Say it again, Sam

Real life hero Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw MC and ‘reel’ life hero Amitabh Bachchan were both in the news recently—both were admitted to hospital around the same time. But the media—indeed, the country—gave up on Sam after a few days of passing column inches. In this interview, Sam relives his days at the helm of the
country’s armed forces and his ‘encounters’ with the powers that were.

His subordinates feared and respected Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw—’Sam’, for short—for his truculence, his bluntness, his soldierly humaneness, and his out-of-the-box tactical brilliance. Legend has it that, angered by the looting and pillage during the initial stages of the 1971 Bangladesh war, at Sam’s behest, the Indian vanguard that strode into Pakistan on the Western border was ordered to plant billboards with the exhortation, “Put your hands in your pockets and think of Sam!” It worked: Not a single soldier was reported booked for unbecoming.behaviour.

In this interview to Jahan Manekshaw, his grandson, the subcontinental icon details his experiences during the Bangladesh war, his achievements and his relations with the then political leaders. The interview was part of a documentary ‘War and Peace—The Life of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw MC, that was screened during a function organised by the Parzor Foundation to celebrate the achievements of the first Indian armyman to be made field marshal. Excerpts:

Tell me about the beginning of the Bangladesh war.
Pakistan had really cracked down in a big way. What could the Bengalis do against the Pathans and the Punjabi Musalmans?

Mrs Gandhi was in an awful temper and read out messages from chief ministers of West Bengal, Assam, Tripura about the refugee problem. She looked at me and asked me what was I doing about it. I said, “Nothing. What does it have to do with me?” She said, “I want you to do something about it. I want you to march into Pakistan.” “I do not mind if it is a war,” I said, “In the Bible, God says let there be light and there was light; and you are saying let there be war and there will be war. Are you ready? I am certainly not.” This was about the 23rd of April.
I told her that the monsoons would be breaking in a few days’ time—and when it rains here, it pours there. My movements will be confined and the Air Force will not be able to support us. If I go (to) war, I guarantee you defeat.

She announced that the Cabinet would meet at 4 o’clock in the evening. She asked me to stay behind. I said, “Prime Minister, before you open your mouth, shall I send my resignation on grounds of health, mental or physical? My job is to fight and win. Now, tell me what to do,” She smiled at me and said, “All right, Sam, do let me know when you are ready.”

What went wrong with the Shimla agreement?
There was a lot of turmoil. I said, “Give me six months’ time. I promise you everything will be settled down. Everything will be peaceful,” Mr Gandhi said, “Okay.”

I went to Pakistan after two months of the conflict and I was given a first-class welcome. The governor invited me for lunch and said, “Will you do me a favour? My staff is outside. They want to shake hands with you.” I went out and they were all lined up. One of them put (his) pagari on my feet. I picked it up and asked, “Why did you do this?” He said, “Sir, we are saved because of you. Five of my sons are your prisoners. In their letter, they say that you gave them the Quran Sharif. They sleep in barracks while your troops sleep on the ground. You shake hands with everyone and taste food in the langar. Now we will never believe that Hindus are bad.”

But because of this I got into the trouble back home. Bureaucrats and ministers complained that the Chief keeps them as if they are his jawans. In the Cabinet meeting, I looked at Mrs Gandhi and said, “Prime Minister, they were soldiers, they fought extremely well, they lost it. I am looking after soldiers now .”

Sam, what was your greatest achievement in the Indian Army?
Achievement—from the rank of second-lieutenant to Field Marshal, I have never punished a man. When I was the judge, if the court martial proceedings came to me and if it said “not guilty”, I would sign; and if it said “guilty and punished”, I would take the file home. I would look at it and I would say, “Witness member here lied,” and pass it as “not guilty”. I would say to them, “You damn chaps sit in Delhi with your wives and children and lovely homes and forget about these chaps, what are they going through...”

