Antony’s absence at Manekshaw’s funeral fits a pattern

Hon Sh Antony’s absence at Gen Manekshaw’s funeral (and the�subsequent face-saving gesture)�neither shocked nor suprised me…

In the�60 years of�its existence, India’s�defence personnel have never been celebrated or got the attention that they richly deserve…

Their’s is a forgotten story of harsh conditions and extreme risks…and few of us ever pause to think how much we owe to these brave men and women who often pay with their lives so that we may live….Our leaders and media have long ignored the armed forces…and Hon. Sh Antony’s absence at the funeral fitted that pattern…

First you had Major Manish Pitambare, then Captain Sunil Kumar Chaudhary, then�Colonel Vasant Venugopal.

As Ravi Jha wrote in the Khaleej Times (emphasis mine):

Perhaps, it was Sam Bahadur�s �misfortune� that he didn�t die in Delhi. Or else there would, probably, have been many from the corridors of power present to pay their last respects.

…It was amazing to see scores of ordinary men and women queuing up to pay their last respects to Sam Bahadur. It was equally amazing to see not a single VVIP present to lay a wreath on the grave of an upright man, who led the country’s defence forces to a spectacular victory in the war with Pakistan which culminated in the formation of Bangladesh.

There is a long list of those who could have made to Tamil Nadu, but didn�t. When the tocsin was sounded for ‘full military honours’ to Manekshaw and the guns fired in salute, it was a moment of both pride and shame.

Some who could have made the difference, but chose not to, were:

President Pratibha Patil: The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, with all the time in the world, was conspicuous by her absence.

VicePresident Hamid Ansari: The man who is busy mostly releasing books and writing reviews didn�t get time too.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: The man the nation is watching in this time of political turmoil.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi: The daughter-in-law of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, whom the field marshal had showed the �door� once, yet was made armed forces chief. She was perhaps busy shuffling the political cards in preparation for the general elections.

Leader of Opposition L K Advani: This prime minister-in-waiting and from a political party that often brags about civility, too, was busy doing his political manoeuvres.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and State Governor Surjit Singh Barnala: They were absent, despite knowing that Manekshaw had made their state a home for 35 years.

Minister of Defence A K Antony: His office says he didn�t get the time owing to prior political engagements.

The Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Air Staff: All three were absent.

…the Ministry of Defence was represented by Antony�s deputy Pallam Raju. The Navy and Air Force sent two-star general rank officers. That is it!

Sh V Sundaram wrote in his column�about the complete disregard with which we treat our fallen heroes (emphasis mine):

In these columns yesterday, I had presented the photographs of the Indian Soldiers who were decorated with the highest military honour of Victoria Cross for Supreme Valour in the war theatre in Italy from 1943-45 by the British government. These photographs appeared in January 1946 in a British Indian Government publication titled `The Tiger Triumphs, The Story of Three Great Indian Army Divisions in Italy’. Throughout British rule in India for nearly 200 years from 1757 to 1947, the British government at the highest level always recognized the importance of selfless, heroic and courageous soldiers.

This tradition was buried fathoms deep by the Congress government after Independence.

The British government took special care to bring out official publications recording the glorious deeds and sacrifices of the heroic men belonging to their Armed Forces from time to time.

It is a sad fact that government of India after Independence have never thought of commissioning the services of eminent historians to record the military history of India from 1947 till date.

Following Sh Sundaram’s article, I am taking the liberty of reproducing below�the full list of Param Vir Chakra awardees since independence. I have also found the Indian Army website that has the photographs of all the awardees from the army. I will be adding them on later today.

The Param Vir Chakra is India’s highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy. It�is the second highest award of the government of India, after the Bharat Ratna.

