Shillong, April 03: The Centenary birthday of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, MC (1914-2014) was celebrated at 58 Gorkha Training Centre, Happy Valley, Shillong on 03 Apr 2014. The event commenced with a Wreath laying ceremony at the Sam Bahadur Memorial Park by the Officiating Commandant with all ranks of 58 GTC in attendance. To felicitate the occasion, a special function was also organised at Manekshaw Museum in the Centre which was attended by all including families and children.
Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw, MC was born in Amritsar (Punjab) on 03 April 1914 to Hormusji Manekshaw and Heerabai. After completing his schooling in Punjab and Sherwood College, Nainital, he was commissioned into the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment on 04 February 1934 from the Indian Military Academy. The military career of the Field Marshal spanned four decades, from the British era and World War II, to the three wars against Pakistan and China after India’s independence. The Field Marshal became the 8th Chief of Army Staff on 07 Jun 1969. He was appointed as the 1st Colonel of the 8th Gorkha Rifles on 24 May 1953. As Chief of the Army Staff, Manekshaw rendered yeoman service to the Nation by forging the Indian Army into an efficient instrument of war.
In his capacity as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, he welded the Army, Navy and Air Force into a well knit team working in perfect harmony which resulted in the capitulation of the Pakistani Army in the Eastern Front. The decisive results achieved by the Indian Army during the 1971 conflict with Pakistan under the able military leadership of Manekshaw gave the Nation a new sense of confidence and his services were recognized by the President of India when in January 1973, he was elevated to the rank of Field Marshal thereby becoming the first Field Marshal of the Indian Army.
For the distinguished service to the country, he was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1968 and Padma Vibhushan in 1972. Known as the “Soldiers’ General”, he was liked for his frank and straight forward talk and was affectionately called as ‘Sam Bahadur’.
In the later years, the Field Marshal was on the board of Governors/Directors of several national and international firms and institutions. He continued to be a source of inspiration and motivation and role model for the soldiers, youth and countrymen all alike. The Field Marshal breathed his last on 27 Jun 2008 at his hometown in Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu).
A grateful nation remembers the Field Marshal as the hero of 1971 operations and as one of India’s most celebrated and evergreen soldiers. His dynamic and inspiring leadership makes him the greatest soldiers of modern India.(SP News)
