A soldier to the depth, with charisma and grace, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw is the finest man of Indian Defence Service. A master mind behind victory of Indo-Pak war 1971, perhaps no Military General in the history of independent India has ever captured the national attention in the way this visionary commander did.
On his upcoming 107th birth anniversary, let’s celebrate the eternal memories of this extraordinary man with due respect, and imbibe in us, the true values he wanted every Indian to inculcate..!
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was an excellent soldier, whose first-class military leadership uplifted Indian Army, which dispirited after the 1962 Indo-China war fiasco. His esteemed career traversed across four decades and five wars, beginning with service in British Indian Army during World War II, leading up to pivotal victory of 1971.
Manekshaw was always courageous. As a military head, he was not only an incredible strategist, but also a brilliant leader of men. He is best remembered as the person who masterminded India’s victory in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 which ended into the formation of new country in just 13 days…! More than one lakh Pakistanis were forced to surrender in Bangladesh, and this was probably the biggest victory in past 2000 years of Indian history of war…!
Manekshaw’s first radio message to the troops of Pakistan on 9 December 1971 was,
“Indian forces have surrounded you. Your Air Force is destroyed. You have no hope of any help from them. Chittagong, Chalna and Mangla ports are blocked. Nobody can reach you from the sea. Your fate is sealed. The Mukti Bahini and the people are all prepared to take revenge for the atrocities and cruelties you have committed…Why waste lives? Don’t you want to go home and be with your children? Do not lose time; there is no disgrace in laying down your arms to a soldier. We will give you the treatment befitting a soldier”.
Honors
Being served in British Indian Army, Sam Manekshaw was awarded with Military Cross in 1942, for his distinguished valor in battle of world war II. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1972 by Government of India. Manekshaw became the first officer of Indian Army to be promoted to the highest five star military rank of Field Marshal in January 1973.
Being famous among Gurkha soldiers, Nepal declared Sam Manekshaw as an ‘Honorary General’ of the Nepalese army in 1972. He was also awarded the Order of Tri Shakti Patta First Class, an order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Nepal, in 1977.
Investiture Ceremony at Ashoka Hall, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Sam Manekshaw Being Promoted to the Rank of Field Marshal by the then President V. V. Giri Photo Source
1: A Man with High Spirit
Sam Manekshaw was blessed with natural charm and sense of humor. He always showed exceptional physical and moral courage during war and crisis with his cool and clear headed attitude. Sam was a true gentleman with excellence – honest, loyal, brilliant, impartial, upright, gutsy, sharply frank and down to earth with no nonsense. Name any good quality and you’ll find it to be present in him…! He owned strongly armored ‘value system’ which neither any person nor situations could corrupt. Manekshaw was able to preserve his aura of greatness even in adversity…!
Deep Love for His Soldiers
Being a man of integrity, Manekshaw could even die for his principles. Well-being and interest of soldiers were his top priority. He would often spend his time listening and considering those under his command, taking care of them. Even the soldiers showed obedience and die hard loyalty towards their General in return to his love and affection. This mutual admiration worked wonders in war. Manekshaw always carried jovial persona, in both personal and professional space of his. The under working soldiers never saw their General as a bossy leader. Whether it was field or military headquarters, Sam used to make his immediate environment cheerful with his playful jokes and vivid language.
Incident of Yahya Khan
Sam Manekshaw was famous for his wittiness. At the time of India-Pakistan war, General Yahya Khan was the president of Pakistan. Before partition, he used to be junior of Sam Manekshaw and they both have served together in Military Operations branch. During those days, Yahya Khan bought a red bike in 2nd from Sam Manekshaw, with a deal to pay money for it later. Remembering this, after victory in war, once Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw commented humorously,
“Yahya never paid me the thousand rupees for my motorbike, but now he has paid with half of his country…!”
A Fearless Sportsman Spirit
Manekshaw possessed the sportsmanship to respect his enemy. He established an excellent example of humanity, by fairly treating 93,000 war-prisoners of East Pakistan after the battle of 1971. This increased value of his countrymen in eye of enemies.
