Bharat Rakshak

http://www.timesnow.tv/frmVideoDialog.aspx?VName=NV10577.wmv

Heres the video with the surrender call. (thanks rahul)

The New York Times
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June 30, 2008
Sam H.F.J. Manekshaw Dies at 94; Key to India’s Victory in 1971 War
By HARESH PANDYA

Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, India’s best-known soldier and the architect of the country’s victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan that gave birth to Bangladesh, died in Wellington, India, on Friday. He was 94.

The cause was pneumonia, India’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Field Marshal Manekshaw first drew notice as a captain in the British Indian Army during World War II. He was severely wounded on Feb. 22, 1942, in a counteroffensive against the Japanese on the Sittong River in Burma, now known as Myanmar. But he kept exhorting his soldiers, and he continued fighting until he collapsed.

Fearing the worst, the English commander, Maj. Gen. D. T. Cowan, pinned his own Military Cross on Captain Manekshaw and was quoted as saying, “A dead person can’t be awarded a Military Cross.”

But the young officer survived, and a storied military career began. He not only recovered from his wounds but went back to Burma later in the war and was wounded again.

In 1947, as colonel in charge of operations, he oversaw Indian forces in fighting that broke out between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the territory claimed by both new nations.

With a military mustache guarding a genial face, he was known as a stern disciplinarian with a common touch. He once insisted on doing folk dances with his troops even though he had a sprained ankle. By the end of the night, the sprain had turned into a fracture.

He instilled a sense of duty, efficiency and professionalism in the Indian Army, and he taught officers to stand up to political masters and bureaucratic interference. His wit, sometimes bordering on sarcasm, did not go over well with many in power.

In 1961, he had a falling out with the defense minister, V. K. Krishna Menon. But by then a general, he was vindicated late the next year when Indian troops were overrun by Chinese forces that swept down from the Himalayas. Mr. Menon resigned and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who had been close to Mr. Menon, rushed General Manekshaw to the front. There he rallied the retreating Indian forces until a cease-fire was declared.

He became the eighth chief of the Indian Army in 1969, and in 1971 led India’s forces in the war with Pakistan that ended with the creation of Bangladesh from East Pakistan. According to articles published in Indian newspapers after his death, General Manekshaw firmly resisted demands by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the spring of 1971 for an immediate invasion of East Pakistan in support of rebels there. He insisted that a campaign be put off until after the monsoon season ended and the armed forces were better prepared.

Just before the conflict began that December, the prime minister asked him, “General, are you ready for the war?” He replied, “I’m always ready, sweetie.” Less than three weeks later, Pakistan was defeated.

General Manekshaw became a national hero and a household name after this triumph, and in 1973, two weeks before his retirement, he became India’s first field marshal. He had already received India’s highest civilian awards — Padma Bhushan in 1968 and Padma Vibhushan in 1972.

He was born into a Parsi family, his father a doctor, in Amritsar in Punjab on April 3, 1914.

He briefly pursued a degree in medicine and studied at Sherwood College, in Naini Tal, and Hindu Sabha College, in Amritsar, before joining the first class of the new Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dun in 1934. It had been opened to train Indians for commissioned ranks in the British Indian Army. He was first attached to the Royal Scots regiment. He later joined a Ghurka regiment and wore the Ghurka cap even after becoming the army’s chief of staff.

He met Siloo Bode at a gathering in Lahore, in what is now Pakistan, in 1937, and they were married in 1939. She died in 2001. He is survived by his daughters, Maja Daruwala and Sherry Batliwala, and three grandchildren.

Like many officers of his generation, he had an affection for British military traditions. A 1971 article in The New York Times noted that upon waking at 5:30 every morning, he liked drinking a small glass of whiskey, listening to the BBC news and puttering in his garden before going to work.

Rest in peace son of punjab

times now was playing it. you can try their website.
or even mail mayurica.

:cry:

Old soldiers never die.... they just go to that great Mess house in the Sky.

Here is a documentary on Sam Bahadur, taken in 2003 under UNESCO and Parzor Foundation auspices (47 min length) by Jessica Gupta and his grandson, Jehan Manekshaw on occasion of his 90th birthday.

http://www.unescoparzor.com/samcd.html

'In War and Peace - The Life of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, MC'

Manekshaw funeral: Antony's face-saving exercise
29 Jun 2008, 1945 hrs IST,PTI

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister A K Antony and three services chiefs will sign a condolence book on Monday in memory of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw after controversy erupted over their absence at his state funeral in Udhagamandalam on Friday.

Defence Ministry sources said that apart from Antony, the services chiefs Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Air Chief Marshal F H Major and General Deepak Kapoor would be the first to put down their tributes in writing in the book that will be kept at the Martyrs' Memorial near India Gate in New Delhi.