The medal is a circular bronze disc …with the state emblem in the centre surrounded by four replicas of Indra’s Vajra. The medal was designed to symbolize Rishi Dadhichi, who had donated his thigh bones to the Gods for making Vajra, and contains an image of Shivaji’s sword Bhawani on the other side.�

Let us spend just a couple of minutes in our busy lives today remembering these brave souls.�

*** PARAM VIR CHAKRA – HALL OF FAME ***

  1. IC�521, Major Somnath Sharma, 4 Kumaon, 03 November 1947, Kashmir (posthumous).
  2. 27373, Naik Jadunath Singh, 4 Guards (former 1 Rajput), 06 February 1948, Kashmir (posthumous).
  3. SS-14246, 2nd Lt. Rama Raghoba Rane, Corps of Engineers, 08 April 1948, Kashmir.
  4. 2831592, Company Havildar Major Piru Singh, 6 Rajputana Rifles, 18 July 1948, Kashmir (posthumous).
  5. IC-22356, Lance Naik Karam Singh, 1 Sikh, 13 October 1948, Kashmir.
  6. IC-8497, Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria, 3/1 Gurkha Rifles, 05 December 1961, Congo (posthumous).
  7. IC-7990, Major Dhan Singh Thapa, 1/8 Gurkha Rifles, 21 October 1962, Ladakh.
  8. JC-4547, Subedar Joginder Singh, 1 Sikh, 23 October 1962, North-East Frontier Agency (posthumous).
  9. Major Shaitan Singh, 13 Kumaon, 18 November 1962, Rezang La (posthumous).
  10. 2639885, Company Havildar Major Abdul Hamid, 4 Grenadiers, 10 September 1965, Khem-Karan (posthumous).
  11. IC-5565, Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore, 17 Poona Horse, 16 September 1965, Pakistan (posthumous).
  12. 4239746, Lance Naik Albert Ekka, 14 Guards, 04 December 1971, Gangasagar (posthumous).
  13. 10877 (P), Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, No.18 Squadron, 14 December 1971, Kashmir (posthumous).
  14. IC-25067, 2nd Lt. Arun Khetarpal, 17 Poona Horse, 16 December 1971, Shakargarh, (posthumous).
  15. IC-14608, Major Hoshiar Singh, 3 Grenadiers, 17 December 1971, Basantar River, Shakargarh.
  16. Naik Subedar Bana Singh, 8 JAK LI, 26 June 1987, Siachen Glacier, Jammu & Kashmir.
  17. Major Ramaswamy Parmeshwaran, 8 Mahar, 25 November 1987, Sri Lanka (posthumous).
  18. IC-56959, Lieutenant (Acting Captain) Manoj Kumar Pandey, 1/11 Gorkha Rifles, 03 July 1999, Kargil (posthumous).
  19. No.2690572, Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav, 18 Grenadiers, 04 July 1999, Kargil.
  20. IC-57556, Captain Vikram Batra, 13 JAK Rifles, 07 July 1999, Kargil (posthumous).
  21. Rifleman Sanjay Kumar, 13 JAK Rifles, 04 July 1999, Flat Area Top, Kargil.

List courtesy:� UPA’s death blow to the morale of Indian Military-IV by Shri V Sundaram

Related Posts:

Of Stars and Martyrs, Munnabhai vs. Manish�Pitambare�

Let�s salute a real �Hero�

Jai Hind.

B Shantanu

Political Activist, Blogger, Advisor to start-ups, Seed investor. One time VC and ex-Diplomat. Failed mushroom farmer; ex Radio Jockey. Currently involved in Reclaiming India - One Step at a Time.

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12 Responses

  1. Dr Ambekar says:

    *** COMMENT COMBINED ***

    What a shame of the attitude of the Congress Government who accorded a Military honors with Indian PM and all his cabinet colleagues and foreign dignitaries attending the Funeral Services of Mother Teressa BUT Same people had no time and honor to offer to Sam Bahadur.

    ***

    VERY WELL DONE UPA BY NOT GIVING ANY IMPORTANCE TO THE MEMORY OF INDIAN HERO OF 1971 WAR WITH EAST PAKISTAN. CONGRESS HAD TIME AND MONEY TO HONOR MOTHER TERESSA.

    IT IS THE GREATEST SHAME ON INDIA LEADERS IN GOVERNMENT.