Being an honest chap, Sam always stood up courageously, to talk his piece of words – with courtesy and transparency. The way he straightforwardly refused to follow premature orders of his powerful prime minister – Mrs Gandhi, to launch untimely military operations in East Pakistan, proved his outspoken intelligence and fearlessness.
Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was born on 4 April 1914 in Amritsar, to Doctor Hormusji Manekshaw and Hilla Mehta. The Doctor shifted to Amritsar with his wife, from Mumbai, for earning, in 1990. Ancestors of Manekshaw belonged to Valsad.
The fifth of six children, Sam had 2 sisters and 3 brothers. Sam acquired his school education at Sherwood College, Nainital. Sam was initially given the name Cyrus. But later, his aunt changed it with a reason that she had heard of a Parsi named Cyrus being sentenced to jail and did not want her nephew to have that name. She was concerned about his luck in identity. Sam Manekshaw married to Siloo Bode in 1939, and had two daughters, Sherry and Maja.
Sam Manekshaw with his wife Siloo Bode Photo SourceSam Manekshaw with Wife Siloo and Daughters Sherry and Maja Photo Source
3: Sam Wanted to Become A Gynecologist
Manekshaw completed his education at the age of 15 from Nainital’s Sherwood College with distinction. As a brilliant student, he wanted to go to London to pursue medicine. He eagerly wished to become a gynecologist like his father.
But he was destined to be our military savior…! Dr. Hormusji refused Sam’s demand, saying that he is too young. He promised to send him to England when he is of age 18. Annoyed by this, young Sam didn’t talked to his father for 18 months. As a gesture of rebellion, Sam appeared for the Indian Military Academy (IMA) entrance examination in Delhi. He got through, and joined in as a gentleman cadet.
On October 1, 1932, Sam Manekshaw became a part of the first batch of 40 cadets to be selected for the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. This was the start of journey of a shy, young fellow into a legendary commander…! Later, he went on to study at Staff College, Quetta and to the Imperial Defence College in the United Kingdom.
After being commissioned, Sam was send to the Royal Scots, under a rule that an Indian cadet has to serve in British Indian Army for some time. He was called as “Mr. Mackintosh” there, as the Scots were unable to pronounce “Manekshaw”.
Around a decade later, due to outbreak of World War II in 1942, Japanese forces attacked Burma – a British colony of that time. Sam Manekshaw was in action in the battle of Sittang river bridge and served as a Captain.
During a counter-attack, he was hit nine times in stomach by Japanese soldier with machine-gun fire. His internal vital organs got perforated. But the young Sam didn’t gave up and showed endurance in combat. Witnessing his unbound valor in resistance, Maj. General David Cowan, rushed over to him immediately. Being scared that Manekshaw would die, the General clipped his own Military Cross ribbon on him saying,
“A dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross”.
Sam Manekshaw with 4-12 FFR in the NWFP Photo Source
5: Humor on Death Bed
After this serious injury in Sittang river war, Manekshaw was evacuated from battlefield by Captain Diwan and was taken to an Australian surgeon in charge, at Rangoon military hospital. The surgeon initially declined to treat Manekshaw, saying that his chances of survival were very low, due to his grievous stomach wounds.
But Captain forced surgeon to treat him. Meanwhile, Manekshaw regained consciousness. The surgeon asked, what had happened to him. Sam replied,
“Nothing happened, a bloody mule kicked me.”
Impressed by Manekshaw’s wit, the surgeon remarked,
“You have a sense of humor…! I think you are worth saving.”
The surgeon treated him, removing bullets from lungs, liver, intestines and kidneys. Much of his intestines were also removed. Sam indeed, miraculously survived and went on to become the 8th Chief of Staff of the Indian Army in times ahead…!
During British Reign, only British officers used to lead the Gurkhas. But after independence, in 1947, somebody has to take the place..! So Sam Manekshaw was appointed as the first Indian Officer to head the Gurkha Regiment.
