was a lot of anxiety amongst the soldiers. And Sam was given the tough job to breath life in the lost soldiers.

The day when he took over the charges from Lt. Gen. Kaul, Sam was to address the officer staff. He entered the room with his usual jaunty step, looked as if he were meeting each eye trained on him and said, ‘Gentleman, I have arrived! There will be no more withdrawals in 4 Corps, Thank you;' and walked out. But the charisma that surrounds the man had preceded him and soldier and officer alike knew the 'chosen one' had arrived and henceforth all would be well.

In 1963, he became the Army Commander of the Western Command. Soon after, the then Defense Minister Yashwantrao Chavan asked him which, Sam thinks, is the most strategically critical command in the Indian Army. Given the constant threat from China, a fuming unrest in East Pakistan and increasing insurgency in the North Eastern states, Sam told him that the Eastern Command was the toughest of all the commands. Chavan promptly made him the Commander in Chief of the Eastern Command – the Second top rank in the Army.

Proving the Government’s faith in him, Sam handled the tricky problem of insurgency in Nagaland very well. For this great work, he was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1968.

The greatest honour soon came his way when he succeeded the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Kumarmangalam, to become the 8th COAS of India on 7th June, 1969.

Manekshaw is a formidable combination of prodigious capacity of work, fascinating charisma and charm, irreverence towards Red Tape, a keen eye on detail and above all a shrewd, sympathetic ability to lead and manage. Behind those hefty mustaches and piercing eyes were a caring heart and a witty brain. He stood against his superiors in unjust conditions and loved his subordinates, caring for them always.

Watch this space tomorrow to know more about his tenure as COAS, the contribution he made in winning the 1971 War and the qualities that made him a beloved War hero “Sam Bahadur” and more than that a popular Leader.

Regards,
Abhishek

*: There are only 2 persons who are ranked as Field Marshal for India so far, the other being General Kariappa.

**: Handsome and charismatic Sam always left women around him mesmerized by his charm. When asked “If he would have gone abroad to study Medicine, which doctor he would have preferred to be?”, he promptly replied “Gynecologist”!

***: In one such lecture, he talked proudly about the Indian Army. A Veteran Australian stood up and said,” Colonel, I appreciate what you’ve said about the Indian Army but we Australians are no less, in fact we are very proud of ourselves and our ancestors” Pat came the reply from Sam,” So you should be, you were selected by the finest judges in England!”

Reference: Sam Manekshaw: Soldiering with Dignity by Maj. Gen. Depinder Singh – his Military Assistant.