Sam Manekshaw: A Brave Heart
Sam Manekshaw, a witty and high spirited boy born in a humble Parsi family in Amritsar, Punjab in 1914. He wanted to pursue medicine just like his father but when the latter refused to send him to London for further education, he sat in the entrance exam of Indian Military Academy, helding for the first time. Eventually he became one of the fifteen cadets to be selected, with sixth place in order of merit. Initially he was posted to 2nd Battalion, Royal Scotts, stationed at Lahore and then to 4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment, stationed in Burma. There he fought fiercely against the invading Imperial Japanese Army and got injured severely while leading his company in counter attack. Seeing him in such a life threatening situation, Major Gen. David Gowan, commander of 17th Infantry Division, pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on him saying, “A dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross”, for his remarkable valor in the war field. Although he was clinging for his life, still he was humourous while replying to the surgeon who asked what had happened to him, that “he was kicked by a mule”.
During the 1947 partition, he was reassigned to 8th Gorkha Rifles and by the end of year seeing his skills and capabilities he was posted as commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, 5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force). He also accompanied VP Mennon to Srinagar, for signing of Instrument of Accession. After the humiliating defeat of Indian Army in the 1964 war, Nehru asked Manekshaw to take over the command of IV Corps. And his first order was, “There will be no withdrawal without orders - and these orders shall never be issued”. The Chinese never got an inch after that.
He played a prominent role as Chief of Army Staff during the Indo-Pak War, 1971. His strategic and operational finesse was evident when Indian pincers cut through Pakistani forces like hot knives through butter. Pak Army was checkmated in 14 days flat. This was the greatest military victory for India and annually celebrated as “Vijay Diwas''. He became the first Indian Army officer to be conferred with the title of Field Marshal on January 3, 1973.
At the age of 94 Manekshaw died of complications from pneumonia at the Military Hospital in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, on 27 June 2008.One can learn alot from the 94 years of brilliance, selfless service and joie de vivre that Sam Bahadur vividly portrayed.
Regiment Number: RJ18SWA400651
Name: Cadet Akanksha Gehlot
ANO: Lt. Garima Chouhan
Institute: Jodhpur Institute of Engineering and Technology
Unit: 3 Raj Girls BN, NCC Jodhpur, Rajasthan
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