Sam Manekshaw almost became an "anti-national" due to conspiracy led by Menon-Kaul

There was a time in Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw"s career when he almost became an anti-national and was closed to getting dismissed, thanks to Menon and Kaul

NewsBharati    04-Apr-2022 15:03:38 PM   
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Did you know that there was a time in Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw's career when he almost became an anti-national..thanks to Menon and Kaul? This took place when he had his first run-up with the then Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon. It is known by everyone that Menon had a problem with the then Indian Army Chief, General K.S. Thimayya. He had several made attempts to get rid of Thimayya. He also used Manekshaw to isolate the former Army Chief.
 
It is pertinent to mention that Menon was widely considered responsible for pushing India to its military defeat at the hands of China in 1962. The bitterness with Thimayya probably came after he had warned the Nehru government about insufficient military preparations made by Defence Minister Menon against China.
 
Sam Manekshaw almost became an
 
At that time, Thimayya even offered to resign but was persuaded by Nehru to stay on. Clearly, this did not go down well with Menon but it did not stop him from attempting to bring down Thimayya no matter what. The Defence Minister had tried to create divisions within the Indian Army in the run-up to the 1962 War. This also included having "conversations" with generals against the Army Chief.
 
He had his first interaction with the Army Chief with Manekshaw, then a major general commanding the 26 Division on the Ceasefire Line in the Jammu region. He casually asked Sam what he thought of Gen. Thimayya. Now, it should be noted that Thimayya was a brilliant officer, professionally competent and morally upright, whom Sam held in high regard. Replying to Menon, Sam said, "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 the future."
 
This was enough to make the Minister angry. He told Manekshaw to "abandon his British ways of thinking", and declared that "I can get rid of Thimayya if I want to!". Manekshaw acknowledged that the Defence Minister could indeed sack the Chief, but he was also adamant about not giving his opinion to his question on Army Chief.
 
 
Apart from this, Manekshaw also rejected to carry out Menon's orders to use soldiers as laborers for constructing deficit accommodation. He insisted that soldiers under his command would only train to fight the enemy and not be used as cheap labor. This had made Menon furious who turned to the then Major General B.M. Kaul in order to fix Manekshaw.
 
Menon wanted to create false evidence against Manekshaw for the sake of revenge. He was successful as a court of inquiry was ordered against Manekshaw on allegations of being an anti-national. This happened after Kaul had sent spies against Manekshaw. It was widely believed that Manekshaw had come close to being dismissed from the service.
 
The court presided over by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Western Command, Lt. Gen. Daulet Singh, known for his integrity, exonerated Manekshaw. Before a formal 'no case to answer' could be announced, the Sino-Indian War broke out and Manekshaw was not able to participate because of the court proceedings.
 
As a result, the Indian Army suffered a debacle in the war, for which Kaul and Menon were held primarily responsible, and both were sacked. In November 1962, Nehru asked Manekshaw to take over the command of IV Corps. Manekshaw told Nehru that the court action against him was a conspiracy and that his promotion had been due for almost eighteen months and Nehru apologized. Shortly after, on 2 December 1962, Manekshaw was promoted to acting lieutenant general and appointed GOC of IV Corps at Tezpur.

Anjali Ankad

Anjali Ankad has completed graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication and Masters in Journalism. While working as a sub-editor to Newsbharati, she aims to make her hand robust on sports.