Once Sir Manekshaw met a Gurkha sentry. He looked at him and asked him, “Tera naam key chhe..?” He said, “Harkha Bahadur Gurung….!” Sam again asked him, “Mera naam key chhe….?” The Gurkha thought and thought over and finally replied, “Sam Bahadur….!”. And this is how the name was stuck in heart of this hero and gifted to the world. It eventually became his nickname.
Sam Manekshaw and Gurkha had high regards for each other. Much awed by fighting spirit and courage of Gurkhas, Manekshaw once quoted about their fearlessness,
“Anyone who says he’s not frightened is a liar, except perhaps a Gurkha..!”
This was in Burma, in 1942, I was commanding a Sikh company. Big tough chaps, very fond of them…! I had a man called Sohansingh. Big man, stood about 6 feet 4. He had been promoted many times, to lansnayak, nayak, every time because he was a ‘badmash’ and he was broken.
We had lots of causalities and we had to make promotions. So we had a promotion conference with the commanding officer. And Sohansingh’s name came up and I said no…! No use of making him. He’ll be broken tomorrow. So he was passed over.
The conference finished, names were published. I came to my basha where my company was in jungle and I found, my senior Subedar Balwantsingh terribly worried and he said “Saa’ab, Sohansingh ko qaid kar diya…!” Maine pucha, “Kyu, kya hua…?” Usne kaha, “Sa’ab aj apko goli marega…” I said, “Ohh achcha. Peshi ho…!”
So table was put there and Sohansingh was marched there in front of me. Sohansingh was at that time a light machine gunner. And light machine gunners carry pistols. His pistol was taken away from him. So he was marched in front of me.
The usual charge was read out. And I said, “Sohansingh kya baat hein….?” “Sa’ab galti ho gaya…!” I said, “Tumne bola ki tum humko goli marega….?”
I picked up the pistol loaded it, walked up to him, handed the pistol to him and said, “Tera dil he marne ka….,? Maaro….!” And he said, “Nai sa’ab, galti ho gaya….!” And I gave him a tight slap and said, “Case dismissed – Jao bhaago….!”
I went off to the mess, had my dinner, came back, and everybody in the company was very worried. And subedar saab Balwantsingh said, “Nai saab, aj rat wo apko goli marega…”
So I shout out, “Sohansingh kidhar he…?” Sohansingh came and I said, “Sohansingh aj raat mere basha me tum sentry hoga. Aur kal subah panch baje ek mugga cha aur ek mugga pani banane k liye…! Koi shaq…? Beshaq…! Bhaago…!”
And I went in there. I was woken up by Sohansingh in the morning with a mug of tea and a mug of hot water. And he followed me like a lamb through out the conference…!
Now ladies and gentleman if you think I was not frightened, you are mistaken…! I was terrified…! But if I hadn’t done that and put Sohansingh in clinch, everybody will have said, “Dekha, humara saab dartaa hein…!” So physical courage is essential in life.
In 1970, when General Yahya Khan put all the pressure on east Pakistan and it was then. And the refugees started to coming to India, there was a cabinet meeting. I remember the date very well. 28th of April. I was summoned.
I had a very strong prime minister Mrs Gandhi, who ranted and raved at me, “What are you doing about it…? I’ve got so many refugees. The Chief Minister of Bengal has just sent me a telegram, the Chief Minister of Tripura has done this, the Chief Minister of Assam is writing. That there are more Bengali there then their own population. What are you doing about it…?”
And I said, “Nothing. It has nothing to do with me.” She said, “I want you to go in and take actions.” I said, “Do u know what does that mean Prime Minister…?” She said, “No.” I said, “It means war….!” She said, “I don’t mind if there’s war…!”
I said, “May I please quote from the bible, the first book, first chapter, first verse. God said let there be light and there was light and you said let there be war and there be war…? Are you ready? I am certainly not..! I am not prepared. It is not the right time to go in. The monsoon will break very shortly. And whole of the East Pakistan will be swamp….! I will not be able to operate. Their force will not be able to operate. April is the month when we yield harvest…!”
And the Agriculture Minister was Faqruddin Ali Ahmed and I said to him, “I require every railway wagon. I will require every train. I will require all the road space to move my troops. And you’ll not be able to move your harvest. And then, if there’s a famine, don’t blame me…!”