How was your relationship with Mrs Gandhi?
One evening at four o'clock in my office, I was having my tea. Mrs Gandhi rang up. She was in Parliament. She asked me if I was busy. I said, “(The) Field Marshal is always busy but never too busy to talk to his Prime Minister.” She said, “Can you come over?” I said, “I am having my tea.” She said, “Oh! I will give you tea.” She insisted that I come over. She was sitting in her office. I walked in in my breezy way and said, “Hello, Prime Minister, you seemed worried. What's wrong?” She said, “I have got a problem.” I said, “Cry on my shoulder.” She looked at me, and shaking her face said, “You are my problem.” I said, “What have I done?” She said, “Everyone says you are going to take over from me, and what do you think about it?” I said, “I want to tell you I have no intention—even in thought—of getting involved in politics.”

Tell us about Morarji Desai.
When I became Army Chief, Morarjibhai was finance minister in Mrs Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet. Mrs Gandhi lost the elections and he became Prime Minister. One day, he said, “I believe you drink.” I said, “Yes, I do.” He said, “You mustn't drink, it’s bad for you.” I said, “When I come to the Prime Minister, he says you mustn't drink. I go to a party and my wife says, you mustn't talk to pretty girls. He said, “Your wife is quite right. Some girl might ruin you.” I said, “They haven't ruined me so far.”

Why did your father come to Amritsar?
My father was a doctor. His ancestral home was in Balsar. He became a doctor in Bombay at a very young age. Then, he met my mother and they got married, but he couldn't earn a living in Bombay. So, people said, “Doctor, go to Punjab.” This was in 1899-1900. Those people in Bombay didn't know where Punjab was.

Are you from a very religious family?
We were taught our prayers. In fact, I say the same prayers now that I used to what my mother taught me when I was a little chap, every night in bed before going to sleep. We had a wonderful childhood. We were five and our eldest brother was in Bombay and our father sent all of us to boarding school. My elder brother and I went to Sherwood, my two sisters went to a convent. Sherwood has produced two excellent people. One is a Field Marshal and the other AmitabhBachchan. But Amitabh came much after me.

When you watched your father working as a doctor, did it give you ideas what you wanted to do with your life?
I wanted to become a doctor myself. My father had promised to send me to England for studying medicine. He had sent my two elder brothers to England and he promised to send me also if I did well in my Senior Cambridge. I did extremely well. I passed out top from the school and got distinctions in eight subjects. My father said, “I will keep my promise. But now you are only 15, so join college here and when you are 18, I will send you.”
I was very angry with my father, and was so stupid (that) I didn't talk to (him) for 18 months. Later, I learnt about some army examination. I got money from my mama to go to Delhi, sat for the exams, and got through.

What was your relationship with Sardar Patel like?
Sardar Patel was the home minister and I had a good relationship with him. Every morning, VP Menon and I went to his place and he would be sitting there with his daughter, who would be taking notes. When killings were taking place in Calcutta, the British commander came to me and said, “Hey, you, Sardar wants you in Calcutta.” Sardar was with the Chief Minister, B C Roy. When I went there, he said, “I don't want any agreement, I am going to ask you a question. If I hand over the situation to the army, how many Bengalis will you kill? And how long will you take?” I said, “About a 100 and (I) will take about a month.” He turned around and said, “Thousands are being killed and you are saying just 100. Go and kill them, take over.” He deployed troops all over Calcutta. We didn't have to kill anyone and the situation became much calmer. He then called me and said in Gujarati, “You didn't tell the truth. You said you would kill a 100 Bengalis. You didn't even kill one. Well done.”

When did you join the Gorkhas?
In the Indian Army, there were 10 Gorkha regiments. When India got independence, certain troops went to Pakistan, certain regiments went to Her Majesty, and certain regiments were left with India. It was a treaty between the king of Nepal and the British government that all Gorkha regiments would have British officers. So, when the British officers left, I was the first Indian to be posted to a Gorkha regiment. This was in 1947.