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 It
is ironic that Sam Manekshaw, India's first Field Marshal,
joined the Army to protest his father's decision to not send
him to the United Kingdom for higher studies despite having
promised to do so! At the age of 15 having passed his Senior
Cambridge with distinction, Dr. Manekshaw felt that Sam was
too young to go abroad for higher studies. Having won his
Military Cross in Burma where he was critically wounded, Sam
Manekshaw was jettisoned into position of great responsibility
that provided him deep understanding and education in the
conduct of higher command responsibilities. During his career,
the Field Marshal displayed exemplary moral courage and stood
up to his seniors in position of authority to come into his
own without any patronage.
The book outlines his many achievements apart from his steadfastness
in the face of adversity, his strength of character and qualities
of leadership that distinguished him from the others and set
him apart in a class of his own. He was in the Army at a time
when turbulent and tumultuous changes were taking place in
the Army and the country. It specifically highlights the qualities
of leadership of the Field Marshal and has many important
lessons for the reader in personal and professional conduct.
His ability to relate to human beings of all ages is revealing
and worth emulating especially where it pertains to dealings
with officers and men in uniform! The one lesson that stands
out from his career spanning more than four decades is that
what is pre-ordained cannot be changed. Thus validating his
belief that, " Leaders must also be lucky!"
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