ANNIVERSARY ISSUE AGELESS ICONS BHASKAR PAUL Rule changers. Ground breakers. The nation has BIO Born in Amritsar, grown up with them. They have changed the Punjab, in 1914 contours of their arena, as much as they have First Field Marshal of India altered the way we live, think, dream, buy, Led India to vic- toryin 1971 war even amuse ourselves. They are our national Now lives alone treasures who have created records meant to be in Kunnoor with his favourite broken and standards meant to be equalled. Gorkha retainer If a man says he is not afraid“ of Legends “dying, he is either lying, or he is a Gorkha. March 15, 1986 J.J. Singh on S.H.F.J. MANEKSHAW An Officer and a Gentleman first heard about the Field Marshal After being commissioned in the army, as a schoolboy in Jammu where he I served under the Field Marshal when Iwas commanding the Tiger Division. he was the commander of the Eastern He had a handsome and flamboyant Army. At that time, I was with my bat- Featured in the personality with a rare and distin- talion in Nagaland. It was during this Aug 21, 2000 issue guished charisma. He endeared him- tenure that I imbibed the counter- Indira Gandhi was in the chair with senior cabi- victory and liberate Bangladesh. His stoic insis- self to everyone, from a sepoy to a insurgency philosophy outlined by Sam net ministers. The then chief of army staff was tence on buying time to prepare the army general, with his humility and humane which was based on a humane ap- an invitee. Mrs Gandhi was furious about the resulted in the historic win and surrender of Did you outlook on life. proach and was aimed at winning the continuous and frantic reports of refugees pour- 93,000 Pakistani troops, a record in the annals Know General Manekshaw would often go hearts and minds of the Nagas. The ing into the border states of West Bengal, Assam of military history. It is also his greatest contri- ? for a walk in the evening towards the success of his combat philosophy was and Tripura, and wanted immediate intervening bution to the nation and the armed forces. He has a keen officers’ transit camp in Jammu. On evident when we conducted an opera- military action. Rather than toeing her line as Sam can disarm the most hostile crowd with interest in one such visit, he came across a young tion to trap an infiltrating insurgent most would have done in his place, the chief had a smile, forthright style and wit. He was and re- gardening and officer returning from leave and strug- group led by the self-styled Naga gen- the presence of mind and, most importantly, the mains a soldier’s general, who can identify with gling with his luggage. On finding him eral Mowu Angami. Intelligence moral courage to reply, “Prime minister, that the rank and file of the organisation. He is also has tried his in a spot, Sam Bahadur, as he was poured in from local people at all stages would mean going to war, and we are not ready a great communicator and can hold the atten- hand at cooking. lovingly called, then in his civvies, of the operation thanks to our people- at the moment.” tion of any group. It is said that old soldiers never promptly helped the officer carry his friendly approach. The operation was a Thereafter, he listed the advantages of going die, they just fade away. I am sure Sam won’t. bags to the transit camp. The guards on major success and left an indelible im- to war at a later date and was able to convince He will continue to charm us with that twinkle duty smartly saluted their general offi- pression on my mind. To an extent, the the prime minister. That was Sam. After the set- in his eye, rekindling hope. Ninety years young, 1942 cer. A bit surprised, the young officer central theme of my counter-terrorist backs suffered in 1962 on the Sino-Indian bor- he will remain the epitome of an officer and a the year he was guardedly enquired of him, “Thank operations is inspired by this approach. der and the successes of the 1965 conflict with gentleman, carrying the spirit of soldiering from awarded the you, sir. Who are you?” Sam replied, In early 1971, a cabinet meeting Pakistan, the Indian Army rallied under Sam to the past, reliving it in the present and preserv- Military Cross LIVING “Oh, I help soldiers like I just did, and in was in progress after the crackdown in give the nation its finest hour. He masterminded ing it for the future. my spare time I command the division.” Bangladesh by the Pakistani forces. a brilliant, 