In the January-March 2003 issue of Freedom First (No.456), the editor in “Between Ourselves” has raised, very rightly, a pressing issue, “Why India has not produced a single outstanding leader or statesman”. He is on target when he states that “our country abounds in netas and politicians. But can you find a single leader or statesman? It is a remarkable coincidence that our nonagenarian Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw of 1971 war fame and our first ever Field Marshal, Sam Bahadur as he is affectionately known, expressed precisely the same views at a talk given by him at the Xavier Institute of Management some years ago and that is that India has a surfeit of every possible thing but has failed to produce good leaders.

The raison d’être for this article is not only the views expressed above, albeit briefly but a presentation made by him to 55 handpicked students attending the year long Higher Command Course at the newly designated Army War College, Mhow (MP), an institution every Indian should be proud of. The topic of the presentation: “Leadership in the Indian Context”.

There is no gainsaying the fact that in the past, India did produce leaders of the calibre of Mahatma Gandhi, the scholar statesmen Drs. Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain, and as many feel, Mother Teresa. Then there was also
Pandit Nehru of impeccable integrity, great love for the country, articulate, but who fell short of the type of leaders this country sorely needs, as exemplified in his handling of the 1962 situation. His daughter Indira Gandhi, our ‘iron’ lady would have qualified as a great national leader but for the imposition of the emergency and her later tendencies of encouraging dynastic rule. One cannot forget Jayaprakash Narayan and Rajaji.

Field Marshal Cariappa

Field Marshal Cariappa, who died at the ripe old age of 91, had a striking personality and integrity and love for his country that cannot be matched. His soldierly qualities enabled him to jump from Brigadier at the end of World War II to India’s first

Commander-in-Chief, with an ease that was remarkable during the birth pangs of a horrendous partition, not only of the country but of the Armed Forces. He was neither a product of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, nor the newly instituted Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun. He was certainly no great scholar but his forte was his unquestioned integrity, impartiality and selflessness and his insistence on the highest standards of these qualities in the officer cadre at this critical juncture.

He insisted that every officer carries in his breast pocket the red booklet “A Code of Conduct For Officers” and he would not hesitate to check accordingly. He insisted on small details knowing full well that attention to minor matters would lead to a good future for the Indian Army. His own eye for detail can best be illustrated by an incident in 1948 during his first ever visit to the Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre, Belgaum, then in the old Bombay Presidency, after becoming the Army Chief. The Guard of Honour, commanded by this writer, was selected with utmost care – sizing, presence, dress. Included in the 100 strong contingent were then Naik Namdeo Jadhav, VC, a rare commodity and the only living one in the Regiment. The drill and turnout were immaculate, that is until General ‘Kippa’ met Namdeo. After complimenting him on his Victoria Cross, he checked his turnout. To this young Captain, there was nothing wrong until the General’s gaze fell on the individual’s footwear. He turned round to me and in his stern voice and piercing light eyes, asked why just this one individual among the 100, was wearing MT pattern boots without a toe cap!

His insistence on the highest standards of integrity is best illustrated by a seemingly small incident in this era of Bofors and Tehelka. An officer submitted a rail travel claim for Rs 10/- more than his entitlement. This came to the notice of the Controller of Defence Accounts who, in accordance with the instructions of the Army Chief, reported the matter. The unfortunate officer was hauled up on the coals and awarded a severe reprimand to be recorded on his dossier.

He was always appropriately clad and shod and no officer would dare call on him casually dressed. Even well after his retirement he never failed to attend the last rites of any senior officer, even if it meant travelling from Coorg/Bangalore to Delhi. The Government appointed him as our High Commissioner in Australia, where he did not hesitate to call a spade a spade, a trait much admired by the “Diggers”. It is unfortunate that his sterling services to the Nation were recognized so very late in life when he was made a Field Marshal in his 89th year. His sterling efforts in keeping the Army together at the very crucial post partition juncture continue to be remembered to this day. He may not have been an accomplished speaker but his imposing presence and transparent sincerity ensured the attention of his audience.

General K. S. Thimayya

If any soldier could have taken this country forward after the 1962 debacle, through sheer charisma, positive and martial leadership, professional skills, statesmanship and scholarship, it would have been ‘Timmy’, none other than “Thimayya of India” the title of the biography by Geoffrey Evans written many moons ago.

