Sam Manekshaw
Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw[3] MC (4 April 1914 – 27 June 2008), also known as Sam Bahadur ("Sam the Brave"), was the chief of the army staff of the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of field marshal. His active military career spanned four decades, beginning with service in World War II.
"Sam Bahadur" redirects here. For the film of the same name, see Sam Bahadur (film).
Sam Manekshaw
Lt Gen Manmohan Khanna
27 June 2008 (aged 94)
Wellington, Tamil Nadu, India
Parsi Zoroastrian Cemetery, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India
Silloo Bode
Sam Bahadur[1]
1934 – 2008[a]
IC-14
Manekshaw joined the first intake of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, in 1932. He was commissioned into the 4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment. In World War II, he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry. Following the Partition of India in 1947, he was reassigned to the 8th Gorkha Rifles. Manekshaw was seconded to a planning role during the 1947 Indo-Pakistani War and the Hyderabad crisis, and as a result, he never commanded an infantry battalion. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier while serving at the Military Operations Directorate. He became the commander of 167 Infantry Brigade in 1952 and served in this position until 1954 when he took over as the director of military training at Army Headquarters.
After completing the higher command course at the Imperial Defence College, he was appointed the general officer commanding of the 26th Infantry Division. He also served as the commandant of the Defence Services Staff College. In 1963, Manekshaw was promoted to the position of army commander and took over Western Command, transferring in 1964 to Eastern Command.
Manekshaw became the seventh chief of army staff in 1969. Under his command, Indian forces conducted victorious campaigns against Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which led to the creation of Bangladesh in December 1971. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan, the second and third highest civilian awards of India, respectively.
Early life and family[edit]
Sam Manekshaw was born on 3 April 1914 in Amritsar, Punjab, to Hormizd[b] Manekshaw (1871–1964), who was a doctor, and Hilla, née Mehta (1885–1970).[4] Both of his parents were Parsis who had moved to Amritsar from the city of Valsad in coastal Gujarat.[5][6][7] Manekshaw's parents had left Mumbai in 1903 for Lahore, where his father was going to start practising medicine. However, when their train halted at Amritsar station, Hilla found it impossible to travel any further due to her advanced pregnancy.[8] After Hilla had recovered from giving birth, the couple decided to stay in Amritsar, where Hormizd soon set up a clinic and pharmacy. The couple had four sons (Fali, Jan, Sam and Jami) and two daughters (Cilla and Sheru). Manekshaw was their fifth child and third son.[9]
During World War II, Hormizd had served in the British Indian Army as a captain in the Indian Medical Service (now the Army Medical Corps).[8][9] Manekshaw's elder brothers Fali and Jan became engineers, while his sisters Cilla and Sheru became teachers. Manekshaw's younger brother Jami became a doctor and served in the Royal Indian Air Force as a medical officer. In 1948, Jami became the first Indian to be awarded air surgeon's wings from Naval Air Station Pensacola in the United States, after completing a training course there. Jami joined his elder brother, Sam, in becoming a flag officer, and retired as an air vice marshal in the Indian Air Force.[8][10]