The condolence book would be open for the general public to record their messages for the Field Marshal from 9.30 hours to 16.30 hours from June 30 to July 2, Ministry sources said.

Manekshaw, the architect of India's victory over Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh in the 1971 war between the two countries, breathed his last at the Military Hospital in Wellington in the Nilgiri hills of Tamil Nadu in the early hours of Friday.

In a rare gesture, the government had announced a state funeral for Manekshaw.

Criticism mounted over the low representation from the government and the tri-services at the funeral, and the delay from the services chiefs to condole the death of the Field Marshal.

The Monday's event is seen as a face-saving exercise from the Defence Minister and the Services chiefs in view of the open criticism of their absence at the funeral.

A legendary soldier and formidable leader of men and women who made great contribution to our liberation war in 1971." That is how India's first Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw was described by Bangladesh High Commissioner to New Delhi A Liaquat Chaudhari today (June 30).

"For this contribution Manekshaw will always be remembered by us," the envoy wrote in the condolence book opened to public to mark their grief on the passing away of 'Sam Bahadur', next to the Martyrs' memorial at India Gate.

The Bangladesh High Commissioner was among hundreds of people who braved sultry weather and rains to record their remembrance of the man who led the Indian Army in its finest hour in the 1971 war, which led to creation of Bangladesh.

The mourners were led by the Defence Minister A K Antony who wrote,"Manekshaw was the commander who led his men from the front."

"The Indian Army salutes its bravest son," wrote the Army Chief, General Deepak Kapoor. But the most moving comments came from hundreds of anonymous mourners, who had lined up to
record their grief.

The commoners' grief was summed up by an anonymous civilian who wrote "Sayonara, the people's Field Marshal."

Quotable quote: Speaks volumes on Sam's positive attitude.

Man with a swagger

Rahul Datta
It will not be wrong to say Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw ranked along with military leaders like Rommel, Montgomery and Patton who led brilliant campaigns and raised the morale of their men when faced with tremendous odds while at war

For all his iconic stature, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw's critics would say he had created a halo of bravado around himself. The swagger, the reputation for blunt-speaking, the hail-fellow well-met cheerfulness, the cap worn at a jaunty angle atop a pink face with a trademark moustache, was all there for effect.

Granted for a moment, his critics are correct. But what's wrong about it all? Leaders even go out of their way to cultivate such attributes. In fact, that's what good public relations professionals are supposed to be doing for great leaders, military or civilian.

Having taken a full burst of machine gun fire in his stomach as a young captain during the Burma campaign in World War II, Sam, who later walked with a slight slouch due to the wounds, had every right to demand the best from his men. And they could not refuse their commander as he had faced death from close quarters and earned a Military Cross for this daring act.

But let not such matters come in the way of any cold assessment of the man. Sam Bahadur, as he was also known because of his connection with the Gorkha Regiment as its Colonel, and the way he espoused their cause, once said there was a thin line between promotion and dismissal or something to that effect.

Asked to go take East Pakistan -- what is now Bangladesh -- in April 1971, he had the courage to tell then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to her face at a Cabinet meeting, to which he had been invited, that he could not do it because he was poorly prepared for a war-like operation. He did not have the required number of tanks, and he did not have the men either.

What Manekshaw must have meant was that such matters like timing of war operations are best left to military brains in the operations room rather than to Cabinet meetings.

Sam chose his own timing. A war, which could have been a long drawn affair, was over in a swift fortnight in December 1971. It was a great triumph for the Indian Army when Gen AAK Niazi appended his signature to the surrender document along with his 90,000 Pakistani troops and handed his revolver to India's Eastern Army commander, the late Lt Gen JS Arora.

The story goes that when Richard Nixon, the then President of the US, whose Seventh Fleet was in menacingly close waters, asked his Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Westmoreland how long it would take for the Indian Army to take East Pakistan, his considered assessment was one-and-a-half months.

No one knows if Gen Westmoreland could look straight into his President's eyes after the Dhaka surrender. The Indian Army redeemed some of the izzat it had lost less than a decade in the India-China conflict.

For all his bluff and bluster manner, Sam Bahadur was also a serious military thinker. Policy decisions are best left to lawfully established civilian authority. This is a principle, which our Army has adhered to, and something which is the envy of many other countries.

However straightforward, or disagreeable their advice in matters professional, they have never become over-ambitious. Cases of people in the top echelons of the officer corps bending to please civilian authority have eroded pride and propriety, or izzat. But Generals like Manekshaw, who would speak their mind rather than compromise on matters military, cannot be accused of such pettiness.

There were soldiers of great competence in the Army hierarchy during Manekshaw's time. But Sam had special qualifications that gave him an edge and ensured his rise to the top at Sena Bhavan.

Men like Manekshaw are very special iconic personalities who shape history with charismatic leadership in their chosen profession. Sam Bahadur has done the profession of arms in India proud by his leadership.

