A respectful homage to Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw as flashed on the f.b. on Dec.21,2010.

Bishwa Nath Singh
:
Could we recollect as who was an Indian Army officer and in his long career spanning nearly four decades had risen to be the eighth Chief of Staff of the Indian Army in 1969 and under his command, Indian forces had concluded a victorious campaign during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and also who was the first of only two Indian m...ilitary officers to hold the highest rank of Field Marshal in the Indian Army (the other being Field Marshal K M Cariappa).and his distinguished military career had spanned for four decades and through five wars, including the Second World War? He was none else than India's first Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw who was also affectionately called as SAM or Sam Bahadur. Let us pay our homage to him!

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( Picture, of Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw is seen shaking hand with the then Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi in a very joyous mood after the victory of Indian Army during the 1971 conflict with Pakistan).


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Bishwa Nath Singh :
In the said Picture,Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw is seen shaking hand with the then Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi in a very joyous mood after the victory of Indian Army during the 1971 conflict with Pa...kistan. Let us pay our humble obeisances to their lotus feet!Here is a brief account of the life-history of Field Marshal S.H.F.J.Manekshaw that may be od some interest to all of you. Our Country India's first Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was born on April 3, 1914 at Amritsar in Punjab State of India had three brothers and two sisters. to Parsi parents, Hormusji Manekshaw, a doctor, and his wife Heerabai, who moved to the Punjab from the small town of Valsad on the Gujarat coast. After completing his schooling in Amritsar and Sherwood College (Nainital), he asked his father to send him to college abroad to study medicine. When his father refused, in an act of rebellion, he applied to join the IMA and as a result became part of the first intake of forty cadets at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, on October 1,1932. He passed out from the IMA on February 4,1934 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Indian Army. The first course with which Sam passed out, gave three chiefs to three Armies! They were, General Sam Manekshaw-Indian Army, General Mohammed Musa-Pakistan Army and General Smith Dun- Burmese Army. He held several regimental assignments and was first attached to the 2nd Bn The Royal Scots and later to the 4/12th Frontier Force Regiment. Upon Partition, his Parent Unit 4/12 FFR became part of the Pakistan Army, so he was transferred to the 8th Gurkha Rifles Nevertheless to mention that It was in 1937, that he met his future wife, Silloo Bode at a social gathering in Lahore where she was visiting her sister and brother-in-law, a Colonel in the Army Medical Corps. It was their love at first sight and they were married on 22nd April 1939.His military career spanned four decades, from the British era and World War II, to the three wars against China and Pakistan after India's independence in 1947. In the first Burma campaign in 1942, he took part in several actions against the Japanese. On the Sittang river when he came to grips with the Japanese, during the push towards Pegu and Rangoon , he had led his company with courage and tenacity, despite being wounded. He was almost pronounced dead when brought to Rangoon hospital with nine bullets in the lung, liver and kidneys. The military surgeon was reluctant to operate, seeing his hopeless condition, though he was conscious. When the surgeon asked what had happened to him he is said to have replied that he was kicked by a donkey that showed mental make-up of that great soldier. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for his gallantry and leadership by British Govt. on April 23, 1942. Later he was again wounded a second time and evacuated to India Later he commanded an Infantry Brigade for two years. The Field Marshal is also a graduate of the Imperial Defence College He was Known to his friends as SAM, He commanded a Division in the J&K for a short duration and took over the command of a Corps on the Eastern Frontier in November 1962. On 4th December 1963, then Lt General Manekshaw became the first Indian Commissioned Officer to become an Army Commander and became the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command before taking over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command in November 1964.He had became the 8th chief of army staff when he succeeded General Kumaramangalam on June 7,1969. His years of military experience were soon put to the test as thousands of refugees from the erstwhile East Pakistan started crossing over to India as a result of its conflict with West Pakistan. The volatile situation erupted into a full-scale war in December 1971. As Chief of the Army Staff, he rendered yeoman service to the Nation by forging the Indian Army into an efficient instrument of War. In his capacity as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, he welded the Army, Navy and Air Force into a well knit team working in perfect harmony which resulted in the capitulation of the Pakistani Army in the Eastern Front. During this Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he showed exemplary courage & ability to motivate the forces, coupling it with a mature war strategy. The war ended with Pakistan's unconditional surrender, and the formation of Bangladesh. More than forty five thousand Pakistani soldiers and forty five thousand civilian personnel were taken as POWs. He masterminded the rout of the Pakistan Army in one of the quickest victories in recent military history that led to the Simla Agreement which opened the door to the creation of the nation of Bangladesh as separate from Pakistan.He had commanded an Infantry Brigade for two years. The Field Marshal is also a graduate of the Imperial Defense College. He commanded a Division in the J&K for a short duration and took over the command of a Corps on the Eastern Frontier in November 1962. On 4th December 1963, then Lt General Manekshaw became the first Indian Commissioned Officer to become an Army Commander and became the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command before taking over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command in November 1964. He was appointed the Chief of the Army Staff on 8th Jun 1969. before he had held the rank & file of Colonel of the Regiment 8 Gorkha Rifles and 61 Cavalry on 24th May 1953 and continues to be the Honorary Colonel of the Regiment of the 8 Gorkha Rifles and 61 Cavalry till his death. As Chief of the Army Staff, he rendered yeoman service to the Nation by forging the Indian Army into an efficient instrument of War. In his capacity as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, he welded the Army, Navy and Air Force into a well knit team working in perfect harmony which resulted in the capitulation of the Pakistani Army in the Eastern Front. The decisive results achieved by the Indian Army during the 1971 conflict with Pakistan under the able military leadership of Manekshaw gave the nation a new sense of confidence and his services were recognized by the President of India his distinguished service to the country, when the then President of India ( V. V. Giri) awarded him a Padma Vibhushan in 1972 and conferred upon him the rank of Field Marshal on 1 January 1973. Manekshaw became the first of the only two Indian Army Generals to be awarded this prestigious rank; the other being the late Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa. Manekshaw moved out of active service a fortnight later on January 15,1973 after completing nearly four decades of military service, and settled down with his wife Silloo in Coonoor, the civilian town next to Wellington Military Cantonment where he had served as Commandant of the Defense Services Staff College.Following his time in active service in the Indian Army, he successfully served on the board of directors for numerous companies, and was Chairman of several of them as well. He who scripted India’s 1971 military victory over Pakistan, died at the military hospital in Wellington in Tamil Nadu early Friday on June 27, 2008 at the age of Ninety four after developing acute bronchopneumonia. He was 94. While he had passed away, his all family members were at his bedside when the end came just after midnight In his passing away, the grateful nation had lost one of its great son who was known for his bravery and patriotism with full of passion & wisdom .The knight shall be missed forever but the grateful country will always hold him in great esteem. Let us pay our respectful homage & floral tribute to him and pay our humble obeisance’s to his lotus feet!

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f.b.
Dec.21,2010.