Sam's Tale: Manekshaw to Bahadur

Brut India

Back in 2002, interviewed by his own grandson for a documentary, this is how  Sam Manekshaw recounted his days of glory.  : Parzor Foundation

Transcript

00:00Mrs. Gandhi rang up, Sam, are you very busy?

00:04And I said, Prime Minister, the Army Chief is always busy,

00:08but never too busy to talk to his Prime Minister.

00:11I said, the girl wants me.

00:12Come on, get the car.

00:14The girl wants me.

00:16Became Sam Baradar.

00:17This is a war.

00:18My soldiers and I have received training for this.

00:21You handle the politics, you have received training for this.

00:24One evening, at four o'clock in my office, I was having tea when Mrs. Gandhi rang up.

00:39She was in Parliament House and she rang up and said, Sam, are you very busy?

00:47And I said, Prime Minister, the Army Chief is always busy,

00:51but never too busy to talk to his Prime Minister.

00:54She said, can you come over?

00:56And I said, I'm having tea here.

00:58She said, oh, I'll give you tea.

01:00I said, I have good tea here, you give me muck.

01:03She said, oh, come over.

01:05I got hold of the ADC, I said, the girl wants me.

01:08Come on, get the car.

01:10The girl wants me.

01:11I always knew I'd talk like that.

01:14So, we got into the car, went to Parliament House.

01:18She was sitting in her office, in a kidney-shaped table.

01:23She, an actress, she was sitting down like this.

01:27I walked in, in my breezy way, I said, hello, Prime Minister.

01:32You seem worried, what's wrong?

01:34She said, I've got problems.

01:36So, I said, oh, cry on my shoulder, what are your problems?

01:39And she looked me straight in the face and said, you are my problem.

01:44So, I said, now what have I done?

01:46Have I made a speech, have I done something stupid?

01:51I said, what have I done now?

01:53She said, everybody says you are going to take over from me.

01:56So, I said, and what do you think?

01:59She says, you can't.

02:00And I said, oh, you think I'm so incompetent?

02:03I didn't mean that, Sam, you wouldn't.

02:09She has a long nose, I have a longer one.

02:11I put my nose next to hers.

02:15I want to tell you, I have no intention or even a thought of getting involved in politics

02:22or taking over, as long as I command my army without interference.

02:26Okay, you have told me enough about Mrs. Gandhi and myself.

02:31So, Sam, tell me about when you joined the Gurkhas.

02:35Oh, Lord, in the Indian Army, there were ten regiments of Gurkhas.

02:44So, when India got independence, like the Pakistan people went to Pakistan, certain

02:51regiments went to Her Majesty's Gurkhas, and certain regiments remained in India.

02:57But there was a treaty between the King of Nepal and the British government that all

03:05Gurkha regiments would be officered by British officers.

03:11So, when the British officers left, there had to be some Indian officers.

03:16So, I was the first Indian to be posted to a Gurkha regiment.

03:23I haven't been with the Frontier Force Regiment, now became a Gurkha.

03:27What year was this?

03:291947.

03:32And I met a Gurkha sentry, I looked at him and I said, ask him your name.

03:40And he said, Hargabad Gurkha.

03:43And I looked at him and said, what's your name?

03:45And he thought and thought and he said, Sam Bahadur.

03:48Became Sam Bahadur.

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