  2. v.c.krishnan says:

    Dear Sir,
    It is particularly sad that a great soul, please note, a GREAT SOUL, was not honoured by the government in power.
    The dishonour is not for Sam Bahadur but for the government. This will always be a stain for the government of any Congressman as it will always be pointed out by every Bharatiya in future that Sam Bahdur was a great man, but when he died The Government Did not respect him.
    Who is the loser, Sam or the government?
    All true soldiers will never ever forget this insult to thie distinguished soldier of India, and I am sure as India prospers over the years it will be carried in ballads of India and this truly great man of India will always be remembered by this grateful nation, not of sychophants.
    No regrets for Sam.
    Regards,
    vck

  3. r.krishnan says:

    it is sad to know that the indian govt. has taken little care to honour the great ‘sam’, one of the brave servant of our nation. it is most interesting to know that those who has no time to go there has find time to attend a marriage function held at kerala (UPA Chair person’s sec.’s son’s marriage). Many union minister and leader of various political parties in india has attended in that function held a few days after the demise of the BRAVE ‘SAM’

  4. karthick says:

    very nice

  5. Mahesh Patil says:

    Nowadays Only politicians last rights are carried out as a national hero as if its a huge national loss, and an official mourning varying from 1 to 7days.

    And maybe the reason is politicians never retire! but in
    Field Marshal Sam Manekshaws case even when he passed away he still was a serving officer. But Still..!!

    So the learning is in todays world if you want to die as a
    martyr, die as a politician.

    Jai hind! Jai Maharashtra!!

  6. B Shantanu says:

    Please read Should we be ashamed of Kargil victory? from which some excerpts (emphasis mine):


    But our crib is not with the media, it’s with our netas.

    Where were our “leaders”, the people who, by the nomenclature thrust on them, are destined to lead us, to show us the way, on Saturday, July 26?

    Where was the President and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Pratibha Patil? Where was the prime minister, Manmohan Singh? Where was the defence minister, A K Antony? Where was the chief minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit?


    the nation is entitled to ask why: Has the Kargil victory become something to be ashamed of for most of our political parties?

    The Ahmedabad blasts cannot be offered as an excuse because they happened long after sunset on Saturday. The Bangalore blasts cannot be offered as an excuse because it killed but one (or two). Even so, since when did “national pride” fall victim to “national mourning”?

    Or, has the Kargil victory, like so much else, fallen prey to petty, partisan politics?

    Those who cover the defence beat say the Kargil victory is now viewed as “an NDA/BJP victory” with which the UPA/Congress wants to have no part. “The Congress has its 1971, the BJP has its 1999,” says one award-winning reporter.

    (That the Congress which does not want to remember 1999 could not even remember the hero of the 1971 victory properly tells its own story.)

    But if true, how pathetic as a people can we be getting, that we view the triumph of the nation, the sacrifice of our soldiers, not through a wide, collective prism, but through a narrow, constricted aperture of the government of the day?

    What kind of signal is such peevishness sending to the jawan in the field, and to potential recruits? What kind of impact does it have on their morale and motivation to be reminded that they are not fighting for the nation at large but for the coalition in power?

    Is this something over which our parties should try to score silly points?

    Is this how we show how much we value the armed forces?…

  7. B Shantanu says:

    From NewsTodayNet, some excerpts on the recent Pay Commission:

    …Compared with the civil & paramilitary services, the military services have been blatantly discriminated against with regards to service recognition as well as pay packages.

    The Military establishment has objected on the grounds of ‘Disparity in Pay Bands’ as the civil officers have been moved to Pay Band 4, while the officers from the services are kept stagnant at Pay Band 3; ‘Disparity in Grade Pay’ as there is a disparity in the grade pay between the middle-rank officers comparatively; ‘Restricting the Elite List’ as the DGs and DGPS from the civil & paramilitary services have been included in the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG), their equal ranks of Lt.Generals have not been included.

    …The government must understand that the whole nation is watching the developments and it must realise that the people regard the Armed Forces in high esteem, more than that of the other services.

