Col Vikram Bhasin
Sam Bahadur the story of India’s greatest soldier Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, set against the backdrop of the 1971 India – Pakistan war where Sam Manekshaw led the Indian Army and following the war a new nation Bangladesh was born.Sam Bahadur is an apt tribute to Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw also known as Sam Bahadur or” Sam the brave” because of his association with the Gurkhas of the 8th Gurkha Rifles who gave him the affectionate title of Sam Bahadur as he was also their Colonel of the Regiment ,an association the Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw cherished for the rest of his life.
After the 1971 Indo – Pakistan war Sam Manekshaw would often visit the camps where the nearly 90,000 prisoners of war of the Pakistani army were being kept,to inspect the condition of the Pakistani prisoners of war( PoWs) and there he would get mobbed by the Pakistani army prisoners of war out of admiration for the Field Marshall, such was greatness of the true and great legend.
The military achievements of Field Marshall Sam Hormusji, Framji, Jamshedji Manekshaw are too well known.
Apart from military achievements Sam Manekshaw was a symbol of courage,integrity and humility.He earned the respect and admiration of both his subordinates and the entire nation due to his exemplary leadership style,coupled with his unwavering commitment to the welfare of his troops .
His words of wisdom and anecdotes do still resonate with us and serve as guiding principles in our lives.Field Marshall Manekshaw was the eighth Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army and the brain behind the famous Indian victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan. Field Marshall Manekshaw was one of the most celebrated generals and the first Field Marshall of the Indian Army.
* If anyone tells you he is never afraid he is a liar or a Gurkha”
* He who neither drinks nor smokes,nor dances ,he who preaches and even occasionally practices piety,temperance and celibacy is generally a saint or a mahatma or more likely a hum bug but he certainly wont make a leader or for that matter a good soldier. ‘
* Give me man or a woman with common sense and who is not an idiot and I assure you can make a leader out of him or her ”
* I wonder whether those of our political masters who have been put in charge of the defense of the country can distinguish a mortar from a motor,gun from a howitzer,guerrilla from a gorilla although a great many resemble the later”
* You should have to fight and fight to win.There is no room for the losers.If you lose dont come back. You will have disgraced the country and the country wont accept you ”
* Professional knowledge and professional competence are the main attributes of leadership”
* A yes man is a dangerous man.He is a menace. He will go very far. He can become a minister or a secretary or a Field Marshall but he can never become a leader nor ever be respected.”
* Unless you know and the men you command know that you know your job ,you will never be a leader.”
* Professional knowledge has to be acquired the hard way. It is a continuous study and you never acquire it in today’s fast moving technological world that you are living in “
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