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A new genre emerges
It?s the ultimate. Try leading a man into war, and you have to appreciate military leader- ship, writes Benita Sen.
It’s the ultimate in leadership. Try leading a man into the most life-threatening adversity – read, war -- and you can’t but appreciate the challenge of military leadership.
For years, corporate houses have acknowledged this truth. B school grads pin quotes from Tsun Zu or Dwight Eisenhower on the soft board at the workstation to remind them, "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."
Indian military history, for centuries before the first English ship touched our shores, right up to today’s operational situations, is replete with examples of the most inspiring leadership. And yet, chronicles of leaders, operations and regiments continue to occupy a narrow niche in the world of publishing, often relegated to super-specialised environs of defence libraries or that of IR think tanks. It is only recently that some such publications have been introduced to the reading public with much of the presentation of any other must-read. It’s virtually a new genre in softbacks that beg to be read.
Sharing some outstanding examples of influence in the recent history of the Indian Army, Maj Gen VK Singh’s ‘Leadership in the Indian Army’, published by Sage, is a case in point. Immaculately researched and over ten years in the making, the book flows with an easy style that makes it as relevant to the man at the battlefront as it does to the one who battles it out in the boardroom and indeed, even today’s youth who often look for real life heroes.
Choosing 12 case histories could not have been easy. Yet, the selection is interesting just as the narrative is candid. While the stories of Field Marshal Cariappa and Gen Thimayya are almost to be expected, the account of a leader like Lt Gen Thakur Nathu Singh makes interesting reading. Similarly, the author takes an objective look at meaningful leadership, choosing pioneers from across the spectrum, men who serve the nation in war and through peace, which is often overlooked. That accounts for the inclusion of Lt Gen RN Batra, from the Corps of Signals who was awarded the OBE, and the saga of Lt Gen PS Bhagat of Bombay Sappers, who later went on to Chair the DVC.
These are leaders who lead from the front, whether in times of action or peace, whether it be in procuring the most appropriate and updated technology or in keeping a hawk-eye on the wellbeing of the men they lead. He has chosen leaders who know that, as one general said, "No good decision was ever made in a swivel chair," and so, he includes seemingly simple anecdotes like that of the Commanding Officer who was ordered to use the lavatory his jawans did, so that he understood the difficulty they faced with one toilet for 40 men. "The hapless CO got up at 2 am so that he could visit the lavatory before the men did."
These, then, are truly outstanding men, who put, as Chetwode asked them to, the country and the men they command before any thought of self.
As Singh mentions, there are several others with exemplary qualities that the world outside, as much as today’s soldiers and leaders, would do well to read about. Men who believe in Patton’s advice to live for something rather than die for nothing and who know, as Dwight D. Eisenhower did, that "the best morale exists when you never hear the word mentioned. When you hear it it's usually lousy."
Perhaps one of the most crucial points the author raises concerns the historian’s record of failure in battle which "seems to carry with it a stigma and guilt, which is totally unwarranted. Today, a misplaced sense of honour and izzat impels units to hide mistakes and failures and magnify achievements." He he has come across discrepancies in accounts between recorded regimental history and recollections of senior players. It’s a reminder of the definite line that the historian has to tread to uphold the tradition every soldier in the country is reminded of in every cantonment: izzat aur iqbal.
Whether for today’s youth, corporate crusaders or the man in uniform, a sequel would be awaited. With stellar examples from right across the various Arms and Services.