    The people have already witnessed the Veterans hitting the streets and also the government’s insult heaped on India’s greatest soldier Sam Manekshaw during his funeral and further handling of the issue in a squalid manner would send a wrong signal as though an unholy politician-bureaucrat nexus has been playing dirty games against the Armed Forces. It is high time the Forces are respected and honoured and given their due.

  8. Malhotra says:

    Army officers are getting greedy. They already have a very good deal now they are following ‘Salami’ technique.
    Lt Gen was never senior to Addl Secy – this is what they are demanding. Lt Col were not in Selection grade – This is what they are demanding.

    A reading of Army Act – definition of Mutiny should put everything to rest. They bigwigs should be dealt with heavy hand or they will go on rampage. They are defying the Govt. orders and should be taken up under the due provisions of The Army Act and similarly Air Force and Navy Act.

  9. Ashutosh says:

    Heed the cry of the armed forces http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/03anil.htm

    October 03, 2008

    Excerpts:

    Unlike this sod, the Union government does not apparently think in such mushy terms about the image of its soldiers, sailors and airmen. Otherwise, it would not have compelled the three services chiefs to petition the defence minister to restore the existing parity with those from other central services, with respect to the Sixth Central Pay Commission (SCPC) awards. (A section of the media regrettably painted this as whinging and blackmail by the defence forces. Far from the truth. More than pay, what they are actually pleading is for the restoration of status and honour trampled hitherto by successive governments.)

    The sitrep

    The forces had earlier raised several disquieting anomalies in the SCPC recommendations, and sought equitable remuneration for the kind of toil they do day in, day out. The government tasked a committee of secretaries to fix it. Given the composition of IAS officers in the committee, only a nincompoop would have expected justice for the servicemen.

    The committee should have conjured up adequate pecuniary compensation for the posts in which the officers have to serve long, and also where the deficit of officers was most grave. But instead of smoothening ruffled feathers, its prescription made more hackles to rise. The fear of antagonists sabotaging the hope for obtaining a fair deal had come true.

    Worse, the government twisted the knife in at a time when the three services were fighting a rearguard battle to attract talented candidates and to stem the exit of middle-rung officers. Not a soul in the government, evidently, has grasped the acuteness of crisis hobbling the armed forces. Nor has anyone attempted to fathom the depth of their discontentment nor estimate the fallout of the peacetime attrition.

    Military vis-a-vis civil service: two universes

    Forget the primary role of defending our national territory, waters and air space. Forget fighting the armed inimical elements in Jammu & Kashmir, the Northeast and elsewhere. Now the services are requisitioned to do the salvage job, every day.


    Not just natural disasters; they are summoned when the police bungle too. When a party of the anti-Naxal force Greyhounds was ambushed at Chitrakonda in the hills of Malkangiri district of Orissa on June 29, while boating in a reservoir, as the escape routes were heavily mined, the rescue operations had to be supported by air in marginal weather. The air effort and the team of 30 divers were provided by Eastern Naval Command headquartered at Visakhapatnam.


    The army, given the emasculation of the state police, will continue to be employed for internal security — counter-terrorism, and before long it will be tasked to crush the subnationalist forces and insurrectionists like the Maoists. With body bags set to become an everyday sight, how many parents will be willing to send their sons to this death trap?


    Why is the State unconscionably shoving its boots on the face of the military? What explains its downhill journey in the warrant of precedence?


    When I was commissioned into the IAF in 1984, the air force pilot had the highest starting pay among the central government Class I officers. (That is history; the Book has been overwritten several times.)

    Smitten by aircraft, bewitched by flying, fascinated by the frisson of foiling gravity, I joined the IAF. The smell of adventure in the air, the prestige associated with the uniform and the decent quality of life it offered were simply inciting appetisers. Oddly, till I was handed my first pay packet, after prevailing three rigorous years at the National Defence Academy and another exacting year at the Air Force Academy, I did not know what my starting pay would be!

    Will I embrace the IAF again? I doubt. Gone are those days of chasing quixotic idealism to quench an inner itch. Now lads want to know how much their sweat will swell the bank account. Unless military service is made attractive, few will want to join it. Period.