And I said, “Passes in the Himalayas starts opening now. The snow melts. And if the Chinese give us ultimatums, I’ve to fight on two fronts.” Then the External Affairs Minister, a Khalsa, Sardar Swarna Singh said, “Do you think China will give ultimatum…? And I said, “You are the Foreign Minister, you tell me…!”
And my own Minister, Jagjeevan Ram, who couldn’t call me ‘Sam’, he called me ‘Sham’. He said, “Sham maan jaao na..!” I said, “Ye koi manne ki baat he…? I’m telling you what the facts are…!” And I said, “If you want me to do this Prime Minister, I guarantee you 100 percent defeat. Now Prime Minister, give me your orders…!”
There was a dead silence. She turned around and said cabinet will meet around 4 o’clock. This happened at 10.30 in the morning. So as the cabinet ministers walked out, I being the junior most man then, was the last to go. She said me to stay behind.
She shut the door. I said, “Prime Minister, before you speak, do you wish me to send in my resignation on grounds of health, mental or physical…?”
She said, “Oh, sit down…! Everything you told me is correct..?” I said, “Its my job to fight, its my job to tell you…! If your father in 1962 had me as his commander in chief, the country would not have been disgraced. The army would not have been beaten. But the Army Chief did not have the moral courage turning round and telling him he wasn’t ready…!”
She said, “Alright, you know what I want.” I said, “Yes, I know what you want. And I must be allowed to do my own way.” And she said, “Alright…!”
Sam Manekshaw with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi Photo Source
9: Sam Manekshaw Always Stood Up on His Ground, Undaunted by Political Pressures
From fighting off government’s several anti military policies to frequent moral-duty-based clashes with the incompetent ministers, Manekshaw’s sword-sharp wit saved him with unbearable crisis. Though it landed into trouble sometimes, everybody knew Sam was a true nationalist and thus was supported always.
Incident – 1
In 1957, General K. S. Thimayya was the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), and Krishna Menon the Defence Minister of India. Once during a visit to Manekshaw’s division, Menon asked him what he thought of his chief, Thimayya.
Manekshaw refused to be disloyal to his chief and stood up to Menon. As an act of following his army discipline, Sam Manekshaw gave spontaneous – transparent response, in his usual breezy way :
“Mr. Minister, I am not allowed to think about him. He is my Chief. Tomorrow, you will be asking my (subordinate) brigadiers and colonels what the think of me. It’s the surest way to ruin the discipline of the army. Don’t do it in future.”
Mr. Menon disliked this. Being foul and vengeful, he did everything possible to fix Sam Manekshaw and get him out of the Army. Court of inquiry was held against him with false allegations and his promotion was kept on hold for 18 months. But the invasion of China turned round the fortunes in favor of Manekshaw and the Defence Minister was sacked by the ruling government….!
Incident – 2
There was also a incident were Manekshaw refuses to carry out Mr. Menon’s orders to use soldiers as laborers for constructing deficit accommodation. He insisted that soldiers under his command would only train to fight the enemy and not be used as cheap labor…!
Thus, no one ever doubted that he would uphold the oath he had taken while joining the Army. Sam Manekshaw was a man unshakable by political pressures. He once inferred,
“I wonder whether those of our political masters who have been put in charge of the defence of the country can distinguish a mortar from a motor; a gun from a howitzer; a guerrilla from a gorilla, although a great many resemble the latter.”
The defence minister Jagjivan Ram congratulated the chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy and the Air Force on the outstanding performance of the armed forces on december 17, 1971. (From right) Jagjivan Ram, SHFJ Manekshaw, chief of naval staff Admiral SM Nanda and chief of the Air Force staff Air Chief Marshal P C Lal Photo Source
10: Inapt Final Farewell by Nation to the Great Soldier of History
The last journey of the first Field Marshal of India was not as per the level of national dignity this real hero was merited for. Sam Manekshaw deserved respectful final adieu, with full state honors, unlike any other honorary General. In fact even more..! And every bit of this was missing in his funeral rites…!
