The 13-day India-Pakistan war in 1971 ended with the Pakistani surrender in Dhaka on December 16th and in the process Bangladesh came into being as an independent nation and thus India also emerged as a fighting fit and a major regional power. Thus, December 16th is significant as Victory Day (Bangladesh) and Vijay Diwas in India. Bangladesh is in turmoil these days. That's a different chapter.

The incumbent regime is a puppet of the American 'deep state' and has also inched closer to Pakistan. It's a paradox that the Bangladesh seems to have forgotten all the human rights violations and insults meted out to them by the rulers in Islamabad - but civil and always 'uncivil' - the Pakistan army.
In this piece we will talk about a man or rather an uniformed man - who virtually declined to obey the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's instructions and said the 'surrender' of Pakistan army could be carried out in the presence of army commander in the Eastern Command Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora. The man we are talking about is Field Marshal Manekshaw and the gossip was he could have gone to Dhaka if it were to accept the surrender of the entire Pakistan army.
Manekshaw's tenure was highly eventful. He was famous for throwing one-liners.
One particular statement used to be -
“If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha".
Of course, as a commander he was a hard taskmaster. He encouraged his officers in the face of adversity but did not entertain or tolerate incompetence. That was Manekshaw's greatest contribution - to instil a sense of duty, professionalism and efficiency.
There are several tales of him standing up to political bosses and bureaucratic interference.
There is a story -- on an occasion a 'General' was marched up to him with the charge of 'misusing funds'. The General wished not to give up and posed a question to the Field Marshal, - "Sir do you know what you are saying ... you are accusing a General of being dishonest",
Maneskshaw shot back : "Your chief is not only accusing you of being dishonest but also calling you a thief. If I were you, I would go home and either shoot myself or resign. I am waiting to see what you will do". It was later reported that the General in particular resigned.
In 2000, in a piece on him 'India Today' wrote --
"Manekshaw's competence, professional standing and public stature was such that the politician and the bureaucrat alike crossed his path only at their peril".
The piece by Lt Gen A S Kalkat also applauded his skills:
"The 1971 war was Manekshaw's finest hour. An Army chief and chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, he planned the operation meticulously refusing to be coerced by politicians to act prematurely.
His strategic and operational finesse was evident when Indian pincers cut through Pakistani forces like knife through butter".
We may call Field Marshal Manekshaw a 'Universal Soldier'. He will be remembered for bringing efficiency and hard work to the blood and guts of Indian Army.
He liked Discipline but he had also cautioned – “A ‘Yes man’ is a dangerous man, a menace. He will go very far. He can become a minister, a secretary or a Field Marshal but he can never become a leader, nor ever be respected. He will be used by his superiors, disliked by his colleagues, despised by subordinates”.

Email:----------------------nirendelhi@gmail.com