    A decade back, an IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, a friend, told me he had brought out a paper on the need for officers both military and civilian to bury the hatchet, complement each other, and work together for the larger cause of nation-building instead of cutting the other down to size. Although his supremacist brethren laughed his treatise out of court, I ditto his standpoint.

    …in the long run, the answer lies in delinking both the pay and stature of the armed forces from their civilian counterparts.

    As the nature of jobs, career prospects, hierarchy, attributes, hardships and workplaces are poles apart, the very precept of inter se parity sounds disjointed. Actually it is preposterous to liken a major general with 33 years of service to a joint secretary having 17 years under his belt.

    …prudence suggests that instead of indulging in structural tinkering through pay commissions, it makes sense to have a separate pay commission for the defence forces. That is the only durable solution.

    As for now, the recently convened ministerial panel must heed the cry of the armed forces and reinstate its stolen status and benefits. It is their due. High morale is the best known force multiplier.

    A nation neglects its soldiers at its peril.

    M P Anil Kumar is a former fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force.

  10. H Kumar says:

    Comment #8 (Malhotra) apears to be close to the truth.

    I have whole family in Army few in Air Force and very few in Navy.

    In Haryana all people look for jobs in Army. My brother, Uncle, Cousins, Cousin-in-laws, Nephews and Nephew-in-laws. etc. etc. Two Vir Charkas and One Ashok Chakra too.

    But we have to accept facts.

  11. popsi narasimhan says:

    Please see how one such org is celebrating and saluting our heroes… http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dc8cch52_39f96c9zdk&hl=en

    Join us on facebook… http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55211171034#/group.php?gid=55211171034

  12. B Shantanu says:

    Excerpts from Krishna Menon wanted to sack Manekshaw by Vishal Thapar, April 5, 2014:

    …A new biography on Manekshaw by his long-serving military aide,
    Brigadier (Retd) Behram Panthaki and his wife Zenobia, brings out
    graphically how Manekshaw refused to be disloyal to his chief, and
    stood up to Menon, who then tried to fix him on frivolous grounds.

    ..
    Menon, widely considered responsible for pushing India to its military defeat at the hands of China in 1962, had sought to undermine General Thimayya, after he cautioned the Nehru government against the Menon line of military adventurism against China without adequate preparation. Thimayya offered to resign, but was persuaded by Nehru to stay on. But this did not deter Menon from attempting to subvert Thimayya. The Manekshaw biography paints a grim picture of the Defence Minister trying to create divisions within the Army in the run up to the 1962 War, and even canvassing directly with generals against the Army Chief.

    In a first, detailed account of the sparring between Menon and Manekshaw, then a major general commanding 26 Division on the Ceasefire Line in the Jammu region, the biographers suggest that Menon sought to probe Manekshaw during a visit to his formation by seeking his opinion on the then Army Chief. “Mr Minister, I am not allowed to
    think about him. He is my Chief. Tomorrow, you will be asking my (subordinate) brigadiers and colonels what they think of me. It’s the surest way to ruin the discipline of the Army. Don’t do it in future,” responded Manekshaw.

    Menon flew into a rage and told Manekshaw to “abandon his British ways of thinking”, and declared that “I can get rid of Thimayya if I want to!” Undeterred, Manekshaw acknowledged that the Defence Minister could indeed sack the Chief, but that would still not shake his resolve not to comment on the next appointee as well. Manekshaw, whose centenary was observed at a low-key function at Delhi Cantonment on 3 April, also refused to carry out Menon’s orders to use soldiers as labourers for constructing deficit accommodation. He insisted that soldiers under his command would only train to fight the enemy and not be used as cheap labour.

    A scorned Menon turned hostile to Manekshaw, and teamed up with the then Major General B.M. Kaul, to fix him by cooking up evidence to back up frivolous charges. A court of inquiry was ordered against Manekshaw on allegations of being an “unabashed Anglophile”, too Western and, by implication, anti-Indian, of restoring and putting up in his office portraits of Robert Clive and Warren Hastings, and insulting Shivaji by saying (allegedly) that the painting of Shivaji riding a stallion was misleading because Shivaji only rode taattoos (ponies).