A Tribute

Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, MC

1914-2008

Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, MC, died on the 28th of June 2008, at Military Hospital, Wellington, Coonoor, aged 94. The Field Marshal was accorded a state funeral with full military honours at the Army Cantonment (The Madras Regimental Centre) in Wellington, Coonoor.

The architect of India’s heroic victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was born on the 3rd of April 1914 at Amritsar, to Parsi parents who had settled in Punjab in 1899. The Manekshaws had six children, four boys and two girls, of whom Sam was the fifth. After completing his schooling at Sherwood College (Nainital), he applied for and was accepted for entry into the first batch of the newly opened Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, established to train Indians for commissioned rank in the British Indian Army. He joined the Indian Military Academy on the October 1, 1932. He received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Indian Army on the February 4, 1934. He was initially attached to the 2nd Battalion the Royal Scots, a British Regiment, as was the practice then, and was later posted to the 4th Battalion the 12th Frontier Force Regiment, also known as the 54th Sikhs. In 1937, at a social gathering in Lahore, he met his future wife, Silloo Bode. They fell in love and were married on the 22nd April 1939. They had two daughters, Sherry and Maja and remained happily married till Silloo passed away in 2001.

In a long and distinguished military career spanning nearly four decades, from the Second World War to the Indo-Pak War of 1971, Manekshaw rose to be the 8th Chief of Staff of the Indian Army. It was under his command, during the Indo-Pak War of 1971, that Indian forces concluded a victorious campaign resulting in the creation of an independent Bangladesh. Affectionately called ‘Sam Bahadur’ by his Regiment, the 8th Gorkha Rifles, (a nickname that became popular throughout the Indian Army as he rose to higher rank), Sam Manekshaw is the first of only two Indian officers to hold the highest rank of Field Marshal.

During the Second World War, Manekshaw saw action against the invading Japanese in the Burma campaign, with the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment which was part of the 17th Indian Infantry Division. The retreat through the jungles of Burma ended abruptly for him on the 22nd February 1942 during a counter-offensive on the Sittang River, when seven bullets from a Japanese machine gun ripped through his stomach, severely wounding him. The young Captain, who had just led two companies in the courageous capture of a vital hill, was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery.

Having recovered from those near-fatal wounds in Burma, Manekshaw attended the Staff Course at Staff College, Quetta, and was posted as the Brigade Major of a brigade on the North-West Frontier.  In end-1944, he was posted back to Burma, this time to the 9/12 Frontier Force Regiment, which was then advancing astride the Rangoon-Mandalay highway as part of the victorious 14th Army under General Slim. Towards the close of the Second World War, Manekshaw was sent as Staff Officer to General Daisy in Indo-China where, after the Japanese surrender, he helped rehabilitate over 10,000 Prisoners of War.  He then went on a six-month lecture tour to Australia in 1946 and, on returning, served as a Staff Officer in the Military Operations Directorate.

Manekshaw was at the ringside of events when India became independent on August 15, 1947.  Then a Colonel, he was chosen to accompany Mr V P Menon on his historic mission to Kashmir to get the then ruler of the State of Jammu & Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh to sign the ‘Instrument of Accession’ and accede to the Indian Union.  By then the Director of Military Operations, he oversaw the fighting that broke out between India and Pakistan over Kashmir in 1948.  It was also under his direct supervision that the Cease Fire Line was drawn, after the cessation of hostilities.

After partition he was posted to the 8th Gorkha Rifles, as the 12th Frontier Force Regiment became part of the new Pakistan Army.  In 1953, he became the Colonel of the 8th Gorkha Rifles, an honorary appointment of considerable prestige.  Later he was to become the Colonel Commandant of the 61st Cavalry as well.

Promotions followed in quick succession and, after command of an Infantry Brigade in Punjab and a second tenure at Army Headquarters, this time as the Director of Military Training, he was posted as the Commandant of the Infantry School at Mhow.  In end-1956 he was selected to attend a one year course at the Imperial Defence College in the UK.  On completion of this course, in December 1957, he was posted to command a Division at Jammu, following which he took over as the Commandant of the prestigious Defence Services Staff College at Wellington, in 1959.  (It was also to Wellington, a Military Station adjoining Coonoor in the Nilgiris, that Manekshaw eventually retired from the Army to spend the rest of his days.) From Wellington, he moved to the North East to command a Corps during the 1962 war with China.  He was appointed GOC-in-C Western Command with its Headquarters at Shimla in 1963, where he had a short tenure before moving to take over as GOC-in-C Eastern Command.  He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1968.

Manekshaw became the 8th Chief of Army Staff on the 7th of June 1969.  His years of military experience were soon put to the test as thousands of refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan started crossing over to India as a result of oppression by West Pakistan.  The volatile situation erupted into a full-scale war in December 1971. Manekshaw proved to be a sound strategist and displayed a great ability to motivate his forces.  He masterminded the rout of the Pakistan Army in one of the most brilliant campaigns in modern military history.  The war ended with the Pakistan Army’s unconditional surrender and more than 90,000 Prisoners of War were taken.  This led to the birth of Bangladesh. The Shimla Agreement followed in 1972.

For his distinguished service to the nation, the President of India awarded him a Padma Vibhushan in 1972 and conferred upon him the rank of Field Marshal on January 1, 1973.  Manekshaw became India’s first Field Marshal.  He retired as COAS on the 15th of January 15, 1973 after nearly four decades of active military service. (Technically Field Marshals never retire because the rank is conferred for life.)  Following his retirement from the Army, Manekshaw remained active, successfully serving as Director of numerous companies.

He was an outstanding professional soldier, while at the same time being humane.  A man of integrity, he had a great sense of humour and a ready wit.  He showed genuine concern for the men under his command and was never too busy to speak to the common soldier.  It was these qualities of head and heart that endeared him to the officers and men.  Having finished his own work, it was said that he would spend the remainder of his time walking from one office to another, sitting with the harried junior staff and helping them sort out the problems they were working on.  He never raised his voice, but even a mild reproving look from him with a ‘Sweetheart, this won’t do,’ was enough to shake the stoutest heart.  Critical, but always constructively so, he had a sharp eye and a fine memory.  He was a kind man and bore no grudges, forgiving easily and preferring to see the best in everyone.

Manekshaw was a man of his convictions and possessed the courage to say ‘No’ when required.  Historically, the most significant incident where circumstances demanded this of him was in 1971 when, as Chief of Army Staff, he was under tremendous pressure from the Government to take immediate action against Pakistan because of the deteriorating situation in East Pakistan.  He knew that the Army was ill prepared for immediate declaration of hostilities, and also that the oncoming monsoon season was ill suited for war.  He, therefore, refused to be bulldozed into precipitating a war that he was convinced needed to be delayed. All are now agreed that had India attacked East Pakistan in June 1971 it would have been an unmitigated disaster for the Indian Army.  It was Manekshaw’s insistence on delaying the war till December that gave India a stunning victory in what is now Bangladesh.

Old Soldiers never die; they just fade away.  True to this dictum, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw shall live on in the hearts of a grateful nation.