Gen Thimayya and Manekshaw: Shadows of Duty in Political Crossfire

Did you know there was a time in Sam Manekshaw's life when he was nearly labeled an anti-national because of a conspiracy planned by Menon and Kaul? This happened during Sam Manekshaw’s first clash with then Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon. At the same time, Lieutenant General B.M. Kaul, a close ally of Menon who held a key position in the Army, was also involved in the situation.

V.K. Krishna Menon didn’t have a good relationship with the Army Chief, General K.S. Thimayya. He tried multiple times to remove him from his post and even attempted to use Sam Manekshaw to create distance between Thimayya and the rest of the Army.

Many people believe that Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon played a big role in India’s defeat against China in the 1962 war.

The tension with Thimayya likely started after he warned Nehru’s government that Defence Minister Menon hadn’t prepared the military well enough to face China.

Menon even tried to use Manekshaw to distance and separate him from the former Army Chief.

At that time, Thimayya had thought about stepping down from his position, but Prime Minister Nehru convinced him to continue, according to News Bharati.

Menon was clearly unhappy about it, but that didn’t stop him from trying to remove Thimayya by any means possible.

Before the 1962 war, the Defence Minister tried to cause differences within the Indian Army. He even spoke to some generals behind the Army Chief's back, which created tension and mistrust among the leadership.

His first meeting with the Army Chief happened when Manekshaw was a Major General in charge of the 26 Division, which was stationed along the Ceasefire Line in the Jammu area.

He casually asked Sam what he thought about General Thimayya. It's important to know that Thimayya was an excellent officer—highly skilled and known for his strong moral values. Sam respected Gen Thimayya a lot. In response to the minister, Sam simply said, "Mr. Minister, I'm not supposed to have personal opinions about my senior."Tomorrow, you might start asking my brigadiers and colonels what they think about me. That’s the quickest way to break the Army’s discipline. Please don’t do this again in the future.

This response made the Minister angry. He told Manekshaw to stop thinking like the British and said sharply, "I can remove Thimayya if I want to!"

Manekshaw admitted that the Defence Minister did have the power to remove the Army Chief. However, he firmly refused to share his personal opinion about the Chief, standing by his principles.

Besides that, Manekshaw also refused Menon's order to use soldiers as workers to build housing, saying it wasn’t right to use the Army for such tasks.

Manekshaw firmly stated that the soldiers under his command were meant to train for battle, not to be used as low-cost labor. This angered Menon, who then turned to Major General B.M. Kaul, hoping to deal with Manekshaw.

Menon, driven by revenge, tried to frame Manekshaw by creating false charges against him. He succeeded in getting a court of inquiry started, accusing Manekshaw of being anti-national.This took place after Kaul had sent people to secretly watch Manekshaw. Many believed that Manekshaw was very close to being removed from the Army.

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The court was led by Lt. Gen. Daulet Singh, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Command, who was known for being honest and fair. After reviewing the case, he cleared Manekshaw of all charges.

Before the court could officially declare that there was no case against him, the Sino-Indian War began. Because of the ongoing inquiry, Manekshaw couldn’t take part in the war.

As a result, the Indian Army faced a serious defeat in the war. Kaul and Menon were mainly blamed for it, and both were removed from their positions.

In November 1962, Nehru requested Manekshaw to take charge of the IV Corps. Manekshaw told him that the case against him had been part of a conspiracy and that his promotion had been delayed for nearly eighteen months. Nehru apologized to him.

Soon after, on 2 December 1962, Manekshaw was promoted to acting lieutenant general and made the head of IV Corps, based in Tezpur.

Gen Thimayya: A Legacy Begins in Kodagu

General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya was born on 31st March 1906 in Madikeri, a town in the Kodagu district (earlier called Coorg) of Karnataka. He came from a family of coffee growers, and his parents were Shri Subbaya Thimayya and Sitamma.

General Thimayya first studied at St. Joseph’s College in Coonoor, and later continued his education at Bishop Cotton Boys' School in Bangalore.

Gen Thimayya was the second child in the family. He had two brothers, Ponappa and Somayya, and three younger sisters named Gangu, Dachu, and Amavva. All three brothers later joined the Indian Army as officers.

In January 1935, General Thimayya married Ms. Nina Cariappa from Bangalore. After their wedding, the couple moved to Quetta (which is in present-day Pakistan). That same year, a major earthquake struck the area. Nina took an active role in helping the people affected by the disaster. For her kind and selfless efforts, she was honored with the "Kaisar-e-Hind" medal.

Around this time, he was promoted to the rank of Captain on 4th February. A little later, on 20th March 1936, he and his wife were blessed with a daughter, whom they named Mireille. In April 1936, he was posted as an Adjutant (an officer responsible for helping with administrative and training duties) at the University Training Corps in Madras, where he served for the next four years.

General Subayya Thimayya became the 6th Chief of the Indian Army on 7th May 1957. In 1959, he briefly resigned from his position due to a disagreement with the then Defence Minister, Shri V. K. Krishna Menon. However, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did not accept his resignation and convinced him to stay. After serving the nation for 35 years with dedication, he retired from the Army in 1961.

After retiring, General Thimayya lived a peaceful life with his wife and daughter at his home, Sunny Side, in Mercara. Following India’s defeat in the 1962 war, a defence council was set up to discuss key issues related to the country's security. General Thimayya was chosen as one of its members. Although he shared many valuable suggestions, the council didn’t become very active, and meetings eventually became rare.

In 1964, the United Nations invited General Thimayya to lead the UN Forces in Cyprus, where he was given the responsibility of helping manage conflicts that had arisen after the country gained independence. Sadly, while serving in this important role, he suffered a heart attack and passed away on 18 December 1965.

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(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science writer and a defense, aerospace, and political analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also the Director of ADD Engineering Components, India Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)