His services to the nation will be remembered for a long time to come and inspire youth to join the profession of arms at a time of officer shortage in the three services. Money is not all. There is still some izzat left and the way of life that drew Manekshaw to the Army can again be given another chance.

In fact, it will not be wrong to say Sam Bahadur ranks along with military leaders like Rommel, Montgomery and Patton who led brilliant campaigns and raised the morale of their men when faced with tremendous odds.

Montgomery had to make special efforts to inspire his Eighth Army when they were overawed by the charisma of Rommel, the 'desert fox', in Africa. Driving around the battlefront in an open jeep while bombs rained all around him and machine gun fire raked the armoured carriers, Rommel's well-executed tank battles and fast thrusts into enemy territory had left the British clueless in World War II.

Montgomery rallied his men around after facing several reverses and used to come out of his mobile cabin without helmet and stand amidst artillery barrage by the Africa Korps. This act, no doubt, meant to charge his men, required sheer guts and the British soldiers went on to fight back and rest is history.

Patton's dash through Europe when the Germans were giving hell to the Allied Forces, besiders the brandishing of his service revolver and firing at the Luftwaffe fighter planes, are part of military history and folklore. All these three military leaders and our Sam Bahadur had that something extra, be it charisma, bravery or strength of character, to turn things around and get the job done when the country demanded them to do so.

Read an anecdote in a short biography, wherein an American Diplomat asked Gen. Manekshaw, "So, general, when are you taking power"?. Pat came the answer, "Why, right after Gen. Westmoreland takes over, of course!"

"We have in our midst today, a soldier whose very name is synonymous with valour. He makes us remember Rana Pratap, Jhansi ki Rani, and the gallant Shivaji, whose deeds form our national heritage". When we hear him speak, the blood courses through our veins with greater speed", etc. for the next hour or so.

"I have only one request. Could I have an English translation of the speech I just heard? I want to give it to my wife. Whenever I tell her that I am a big man, a great man, she doesnt even listen. Perhaps after reading this, she will believe me!"

Slighting Sam

The Pioneer Edit Desk

Govt should apologise, and keep quiet

Adding insult to injury, the Government has now put forward the dubious claim that the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister and three services chiefs missed the funeral of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw because he did not figure in the warrant of precedence. Apparently the Field Marshal -- a five-star General rank that has its equivalents in the Navy and the Air Force -- does not figure in the warrant of precedence. Hence, the Government argues, there was no automatic declaration of a state funeral; this was granted, almost as if it were charity, by the Prime Minister upon the request of the Defence Minister. Hence also no lowering of the national flag, no travel plans for senior officials to give Sam Bahadur, as India's best-known modern warrior was known, the last salute. What this facile reasoning fails to explain is how a Union Minister, the then Chief Minister of Karnataka and the three service chiefs made it to Field Marshal KM Cariappa's funeral in 1993. Not every well-known Indian figures in the warrant of precedence. There are many private citizens -- business barons, civil society leaders, scholars and cultural artistes -- whose death merits national mourning and tribute from the Indian state. This comes not from a narrow, legalistic interpretation of the person's official designation -- and place, if any, in the warrant of precedence -- but from sensitivity of the Government and the political class. Perhaps it is a question of priorities. When Baba Amte, great man as he was, died earlier this year, he was given a state funeral, with two Union Cabinet Ministers in attendance. Did he find mention in the warrant of precedence?

A political establishment is, in the end, a reflection of the cherished hopes and beliefs of its people. In insulting Sam Manekshaw and deciding he did not merit a suitable farewell -- never mind what the silly rule-books may have said -- the Government and the political leadership have let down India. The warrant of precedence is a bureaucratic roster, to decide who should sit or be introduced before whom at public functions where two or more VIPs are present. It cannot become the arbiter of how the nation must treat its heroes. It defies reason why, instead of taking resort to monumentally silly excuses, the Government cannot simply admit it messed up, and apologise to the memory of Sam Manekshaw, to his family and to the people. There is no divine injunction that holds that the Government must never say sorry.

While the UPA Government must shoulder responsibility for this colossal act of boorishness, the Opposition cannot escape censure. The BJP prides itself for being a nationalist party, alive to the security challenges and the strategic concerns of India. Yet, it did not deem it fit to depute even one senior functionary to Sam Manekshaw's funeral. At a time when the Indian Army is facing a serious scarcity of officers, when its pay and remuneration regime is being perceived as appallingly poor in comparison to competitive white collar professions, the manner in which politicians have treated Sam Manekshaw will not help win new recruits. Mid-ranking or even potential officers cannot be blamed for wondering, 'If they can do this to India's most celebrated General, what can't they do to me?'

The condolence book was placed next to the martyr's memorial at India Gate and Defence Minister A K Antony led the nation and was the first to sign the condolence book in which he described Manekshaw as the "Marshal who led from the front".