Manekshaw, Sam

▪ 2009

Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw 

      Indian field marshal and military hero

born April 3, 1914, Amritsar, British India

died June 27, 2008, Wellington, India

as chief of staff (1969–73) of the Indian armed forces, was credited with India's swift military victory in December 1971 over Pakistan, which led to the creation of Bangladesh. He was the son of a Parsi doctor, who chose not to send his son to Britain to be educated; instead, Manekshaw attended Sherwood College in Nainital, Hindu Sabhya College in Amritsar, and the Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dun, receiving his commission in 1934 as part of the first class of Indian cadets. Manekshaw's career spanned five wars—World War II (in which he was awarded the Military Cross), the India-Pakistan war of partition (1947), the Sino-Indian War (1962), and the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan wars—which earned him the nickname “Sam Bahadur” (“Sam the Brave”). In early 1971 Manekshaw—over Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's objections—postponed intervening in the war between West Pakistan and secessionist East Pakistan (Bangladesh) until the monsoon season was over. Indian forces finally crossed the border on December 3, and on December 16 Pakistan surrendered, almost without a fight. Shortly before his retirement in 1973, Manekshaw was made field marshal, one of only two Indian soldiers ever to receive the title. He was honoured with two of India's highest civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan (1968) and the Padma Vibhushan (1972).

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