(June 27, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, whose military victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war led the creation of Bangladesh, died in the Military Hospital in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, late tonight. He was 94.
The Padma Vibhushan and Military Cross awardee, who was admitted to the hospital for some time for “progressive lung disease”, had slipped into a coma earlier in the day and the end came just after midnight at 12.30 am, the defence ministry said in a statement.
Manekshaw had developed “acute bronchopneumonia with associated complications” and was placed under intensive care four days ago after his condition became serious.
In a condolence message to the bereaved family, defence minister A.K. Antony said “his demise has left behind a void that will be really hard to fill... The nation has lost a great soldier, a patriot and a nobel son”.
He said: “I am deeply grieved to learn of his demise. Manekshaw’s nearly four-decade-long career with the Army saw him hold several important positions and he was also one of the most decorated officers”. He also lauded the General’s “rare knack of motivating the jawans” and being “a man of ideas and action by leading from the front in the 1971 war”.
Manekshaw was one of the 40 cadets of the first batch that passed out from the IMA in Dehra Dun and earned the sobriquet “Sam Bahadur” from soldiers of the 8th Gorkha Rifles of which he was Colonel of the Regiment.
Manekshaw, a soldiers’ General : A soldier’s General, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw crafted India’s greatest military victory in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war that created just not history but also a new nation.
Affectionately called “Sam Bahadur”, Manekshaw (94) was the architect of many a military triumph but his finest hour came when Pakistani forces were vanquished in 14 days flat.
And Bangladesh was born.
Handsome, witty and sporting his trademark handlebar moustache, Manekshaw had the rare distinction of being honoured for his bravery - Military Cross - right on the battle front itself during the Second World War. He was also the first Indian officer to command the Gorkhas after India got Independence.
Manekshaw, who got a second life after the young Captain survived near fatal wounds during the Second World War in Burma, is the first of only two Indian military officers to hold the highest rank of Field Marshal of the Indian Army (The other being Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa).
His distinguished military career spanned four decades from the British era and through five wars, including the Second World War.
Flamboyant by nature, Manekshaw always had his way with people, including his seniors and even the country’s head of government.
Just before the Bangladesh operations in December 1971, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked Manekshaw, who was the Army Chief then, “General are you ready” (for the war).
Pat came the reply from the dapper officer, “I am always ready sweetie.” Gandhi was not unpleased, nor offended.
On another occasion, Gandhi asked him whether he was planning to take over the country. Pointing to his long nose, the General replied: “I don’t use it to poke into other’s affairs.”
When Gandhi asked him to go to Dhaka and accept the surrender of Pakistani forces, Manekshaw declined, magnanimously saying that honour should go to his Army commander in the East (Lt-Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora).
Manekshaw said he would only go if it were to accept the surrender of the entire Pakistani army.
A shrewd tactician, Manekshaw meticulously planned the Indian attack on Pakistan on both fronts — east and west. While the Indian forces captured the then East Pakistan in the eastern sector, the Army made heavy inroads in the western sector going up to Lahore.
Adopting a mature war strategy, he masterminded the rout of the Pakistan Army in one of the quickest victories in the recent military history to liberate Bangladesh.
Born on April 3, 1914 in Amritsar to Parsi parents who migrated to Punjab from the small town of Valsad on the Gujarat coast, Manekshaw rose to be the Eighth Chief of Staff of the Indian Army in 1969. The year of the General’s birth was around the time when the First World War broke.
During World War II, Manekshaw saw action in the Burma campaign on the Sittang River as a Captain with the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment.
Manekshaw was leading a counter-offensive against the invading Japanese Army in Burma. During the course of the offensive he was hit by a burst of LMG bullets and was severely wounded in the stomach.
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.” But luck was on the young Captain’s side and he survived to be one of India's most popular Army Chiefs.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
The Padma Vibhushan and Military Cross awardee, who was admitted to the hospital for some time for “progressive lung disease”, had slipped into a coma earlier in the day and the end came just after midnight at 12.30 am, the defence ministry said in a statement.
Manekshaw had developed “acute bronchopneumonia with associated complications” and was placed under intensive care four days ago after his condition became serious.
In a condolence message to the bereaved family, defence minister A.K. Antony said “his demise has left behind a void that will be really hard to fill... The nation has lost a great soldier, a patriot and a nobel son”.
He said: “I am deeply grieved to learn of his demise. Manekshaw’s nearly four-decade-long career with the Army saw him hold several important positions and he was also one of the most decorated officers”. He also lauded the General’s “rare knack of motivating the jawans” and being “a man of ideas and action by leading from the front in the 1971 war”.
Manekshaw was one of the 40 cadets of the first batch that passed out from the IMA in Dehra Dun and earned the sobriquet “Sam Bahadur” from soldiers of the 8th Gorkha Rifles of which he was Colonel of the Regiment.
Image:A Soldier's General: General Sam Manekshaw chats with Jawans about their war experiences. Circa Dec 1971.
Manekshaw, a soldiers’ General : A soldier’s General, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw crafted India’s greatest military victory in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war that created just not history but also a new nation.
Affectionately called “Sam Bahadur”, Manekshaw (94) was the architect of many a military triumph but his finest hour came when Pakistani forces were vanquished in 14 days flat.
And Bangladesh was born.
Handsome, witty and sporting his trademark handlebar moustache, Manekshaw had the rare distinction of being honoured for his bravery - Military Cross - right on the battle front itself during the Second World War. He was also the first Indian officer to command the Gorkhas after India got Independence.
Manekshaw, who got a second life after the young Captain survived near fatal wounds during the Second World War in Burma, is the first of only two Indian military officers to hold the highest rank of Field Marshal of the Indian Army (The other being Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa).
His distinguished military career spanned four decades from the British era and through five wars, including the Second World War.
Flamboyant by nature, Manekshaw always had his way with people, including his seniors and even the country’s head of government.
Just before the Bangladesh operations in December 1971, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked Manekshaw, who was the Army Chief then, “General are you ready” (for the war).
Pat came the reply from the dapper officer, “I am always ready sweetie.” Gandhi was not unpleased, nor offended.
On another occasion, Gandhi asked him whether he was planning to take over the country. Pointing to his long nose, the General replied: “I don’t use it to poke into other’s affairs.”
When Gandhi asked him to go to Dhaka and accept the surrender of Pakistani forces, Manekshaw declined, magnanimously saying that honour should go to his Army commander in the East (Lt-Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora).
Manekshaw said he would only go if it were to accept the surrender of the entire Pakistani army.
A shrewd tactician, Manekshaw meticulously planned the Indian attack on Pakistan on both fronts — east and west. While the Indian forces captured the then East Pakistan in the eastern sector, the Army made heavy inroads in the western sector going up to Lahore.
Adopting a mature war strategy, he masterminded the rout of the Pakistan Army in one of the quickest victories in the recent military history to liberate Bangladesh.
Born on April 3, 1914 in Amritsar to Parsi parents who migrated to Punjab from the small town of Valsad on the Gujarat coast, Manekshaw rose to be the Eighth Chief of Staff of the Indian Army in 1969. The year of the General’s birth was around the time when the First World War broke.
During World War II, Manekshaw saw action in the Burma campaign on the Sittang River as a Captain with the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment.
Manekshaw was leading a counter-offensive against the invading Japanese Army in Burma. During the course of the offensive he was hit by a burst of LMG bullets and was severely wounded in the stomach.
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.” But luck was on the young Captain’s side and he survived to be one of India's most popular Army Chiefs.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