14-day military campaign to achieve (The writer is the chief of army staff.) DECEMBER 26, 2005 ◆ INDIA TODAY 13 ANNIVERSARY ISSUE AGELESS ICONS Prabhu Chawla on ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE BIO Born in Gwalior Leader with a Difference in 1924 Became prime e may be the patriarch of the Saffron her mind. How can we run a government minister of India Parivar, but his politics has never been like this? It has to be changed.)” The crowd twice (1996; Hmonochromatic. His public life spanning echoed his call for change: “Agli Bari Atal 1998–2004 ) 65 years has been a narrative of compromise Bihari. (Next time it will be Atal Bihari).” He Addressed the and confrontation, of compassion and high con- was 43 then and “agli bari” would be almost UN General cepts, in which ideology has coexisted in perfect three decades later. Assembly harmony with pragmatism. He may have been the longest serving in Hindi as I remember my first look at the man who prime minister in waiting. But power for him foreign minister would one day embody the historic right turn in was not an end in itself. For the man who had set the tone of dissent in mainstream Indian politics, power never meant the end of the struggle; rather, power Main sapnon ka was a moral responsibility, a saudagar“ nahin covenant with history. There hoon. Mere were others from the “ Opposition who made it be- paanv zamin fore him—Charan Singh, par hain. Morarji Desai, Chandra January Shekhar and V.P. Singh. They 12, 2004 were accidents rather than inevitabilities. He was the al- ternative with ideas—and an ideology whose time had not passed. He was the first prime minister of genuine non-Congressism who would complete his term, and while in office, he was the most pop- ular politician of India, larger than his party, which could never catch up with him even as it turned him into a des- Cover story, perate slogan. March 31, 1994 As prime minister, he was a ruler of grand gestures and minimum words, a passive Did you revolutionary whose pauses Know were as telling as his political ? epigrams. The most indulged He was called human face of Hindutva was “Voyagepayee” the highest guru of a new during his stint BANDEEP SINGH coalition dharma and he set as minister of Indian politics. It was 1967, and he was ad- the stage for the young in the party. He reached dressing a Lok Sabha election rally in east Delhi. out to the world without the baggage of Third external affairs. Indira Gandhi was just a year old in office, her Worldism, and he gave connectivity an eco- goongi gudiya days. Vajpayee, known for his po- nomic as well as political relevance. He gave etic flourish, in a 40-minute speech, didn’t at- maximum functional autonomy to his minis- tack her personally even once, but didn’t spare ters, and if there was a visible weakness, it was 30 her politically either: “Hamari pradhan mantri his passion for consensus. The party with a dif- the number of ki hasti hai hi nahin. Satta unke haath mein ference may have lost its sheen, but the grand foreign trips he nahin, balki unko bolne ka adhikar hi nahin. old man of Indian politics hasn’t lost his singu- made as PM Kaise chalega desh? Yeh sab badalna hoga. (Our lar relevance as the leader with a difference. prime minister has no authority. She can’t speak (The writer is editor, INDIA TODAY.) 14 INDIA TODAY ◆ DECEMBER 26, 2005 NEW ANNIVERSARY ISSUE AGELESS ICONS Alka Yagnik on LATA MANGESHKAR BIO Born in Indore Sweet Bird of Youth in 1929 Jawaharlal Nehru BHASKAR PAUL 10 years ago, had tears in his though I have eyes when he never had a heard Ae mere chance to sing with watan ke logon her. I would proba- She had a dispute bly start to tremble with Raj Kapoor if I had to do so. over royalty Every time she payments meets me she says that she listens to my songs and en- courages me. For me it is like touch- I like Bing ing the sky. As for Crosby“ and trying to take over her turf, she had “Pat Boone. The herself reduced Beatles sing her working hours when I came in. very tunefully. Someone had to February take her place; I 1, 1979 feel blessed. I think with age she wants to do her own kind of songs and work with a few, special people. At her age and with her stature she can afford to do so. From among her recent songs, I love Tere liye from Cover story, Veer-Zaara. February1, 1981 have been a fan of Lata Mangeshkar for as So far Lataji has only said good things about long as I can remember.