No military bands, no gun salute, no march for dead soul were performed for this five star rank holder..! No national mourning was declared. In fact, when he was buried, none of the Chiefs of three Defence Services of nation attended the funeral to pay their last homage. Neither did the then Prime Minister nor the then Defence Minister…! Even the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces was not present to bid this Legend with his final farewell…!
The mortal remains of Sam Manekshaw lays in the Parsi cemetery in Ootacamund (Ooty), Tamil Nadu, adjacent to his wife’s grave.
11: Sir Sam Manekshaw Quotes on Qualities of a Leader
(In His Own Words)
On Leaders
“I do not know whether leaders are born or leaders are made. There is a school of which that says leaders are born. We have a population with seven hundred and eighty million people and we procreate at the rate of one Australia every year. And yet there is a shortage of leadership..! So if those of you who think that leaders are born and contribute to that theory, may I suggest you throw away all blank parent hoods and really let yourselves gone. If leaders are not born, can leaders be made? It is my view that, give me a man with reasonable common sense and decency; I can make a leader out of him…!”
On Professional Knowledge and Professional Competence
“What are the attributes of leadership? There are many attributes..! The cardinal attribute for leadership is professional knowledge and professional competence. Now you will agree with me that you cannot be born with professional knowledge. Even if you are a child of minister, the son of a member of Member of Parliament or a progeny of Field Marshal.”
“Professional knowledge has to be acquired a hard way. It is a constant study. Professors, engineers, architects, lawyers, solicitors, doctors, they all study their profession continuously. They all contribute to magazines, the newsprint to all sorts of things. But we in India, as soon as we reach positions of power whether its ministerial, secretarial, armed forces or anywhere else, we think we are the repository of all knowledge. Without professional knowledge you can never have professional competence. And you haven’t got a professional competence, you cannot be a leader.”
“Ladies and gentleman, professional knowledge is the sine qua non of leadership. You have to have professional competence if you are expected to lead anything. It doesn’t matter whether you are in an army, whether you are in a teaching profession, whether you are in an industry, unless you have professional competence and professional knowledge, you cannot be a leader. And it has to be acquired the hard way. You got to study all your life.”
“What takes up me to the next attribute? The ability to make up your mind and take decision. And having taken that decision, accepting full responsibility for it.”
“Those of us who have suffered at the hands of the superiors, cannot take a decision. Nobody likes. An act of omission is much worse than an act of commission. An act of commission can be put right even if the decision is wrong; by colleagues, by subordinates, by somebody…! An act of omission can be put right.”
“Why does a person not take decision? Because the person lacks confidence. Why does he lack confidence? Because he lacks professional knowledge and competence.”
“If you must be a bloody fool be one quickly. Take a decision and then accept full responsibility for it. So that’s the second requisite for leadership. The ability to makeup one’s mind, take a decision and then stand by it. Don’t pass the back on to your subordinate. It’s your decision.”
On Absolute Justice and Impartiality
“What comes next? Absolute justice and impartiality. Those of us who have dealt with masses of man and I’ve dealt with over a million of men in my time knew the value of this – absolute justice and impartiality.”
“No man likes being punished. And yet man will accept the punishment if they know that everybody who commits that sort of a crime gets the same sort of punishment. They will take it stoically. They may not like it. They may not like you. But they will respect you. No man likes being superseded. And yet people will accept super-session if they knew that is been done fairly and they are being superseded by somebody who is better than them.”
Sam Manekshaw with the 67th Infantry Brigade Photo Source
On Moral and Physical Courage
“Now ladies and gentleman, this is very very important in our country. We have tremendous pressures, we have large families, we have father, mother, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, their fathers and mothers etc. We have pressures from them, we have pressures from member of parliament. We have pressures from all sorts of people. And we lack courage to withstand that pressure. This is very important for us in India. And that takes me to the next attribute. Moral and physical courage. ”
“I do not know which is more important. When I am talking to lot of soldiers, I lay emphasis on physical courage. But since I am talking to only handful of soldiers and mostly civilians, I may lay emphasis on moral courage. What is moral courage? Moral courage is the ability to distinguish right from wrong. And having distinguished that you must have courage to stand up and say your piece, irrespective of what your superior thinks, irrespective of your colleagues, irrespective of your subordinates.”