General Kodendera Thimayya, like his eminent compatriot Field Marshal Cariappa was also a son of Coorg though a few years his junior. He was from the landed gentry, the legendary coffee planters blessed with martial gifts.  Unlike ‘Kippa’, Timmy was a product of the Royal (now Rashtriya) Military Academy Dehra Dun, a stepping stone for a Commission in the Army. He graduated from Sandhurst and after doing the prescribed year being broken into the art of soldiering he was posted to the then 19 Hyderabad (now Kumaon) Regiment with its Centre in the Kumaon Hills at Ranikhet. He cut his soldiering skills on that famous training ground in the Northwest Frontier, battling recalcitrant Pathan tribals. His merits were soon recognized and just before World War II he was posted as Adjutant, University Training Corps, Madras as a fitting example for young Indian undergraduates interested in joining the Indian Army of what a good soldier should be. His World War II record as a company commander, battalion commander and officiating brigade commander came to the fore in operations against the tenacious Japanese in Burma. His soldierly skills can best be summed up in the citation reproduced below for the very prestigious Distinguished Service Order.

His innate talents of professional soldiering, and leadership were soon recognized by Field Marshal Auchinleck, the C-in-C. He was specially selected to lead the Indian Brigade as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force for the Japanese Occupation after World War II attended. He had under his command 5/1st Punjabis ( Maurice D’Apice), 1/5 Mahrattas (Derek Leeming) and 2/5 Royal Gorkha Rifles (Townsend), all seasoned British Commanding Officers. Both his principal staff officers Major James Heard and Tom Corrigan were also British, as was the BRINDIV GOC Maj.Gen. Punch Cowan. He proved to be an outstanding commander and his diplomatic skills emerged as he had to deal with the Americans (General MacArthur, the Supreme Commander), British, Australian, New Zealanders and the vanquished Japanese. His popularity was to be seen to be believed. Again, as Indian Independence approached, he was recalled to India by the Auk for greater things.

In 1947, he was promoted to Maj.Gen. and given command of Sri Force, later 19 Division, to drive the raiders and Pakistan Army out of the Kashmir Valley. He succeeded in driving them beyond Uri. It was his brilliant understanding that he moved Stuart Light Tanks of 7 Light Cavalry that had served under him in Japan to the dizzy heights of the Zoji La Pass, to drive out the entrenched Raiders/Pakistanis from the dominating heights and by so doing saved Ladakh. This was the first time ever that light tanks had operated at these heights. He established the best of relations with Shaikh Abdullah and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and even Panditji but his pleas to give him three more months to drive the raiders back to Muzzarfarabad fell on deaf ears and instead, Panditji went to the UN. The rest is history.

Thereafter, he did a spell as Commandant of the prestigious Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun. The experience gained by him in Japan stood him in good stead when he was specially selected to head the United Nations Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission in Korea. It was a very sensitive and delicate task dealing with recalcitrant Chinese prisoners. Here again, through sheer charisma, impartiality, firmness and diplomacy, he completed this task to the satisfaction of the world body.

He was the Southern Army Commander when, after the Chinese debacle in 1962 and the resignation of General P. N. Thapar, the then Army Chief, who accepted full responsibility, that he was appointed Chief of the Army Staff of a demoralized Army, till then the pride of the Nation. It was at this point of time that a military leader could have taken over the country through sheer charisma, professional skills, statesmanship and courage of convictions. When he observed the blatant interference of the politician (Krishna Menon, the Defence Minister) and bureaucrat in purely Army matters, he submitted his resignation in disgust. Had he stood by it, the whole country would have supported  ’Thimayya of India’ had he decided to take over the Government. But Panditji used all his charms to persuade him to withdraw it. Krishna Menon was tactfully removed from the defence ministry. Those of us of that generation knew full well that the Armed Forces would have stood solidly behind him.

On retirement after a successful tenure as Army Chief, the United Nations sought his services yet once again when he was appointed to head yet another sensitive issue of Cyprus between the Greeks and the Turks. He carried out this ticklish issue with consummate diplomatic skill earning the confidence of both parties. He died in harness in Cyprus with his boots on. His mortal remains were flown to Bangalore for the last rites. Sad to say that the seniormost Government Official present was Lt Gen Moti Sagar, Southern Army Commander, under whose territorial jurisdiction the city lies. But the UN and the Government and people of Cyprus did not forget this great soldier, scholar, and statesman.

