Col Khuswaha or any other may say anything for resons they know better but ,he was indeed THE BEST seniors in Armed forced I could know in my 27 years of service from1970 to 97May HIS soul rest in peace. He shall always should be known as some of the best soldiers INDIA ever produced.

INDIRA GANDHI – was the only woman who had some testosterone to lead the country to a winning war.

We are not surrounded by Gandhian administered nations. All our neighbors are vile and corrupt a million times more than your worst politician. What we need is a million Indira Gandhis. But all we have are a billion Manekshaws – good followers and deliverers but not bold decision makers.

BTW – all armies have been corrupt since time immemorial. The current Indian army is an exception. When I see corrupt and heartless officials, I know that the army is in good hands. The last thing I want is a Gandhi with a gun guarding my borders.

Fair enough – I cannot deny in any way that maneckshaw was brave enough to be wounded in a battle, and you cannot deny that maneckshaw always blew his own bugle and tomtommed his own glory in a flamboyant manner, with great oratory skills.

And its a truth that lies entirely beyond your view and mine, that a good leader never publicly belittles the contribution of the rest of the team in a victory, nor goes around bragging how he ticked off powerful people.

Fisrtly, things said in jest often point to deeper points of view. Not always, certainly, but you will be surprised how often it happens.

Secondly, how exactly do you know that he said it in jest?

Do you believe that a responsible leader of men would (or should) even suggest in jest that he was the sole reason for success? Especially in front of a foreign press? If so, it suggests very bad judgment.

Thirdly, leave flamboyance aside. Do you disagree that maneckshaw had a powerful ego, and that one rarely sees any aspect of humility in him? If so, then his statement (which you attribute to jest) fits in with his persona like a glove.
Consider his reporting of his own interaction with mrs. Gandhi – does it not distinctly show how he ticked her off?

Make no mistake – this is a man tomtomming his OWN glory.

Consider that you are citing a man’s self-reported bravery as a mark of his greatness. I mean, WHO goes around telling people of his own great feats and moral integrity and bravery? (He does it superlatively, though – that I grant you).

I am sorry my friend – the image of a powerful and dynamic general (who led his country to victory in spite of every other nincompoop) is very hypnotizing, and it appears to me that this image has you in its grip. Easy mistake to make.
Single individuals can rarely lead to victory or success – it is always always always the entire team.

Think of it like this – he might have been a great guy – but much of his legend seems to have only been due to his charm as a great story-teller. I think, he would have been equally successful in the field of advertising – he’d have been better than alyque padamsee.