“You must have the courage to say so. A “Yes Man” is a horrible man. He must be shunned. He is a disgrace. He may rise very high. He may become a minister. He may become a field marshal. But he will never never become a leader. He will be used by his superiors, he will be disliked by his colleagues, and his subordinates have no respect for him. Moral courage is essential.”
“Now I come for physical courage. Fear is a natural phenomenon like hunger and sex. Anyone who says he’s not frightened is a liar except perhaps a Gurkha. Everyone is frightened. It is one thing to be frightened and quite another to show fear. Its when your knees are knocking and your teeth are chattering, and you are about to make your own geography, that’s when the real leader comes out. If once you show fear, in front of the men that you may be commanding, it doesn’t matter whether they are soldiers they are clerks, they are labors they are students, once you show fear, you should quit.”
On Loyalty
“That takes me to other attribute-loyalty. Now just loyalty require very much explanation. We all expect loyalty from our subordinates. Do we give loyalty to them? Loyalty is a two way thing. We expect loyalty we have to give loyalty. Do we give loyalty to our colleagues? So remember for leadership, you expect loyalty you got to give loyalty.”
“Remember leadership is nothing but management of man and resources. Man have problems, man in numbers can be very nasty and a leader must be able to deal with them very firmly. When people misbehave, it’s no use saying ‘Jay Hind’ to them. Deal with them very very firmly. But you must never forget, that man have problems, they have human problems. They have problem of death, of debt. They have family problems. They are easily despondent and therefore, the leader must have a human touch. He must have a sense of humor to get them out of their despondency. He must have the ‘gift of the gab’. Unfortunately our leaders have gift of the gab but they don’t have sense of humor.”
On Discipline and Character
“Ladies and gentleman no amount of leadership will put things right. There are two others aspect that we Indians must know and we lack badly. One is discipline and the second is character.”
“What is discipline? Discipline is a code of conduct for decent living in the society one with the other. Who lays down this code of conduct? Not the Prime Minister, not the parliament. Of course its laid down in the army act. But I am not trying to impose the army act on you. This code of conduct has come to us from father to son, from mother to daughter, from times immemorial…! Its in the Bible, its in the Gita, its in the words of Nanak, in the sayings of Mohammed and Buddha. Its all come down. Its been refined as cultures have changed.”
“Non punctuality is an act of ill-discipline. Which is injurious to state injurious to its people. I thank my lucky stars that 50 years in the army had made me come on the time. There I had been bought up to shave in the morning and shave in the evening if there’s a function.”
“Your act of ill discipline produce more ill discipline. Now this is not the matter to be laughed at and forgotten. We people in India are terribly ill disciplined. We think because we have got freedom, then we can do what we like. I do not stop you from criticizing. To standing up for your rights, I think its your duty to do it…!”
“Why do we have to spit pan all over? Why do we have to write on doors and things? Why do we have to keep staircases dirty and filthy? Why do we have to throw garbage in somebody else’s compound. These are all acts of ill discipline….! It is because of this acts of ill discipline, that you have corruption, you have smuggling, you have all sorts of things. Even animals in Tanzania are better discipline. Why? Why do we tolerate it so much for discipline…?”
“By character I don’t mean the sort of thing the ‘Father’ teach you. Of course you must be honest. Of course you must be truthful. All that is part of character. But I mean something bigger. It’s knowing yourself…! Knowing what you really are…! Unfortunately we lack that sort of character. And what little we have is denuded by our fans, by the sycophant around us, by the hangers on….!”
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The bravest of men, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw’s heroism, patriotism and leadership skills has grounded high mile stones for us to achieve; and to follow for the generations yet to come….!
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Love & Light
Krishna
When asked about his greatest achievement in army, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw said,
” From Rank of Second Lieutenant to Field Marshal, I Have Never Punished a Man..!”
Krishna Dharajiya 