‘Thimayya of India’ was a truly great leader that the country could ill afford to do without. To this day there is a special room, one would go so far as to describe it as a place of pilgrimage, dedicated to ‘Timmy” at the Kumaon Regimental Centre, Raniket where memorabilia associated with him are displayed.

Field Marshal Manekshaw

The third great leader the military has produced is Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framjee Jamsetjee Manekshaw, MC, popularly known as Sam Bahadur. He was the son of the late Dr Hormusji Manekshaw, ex Indian Medical Service of World War I vintage, a resident of Amritsar.

Admittedly, Sam Bahadur was no great shakes in Sherwood School Naini Tal or for that matter Hindu College Amritsar, as he himself admits. He was a good student, played a little football and was a good hiker in the Kumaon Hills. He was hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother in the field of medicine. It was when his father was not too keen to send him to London to join his brothers because of his relative youth, that fate intervened. Having completed his inter science exam, he happened to see an advertisement in a local paper inviting young Indian gentlemen to apply for admission into the newly established Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun in 1930, for an Indian Commission (ICO) in the Army as opposed to a KCIO ex Sandhurst. He applied, qualified in the entrance examination and interview and without any difficulty, prepared to enter a career in the Army.

On commissioning he was allotted to the 12th Frontier Force Regiment and did his year’s attachment with a Scots Regiment. When war broke out he saw action in the early days of the campaign in Burma against the Japanese and was wounded during the battle of the Sittang Bridge where he was awarded the Military Cross for bravery.

After his recovery he served again in Burma, was nominated for the Staff College, Quetta where he returned later as an instructor in the rank of Lt.Col.. At the end of the war he caught the attention of FM Auk who sent him off to Australia for three months to tell the ‘ignorant’ Aussies about the Indian Army, as the day of Indian Independence approached. He did not command a battalion but soon after independence he was transferred to the 8 Gorkha Rifles and appointed to the Military Operations Directorate at Army HQ. By now his talents had bloomed and he found himself accompanying Sardar Patel and V. P. Menon when the accession of Kashmir was being negotiated. He was thus exposed to the working of the government and politicians. He was with V. P. Menon when the instrument of accession was signed in Srinagar. He commanded an infantry brigade on the Indo-Pak border in the Punjab, 26 Infantry Division in Jammu, 4 Corps in the East, and both Western (the first ICO to do so) and Eastern Commands. He was the first ICO to command the then main institution in the Army, the Infantry School, and today the Army War College. He was nominated for the Imperial Defence College in London and on his return he was appointed Commandant of our Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.

This was where he experienced a major hiccup that might well have ended disastrously. But fate deigned otherwise. The choice for Army Chief was between him and Lt.Gen. Harbaksh Singh. He was in the chair when the problems of East Pakistani refugees erupted. He successfully led the Armed Forces against Pakistan both in the East and West and within 14 days won the war, created Bangladesh and captured 96000 thousand Pakistani Regular Army prisoners. Compare this victory with that of Tommy Franks in Iraq. He stood his ground when asked to launch the offensive into East Pakistan in April 1971 and stood up to Mrs. Indira Gandhi. He even threatened to resign. Better sense prevailed. He was made India’s first ever Field Marshal in service. It was in one of his tete a tetes with Indira Gandhi, she asked him whether he was planning to take over the country. Sam Bahadur’s classic reply was pointing to his long nose and telling the Iron Lady that he did not use it to poke into other’s affairs. He could well have taken over when riding the crest of the wave in 1971. The dice was loaded on his side though he might have lost a few brownie points on the diplomatic front for some of his witticisms. He did not angle for any posts like Governor though he would have made a very successful one. It is a pity his knowledge was not used by inducting him into the National Security Council. Perhaps he was too outspoken and strong for the ‘Babus’.

When a poll was taken among the 55 Higher Command Students at the Army War College, among those who figured in the merit list were Gandhiji, Sam Manekshaw, and Thimayya of India. Why was FM Cariappa missed out? Because he was relatively unknown to these officers when he was in service. Today, in Madikeri, Coorg are the Statues of Cariappa and Thimayya, its two worthy sons.

So who says we lack leadership material?

MAJOR GENERAL (RETD.) E D’SOUZA, PVSM, an octogenarian defence analyst, has had the privilege of serving directly under all the three Captains Courageous mentioned in this article)