UNWEPT, UNHONOURED AND UNSUNG
By
V.K.
Singh
On
4th October 2001 ,
there was a small obituary in the newspaper announcing the passing away of
Lieutenant General Sagat Singh in the Army Hospital
at Delhi on the
26th of September. I wonder how many people wept for the gallant
soldier. Not many are aware of his achievements and his contribution to the
Nation, which unfortunately have not received the recognition they merit.
Sagat
was without doubt the most outstanding Indian combat military leader of modern
times. He was commissioned in 1941 in the Bikaner State Forces, and afterwards
joined the 3rd Gorkha Rifles. He commanded 2/3 Gorkha Rifles and
then went on to command the elite Parachute Brigade. He did his probation as a
brigadier, sometimes doing two ‘jumps’ in a day to earn his wings. In 1961,
while commanding 50 Parachute Brigade, he was allotted a subsidiary task during
the operations for the capture of Goa , code
named ‘Vijay’. The main thrust was to be undertaken by 17 Division, which was
allotted all the resources, such as artillery, transport and bridging equipment
for the task. Twenty hours later, while main the thrust was still floundering,
Sagat had reached Panjim and Goa was in Indian
hands.
In 1965, Sagat was commanding a division in Sikkim . The
Chinese issued an ultimatum and the Indians were asked to vacate certain border
posts. Orders were issued by higher headquarters to vacate Nathula and Jelepla.
At that time, the political and military leadership was still haunted by the
spectre of the Chinese attack in 1962, and no one wanted to take risks. Sagat
refused to vacate Nathula, while Jelepla in the neighbouring division was
vacated. (Even today, Nathula is with us while Jelepla is with the Chinese).
Two years later, Sagat decided to demarcate the border along the watershed and
physically walked along the ridgeline. Seeing no reaction from the Chinese, he
decided to erect a fence along the border. The situation became tense and the
Chinese opened fire. Sagat was prepared, and the Indians returned the fire
effectively and there were many casualties from both sides. This was the first
time after 1962 that the Chinese got a ‘bloody nose’ and the myth of their
invincibility was broken.
Sagat’s finest hour came in
1971 when he was commanding 4 Corps. His crossing of the Meghna river on 10th
December using an ‘air bridge’ of helicopters is still rated as one of most
brilliant tactical manoeuvres in the history of the Indian Army. In fact, it
was the crossing of the Meghna that tilted the scales and the outcome of the
war was no longer in doubt. No wonder, Indira Gandhi ran down the stairs, her
hair and sari flying, when she was informed of Sagat’s exploit. In truth, Sagat
was the real victor of the 1971 war, a fact that went almost unrecognised. In
fact, Sagat received no gallantry awards throughout his career, in spite of his
exceptional performance on the battlefield.
Sagat is no more. He was the most
brilliant military strategist the Indian Army has produced. He never failed in
a military operation. In fact he always exceeded his brief and did more than he
was asked to do. The Indian Army and the Indian Nation owe him a lot. It is a
pity that he passed away with nary a word of praise from any of our political
leaders. One has heard of soldiers falling in foreign fields, unwept,
unhonoured and unsung. But Sagat breathed his last in the Nation’s capital. The
old adage about God and the soldier being remembered only in adversity was
never so true.
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