Of Sam Bahadur’s “mission”
| Date :01-Aug-2019 |
By Vijay Phanshikar:
Writing about the Subhash Marg where the astride statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj attracts attention from its high perch, was a nostalgic experience, no doubt. One can keep writing about this historic road for several weeks on. This road has provided the city of Nagpur with one of its many signatures -- with religious centres, with entertainment opportunities, with commercial outlets, with spots of historical importance, with lakes, with gardens, with crowded market places. Lakhs of Nagpurians use this road several times a day going up and down.
Familiarity makes them miss many a detail, of course. However, those who care to pay attention are generally amazed by the historicity of this road that has continued to be one of the city’s arterial thoroughfares. And one of those attractions is the Martyrs’ Memorial at the Cotton Market Square. This wonderful steel sculpture with a gun upside down and a soldier’s helmet on top will always have a special significance for the city for two reasons.
First, it was inaugurated by none other than the legendary leader of India’s Armed Forces, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw. And second, pro-Vidarbha Statehood agitators tried to stall the inauguration, which the great General defied and completed the “mission”, as he described it a couple of hours later at a civic reception on the lawns of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) Civil Lines Headquarter. The story of that inaugural is still fresh in my memory as a Reporter-cum-Photographer who covered the event that offered thrill, anxiety, sadness -- and of course professional satisfaction of having done a good job of the assignment.
When Field Marshal Manekshaw, with his Gorkha cap and a Navy Blue jacket alighted from the Mayor’s car near the memorial site, pro-Vidarbha Statehood agitators milled around him to stop him from proceeding to the spot. With the help of a few cops, the acclaimed military leader just made a lightwork of the protesters. But then something very untoward happened. Mr. Ram Hedau, Member of Parliament and leader of the agitators, climbed to the top of the brand new memorial about to be inaugurated, and jumped straight onto Field Marshal Manekshaw’s shoulders in a bent position as he was placing a wreath at the foot of the sculpture.
The Field Marshal just shrugged his shoulders, jerking the intruder straight to the floor. There was a massive commotion as the cops resorted to a mild cane charge to disperse the mob. In the following chaos, a couple of Reporters, too, got a slam or two. The Field Marshal stood up straight, looked at Mr. Hedau, having fallen to the ground, with a little disdain, with a paradoxical smile, and turned around to go to his car -- as if nothing had happened, as if some insignificant thing had fallen on him, which he had shrugged off. Two hours later at the civic reception, Field Marshal Manekshaw was cool, absolutely unruffled.
“I was given a mission to complete, which I did”, he said during his short speech. Of course, the city was happy to host the legendary military leader who was placed with 8th Gorkha Rifles where his Gorkha colleagues had named him ‘Sam Bahadur’. It was he who masterminded Indian strategy in what came to be known as Bangladesh War. He was known for his bravery and sterling leadership qualities.
But he was also known for his sharp wit and terrific sense of humour that never dimmed in any condition. He was always in control of himself, and once even dared to call Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi “Sweetie” during one of their conversations. One can go on recounting countless anecdotes from Field Marshal Manekshaw’s life, but this is not the occasion to do so. Nevertheless, his arrival in Nagpur for the inauguration of Martyrs’ Memorial became a point to remember in the city’s history, with a touch of sadness that the political agitators did not lend him proper respect. n