As I have been reading the 1962
operations against China as part of my Military History syallabus for
my promotion exams, I have come across certain intersting information
which the general public lacks. I will try and bring out various
myths that are present in general environment regarding 1962
operations and personalities involved there in. I am drawing my
inputs from various sources, the most prominent being “War In High
Himalaya” by Maj Gen D K Palit, VrC, “India's China War” by
Neville Maxwell and “The Himalayan Blunder” by Brig J Dalvi.
Gen Palit in his book, gives us a
character sketch of few personalities who were involved then. Lets
take a look at them one by one.
Mr. Krishna Menon
“ Krishna Menon had been appointed
Defence Minister three year previously (the author writes about this
when he took over as Director of Military Operations in November
1960). Like many men of intellect, he was a loner by inclination. He
had no previous miniterial or administrative experience and found it
necessary to disguise this deficiency by affecting a perpetual sneer
at officialdom. He also sought to dominate the military bureaucracy
by trying to make a dent in the solidarity of its senior ranks. In
this he succeded to the the extent that Bijji Kaul – basically
loyal by nature but emotional, insecure and ambitious – fell for
his blandishments and for a time an unwonted relationship was
established between the Minister and the general officer. The result
was that the Thapar(Chief of Army Staff) and Kaul (Chief of General
Staff)team took over under a cloud of suspicion and resentment.”
More on Krishna Menon later...as I
continue reading.
Gen Thimayya
“Thimayya was a popular general.
Open, outgoing and with a glowing operational record, he had during
his career gained the loyalty and affection of the officer cadre as
no other Indian officer before or after him. It was therefore
understandable, if not entirely accurate, that his fall from grace
was viewed as a Menon machination and that Kaul's name was inevitably
linked with Menon”
Gen Thapar
“Thapar was nevertheless a
lackluster personality and he did not possess the reclame and
professional reputation of Thorat who, though a name lower in the
army list, was a more charismatic figure and experience at
battalion-command level during the Second World War. Most people had
expected that Thorat would be nominated as the next Army Chief. Thus
Thapar's appointment was regarded as another example of the
Menon-Kaul conspiracy”
Lt Gen Kaul
“Personable,
even dapper, in appearance, Kaul was a live-wire – quick thinking,
forceful and venturesome. He could also be subjective, capricious and
emotional. Once he had taken you into confidence he gave unstintingly
of his personal support and even warmth. There were some among his
subordinates, mainly those of mediocre capability, from whom he
demanded and obtained a personal and almost feudal commitment, and
whom he did not on occasion scruple to use as his confidential
henchmen. Yet to those whose professional capability and intellect he
recognized, he offered a more egalitarian, though not necessarily
close relationship. He could be soft-hearted to a fault, a trait
often mistaken for kindness or generosity. However, like many
egocentrics, Kaul was not empathic by nature; his way was to dispense
his sympathy and support explicitly as largesse rather than as subtle
and understanding gifts.
Prominent among his
characteristics was hypersensitivity about his lack of regimental and
combat service; and he was ever on the lookout for an intended slight
in this respect. Yet his amour propre, a somewhat lesser thing tha
ambition, moved him to strive constantly for professional excellence.
It is nto true to say, as many did, that his primary loyalty was to
his own advancement. Although convinced of a great future for
himself, even beyond the confines of his service, he did not spend
his time accumulating ballast for his career.
His instability was another
outstanding characteristic, one exacerbated by his proclivity to be
tossed about in a whirlwind of random events. In the midst of an
operational crisis one might find him happily spending time and
energy on quite extraneous or irrelevant pursuit. Apart from amateur
Hindi dramatics, in which he occasionally dabbled, he appeared to
have no personal interests or hobbies and played no games. After late
hours at office, he would go home and oftern receive a motley relay
of callers, people from all starta of society, not necessarily
connected with professional work, and most of them petitioners of
some sort. His magpie interest was easily kindled by an emotive
approach and these durbar performances became a substitue for social
involvement. Only when visiting hour ended would he work at his
files, often till midnight or later.
I image he made a difficult
subordinate. Basically insecure, aware of the hostility and scorn of
his seniors, his relationship with Nehru – about which he boasted
openly – lent him an air of self-assurance which often bordered on
hubris. I think his superiors at Army HQ Thapar and Wadalia (Deputy
Chief of Army Staff), disliked and distrusted him, although they
refrained from open expression of their feelings. At the same time, I
think they were both aware that he was an efficient and effective CGS
and to my knowledge both ahd, each on at least one occasion, sought
his good offices to resolve some personal problem that required word
in high places. For them Bijji was at once an unruly subordinate and
a friend-at-court”
Lt Gen Umrao Singh (Commander XXXIII Corps)
From Brigadier John Dalvi's... "The Himalayan Blunder"
"Gen Umrao is a tall, handsome man with an imposing personality. He hails from a famous Rajput family of Jaipur, in fabled Rajasthan - the home of generations of warriors. When I first met him during these operations, I found him calm and unruffled. his very presence was reassuring. He lived in terms of open hostility with General Sen (Eastern Army Commander) and consequently worked under severe pressure. He had had a hard time trying to resist the impracticable tasks which were being foisted on the troops. He was subjected to unjust criticism for the alleged tardiness of his command and his failure to 'evict the Chinese'. Despite this he remained coldly analytical of the military tasks given to him. He resolutely refused to get involved in the political aspects or to allow himself to be pressurized into unsound measures to pacify the politicians. He gave his opinions fearlessly and effectively. He was one of the few senior actors in the Thagla drama who had the moral courage to record his views in writing. He proved too outspoken and had to be eliminated before the powers-that-be could complete their self-destroying policy."
No comments:
Post a Comment