Col Satish Singh Lalotra
‘No man is a leader until he is ratified in the minds and hearts of his men’—THE SOLDIER’s HANDBOOK
The world over, human beings have been closely linked with their compatriots as also their elders who have been instrumental in providing a definite purpose and direction to their lives leading to the fulfillment of that ultimate aim that goes by the name of ‘self-actualization and esteem needs’ or aims as propounded in the famous Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. The above quality cements their bond of oneness and mutual respect tested in the crucible of outcome of the positive results of their ventures. All these aims could only fructify because of one intangible factor found in abundance between them; the quintessential and all-pervading quality of ‘Leadership’. Man being a social animal has been living and breathing in these environs inspiring and getting inspired from each other’s company. Human being the smallest entity of a social order as also the building blocks for a much bigger entity called as the ‘Society’ has been at the corner stone of shaping his destiny as well as that of the society by his actions. Armed forces of a country is one such typical society that has the power within itself to shape several other societies of a nation on the anvil of its leadership qualities, unflinching loyalty, sacrifice and the all-important quality of ‘Service before self’. Indian armed forces are no different from the above quoted sublime qualities that make them stand apart in the fast changing world of ours.
The day of 26th July 1999 (Vijay Divas) will go down in the historical annals of India and the world when its armed forces etched their glory on the firmament of this planet laced with blood, gore, unwavering bravery & physical endurance of the highest order all rolled into one big package tied with the strings of unmatched leadership on the icy heights of ‘Kargil against their arch enemy’. Nowhere in the world military history will one find so many odds stacked against an army facing a force consisting of renegade elements including the armed forces of an enemy country fed and thriving on religious zealots and bigotry in a territory as treacherous as that found obtained at Kargil. Irrespective of the odds that seemed to initially stymie Indian resolve to evict the intruders from the forbidding heights of Kargil ,it was that intangible factor of ‘Young leadership’ that shone brightly as a pathfinder for the rest of the armed forces to follow in their tracks and surmount those heights where mortals feared to tread. This intangible factor of ‘junior leadership’ was the keel on which rested the entire façade of army’s performance in 1999 and even in May/June 2020 on the frozen frontiers of Galwan against our western and northern adversary. It is very common in the civil walk of life to debate endlessly regarding the age-old adage i.e ‘Are leaders born or made’? This however does not hold true for leaders in the military. Time and again, this aphorism has been proved wrong by military leaders who through conscious and relentless efforts have developed leadership traits and applied those most successfully in the challenging circumstances as found 23 years ago on our north western borders of Kargil.
Though many great leaders and academicians have provided their own versions of the definitions of leadership according to the circumstances and conditions prevalent in their times, but none of these circumstances come closer to what was presented to the Indian army way back in 1999. In fact if I may say so the Indian army was led by its young blood 23 years ago that turned the famous euphemism uttered by Napoleon the Great during the conquest of Italy into a reality—- ‘There shall be no Alps ‘.His words made it clear -to his men and to himself-that failure was not an option. They have to cross the Alps .’FORWARD TO ITALY’. People laughed at the idea of an army of 60,000 men crossing the Alps. But history favours the brave. Similarly how can one forget the famous bearded Capt Vikram Batra, PVC aka ‘Shershah’ announcing his arrival on his radio set -Yeh Dil Mange More’ while conquering Point 5140 occupied by Pakistan army and the equally prophesying words of Capt Manoj Pandey,PVC recorded in his personal diary—‘If death strikes before I prove my blood,I swear I will kill death’ while going on the mission of capture of ‘Khalubar top’. This high altitude war fought on the forbidding heights came in the favour of Indian armed forces at a very heavy cost with 26 officers killed, 66 injured while as 527 soldiers killed and 1363 injured. As per the data available in official records this war witnessed highest ever ‘Officer to soldier’ casualty ratio in the history of independent India. The nation lost one officer for every 16 soldiers in that war. The Kargil war even over shadowed in many ways the 2 WW casualty ratio in the British and common wealth armies since 1939 which had one officer killed for every 27 soldiers. Barring this war all other engagements which India has had since independence either with its neighbouring countries or even during the Goa liberation in December 1961 never crossed the threshold figure of losing one officer for every 24 soldiers.
That brings me to the moot question– what is it that takes a young armed forces officer and a soldier alike to stake his every sinew towards achievement of the objective set forth by his seniors in the war? Philip Mason ,the famous British civil servant ,writer and philanthropist during the Raj days in his seminal book-“A Matter of honour’ says so very succinctly that it is the essential virtues of courage ,fidelity, and loyalty that has been found ingrained in the psyche of Indian army’s soldier lot that has seen this wonderful fighting machine etch its stamp of war fighting capabilities on the world’s firmament. Interestingly these above mentioned qualities are not part of any army training institute or courses of instruction as imparted to their trainees or young officers. It is essentially the Indian cultural milieu that has been passed on from generations to generations in each household of ours that gets reflected in all its glory when the moment of reckoning comes for a soldier or a young officer. All that an army training institute does is to bring these qualities to the fore of a trainee which may lie latent in his being only to be exploited at the right time and every time.
The very reason that a war zone is no drawing board of a corporate giant which may indulge in a plethora of takes and retakes of a given task, the situation becomes all the more grim and solemn when seen in the light of the facts that a single word of command of an officer may make or mar his soldier’s life which he has put on the firing line fully aware of the consequences of doing so. Can somebody explain why Capt Batra refused to let his junior go for the ‘death charge’ while going for his objective in the war and himself interposing in place of him? It was his concern for his junior’s family that he wanted to keep him away from harm’s way being a married man with self being a single with no encumbrances picking up the gauntlet. Where in the world will any job or work put such finer perspectives of life in the forefront when death and destruction were looming everywhere? Army as an institution is like a big family with the Commanding officer of a unit seen as a father figure revered in his actions by all his juniors and soldiers alike. Any harm visiting upon the Commanding officer in the war is taken as harm upon the unit as such .No wonder when Colonel Santosh Babu ,the CO of 16 Bihar was taken down by the Chinese troops in Galwan skirmishes on 15th June 2020 ,the entire unit rose as a single entity pushing its might for one single occasion to take the battle in the enemy’s camp. The very fact that the neighbouring units without any hesitation lent their might too for the cause goes to prove that nothing much has changed in the intervening 23 years between the Kargil war and the latest Galwan skirmishes as far as Indian army’s ethos is concerned. In a world raft with dime a dozen changes in the top organisations to keep course correction and alignment with their mission and vision ,the armed forces can draw solace from the fact that certain values and ethos that make them stand apart from the former have stood the test of times and are non-negotiable.
The ever shining example of junior leadership so finely exhibited on the snowy heights of Kargil and even at Galwan in 2020 are like a beacon of hope and encouragement for the denizens of this huge country, who can rest be assured that the armed forces of India are no doubt living up to the title of the world famous book— A MATTER OF HONOUR’ as mentioned above and assuredly will be the proverbial ‘Last bastion’ of democracy. No wonder the ‘Soldier’s Handbook’ says in so many words— No man is a leader until he is ratified in the minds and hearts of his men. Kargil war of 1999 and the Galwan clashes of 2020 have amply ratified this axiom in its entirety.
(The writer is a retired army officer)
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