The debates
Did he really stop Indira Gandhi in April 1971?
The famous scene rests mainly on his own retelling. Chandrashekhar Dasgupta says the records “conclusively disprove” it. He argues Indira Gandhi had already decided to wait. Her adviser P.N. Haksar wrote that armed intervention could not be contemplated “at the present stage”. Rudra Chaudhuri of Carnegie India finds Dasgupta more right than wrong.
Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam calls the claim that the Prime Minister drove those choices “preposterous”. Pupul Jayakar’s biography of Indira Gandhi reportedly supports Manekshaw’s version. His military assistant Depinder Singh also records his refusal to rush in April. No minutes of the meeting have been released. So the record cannot yet settle it.
The Wire: Karan Thapar with Chandrashekhar Dasgupta (20 November 2021) · ThePrint: Rudra Chaudhuri (30 November 2021) · ThePrint (16 December 2021) · The Tribune: review of Soldiering with Dignity (6 April 2003)
Who deserves the credit for Dhaka?
Lt Gen J.F.R. Jacob was Chief of Staff of Eastern Command in 1971. In his books he said Army HQ’s plan never named Dhaka as the objective. He quotes Manekshaw saying Dhaka would fall once Khulna and Chittagong were taken. In his 2011 autobiography he said Manekshaw lacked strategic acumen.
Depinder Singh said Jacob gave the impression he ran the war himself. He said Jacob’s claim of disobeying the Chief “was not true”. Ajai Shukla called the autobiography self-serving. Sumit Walia argues the chain of command makes Jacob’s account implausible. Manekshaw himself said the honour at Dhaka belonged to Aurora.
Quartz: excerpt from J.F.R. Jacob’s autobiography · Hindustan Times (13 January 2016) · Ajai Shukla, Broadsword: review of Jacob’s autobiography (11 June 2011) · Indian Defence Review: Dhaka or bust (28 November 2016) · The Daily Star: review of Surrender at Dacca · Wikipedia: Sam Manekshaw
Was he sidelined and short-paid after 1973?
He joked after retirement that had he joined Pakistan in 1947 India would have lost in 1971. Gen V.K. Singh has said the government then sidelined him and paid him less than he was due. His Field Marshal’s pay arrears were only settled in 2007. Claims spread later that his pension was withheld until his deathbed.
The Quint’s 2020 fact-check found the pension claim false. His family said he drew a pension throughout. The gap was the full pay of a Field Marshal. That rule was settled only in 2007. The Fourth Pay Commission had already granted him a special pay. The arrears were paid back to 1 January 1973.
The Indian Express (1 December 2023) · ThePrint (27 June 2019) · The Quint fact-check (1 July 2020) · Business Standard (19 April 2007)
The 1962 inquiry in the Krishna Menon era
As Commandant of the Staff College he clashed with Defence Minister Krishna Menon and Lt Gen B.M. Kaul. He was labelled anti-national. A court of inquiry examined charges that included keeping portraits of the Queen and British officers. His promotion stalled. Jacob later cited the inquiry in his own criticism.
The court under Lt Gen Daulet Singh found no case. Depinder Singh called the ten charges frivolous. Nehru told Menon in July 1962 to dispose of the file. The Cabinet Secretary warned it could become India’s Dreyfus case. Ajai Shukla notes the inquiry is usually cited as proof of his uprightness.
Wikipedia: Sam Manekshaw · Hindustan Times (13 January 2016) · Nehru Archive: To V.K. Krishna Menon, Maneckshaw case (12 July 1962) · Ajai Shukla, Broadsword: review of Jacob’s autobiography (11 June 2011)
A funeral without the country’s leaders
The President, the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister and the three service chiefs did not attend his funeral in June 2008. Minister of State M.M. Pallam Raju was the senior-most minister present. The absence caused a furore in India. A Pakistani columnist in Dawn noted it too.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony said the government had given him its highest honour by ordering a state funeral. The President was on tour in Indore and the Army Chief was in Russia. An army officer told IANS there was confusion about protocol. The rank of Field Marshal does not appear in India’s warrant of precedence.
Oneindia (27 June 2008) · IANS via TwoCircles (July 2008) · Dawn: Ardeshir Cowasjee (6 July 2008)
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