SORRY SAM BAHADUR EVEN THE ARMY BRASS LET YOU DOWN

            It has been slightly more than a month now since Sam Bahadur passed away. My Inbox is full of e – mails crying out hoarse that we need to hang our heads in shame because most of our politicians and national leaders did not care to attend his last rites. Yes, indeed, I have no issues with anyone who says that President Ms Pratibha Patil, Vice President Mr Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh, Congress President and UPA Chairperson Ms Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Mr L K Advani, Chief Minister Tamil Nadu Mr M Karunanidhi, Governor Tamil Nadu Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, Defence Minister Mr A K Antony, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Chief of Navy Staff and Chief of Air Staff were all conspicuous by their absence.

            

But wait, are we not missing some others too? At least all those e – mails I received do seem to have missed out many, many more illustrious people who, I feel, should have attended the last rites. 

            We all agree that our President downwards all the political leaders should have just brushed aside protocol as well as any engagements that they had to attend Sam's last rites. 

            Then, do we have any excuse for many of our own from the Olive Greens being absent? I specifically mean the ones who have the resources of the State at their disposal to fly at a moment's notice anywhere in the country. In any case, some of them would not think twice to use such resources to fulfil trivial personal requirements, like, flying out a chopper to get a cake from a particular place or some flowers from some other. 

            I am sure, you would have guessed who I am hinting at. But let me come out with the names. On 26 – 27 June 2008, there were at least four retired Chiefs of Army Staff / Lieutenant Generals as Governors of States. Generals SF Rodrigues and JJ Singh in Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh respectively; Lieutenant Generals SK Sinha and Ajai Singh in Jammu & Kashmir and Assam respectively. All of them had served in the Army under Sam. Then there is Major General BC Khanduri, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, who was Commanding Officer of 113 Engineer Regiment during 1971 operations, the golden year of Sam's military career. All these worthies had every conceivable resource at their disposal to make that trip right upto Wellington and mind you the State would have picked up the tab. But how many of them were actually there?

            The COAS was out of the country. So, in a way he had some reason not to be here. But, would it not have been a great symbolic gesture if he had cut short his visit the moment he was apprised of the news bulletin of 10 AM on 26 June 2008 which mentioned that Sam was 'critically ill'? 

We have seven General Officers Commanding – in – Chief (GOsC –in – C) in our Army today. Again, all of them have adequate air resources at their disposal to fly them from anywhere to anywhere with very little notice. Not a penny is spent from their own pockets for the use of these air resources. But it appears that other than the GOC – in – C of Southern Command, no other Army Commander was present.

I hold no brief for any politician. But, before we condemn them for not being there, let us ask ourselves, did our own Army top brass – serving and retired –  not let Sam – and our great Army –  down by being absent from Wellington on 27 June 2008? 
 
Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (Retired)