Bharat Ratna for Sam Manekshaw?
Several officers of the Indian defence forces have been awarded the highest civilian honours after Independence. After the Bharat Ratna was recently conferred upon many eminent personalities, the decision has fueled a discussion in the military circles on whether Field Marshal S H F J ‘Sam’ Manekshaw should also be awarded the highest civilian honour of the country.
Shortly after the announcement of the Bharat Ratna for the late Dr M S Swaminathan, an eminent agricultural expert, the former chief of Army Staff General V P Malik wrote in a post on social media platform X that the award was very well deserved. “What about FM Manekshaw? Another deserving person in his specialized field and his impactful work for the nation,” Gen Malik also asked.
There were differing opinions expressed in reaction to Gen Malik’s post with some retired Indian Army officers welcoming the suggestion and questioning why a deserving soldier could not be awarded Bharat Ratna. Others thought that the rank of Field Marshal was itself a unique recognition — there are only two Field Marshals, Sam Manekshaw and K M Cariappa, and one Marshal of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Arjan Singh, since Independence.
While the debate may continue on this issue, the fact remains that military officers have not been kept away from high civil honors and many have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. However, it is also a fact that for the past several decades now the practice of decorating military officers with Padma awards has ceased.
Military Officers Who Received High Civilian Awards
This week, let’s take a look at some of the military personalities who have been awarded the highest civilian honors after Independence.
Padma Vibhushan
General J N Chaudhuri and Air Marshal Arjan Singh were among the first military officers to be awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1965. This came after the India-Pakistan war when Gen Chaudhuri was the Chief of Army Staff and Air Marshal (later Marshal of IAF) Arjan Singh was the Chief of Air Staff.
General P P Kumaramangalam, who served as Chief of Army Staff from 1966 to 1969, was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan, though in his case it was conferred in 1970 after his retirement. Similarly, Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh, who was the GOC-in-C Western Command during the 1965 war, was also awarded this decoration in 1970 after his retirement. He had earlier been awarded Padma Bhushan in 1965 after the India-Pakistan war.
Air Chief Marshal P C Lal, the Chief of Air Staff during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1972 as was Gen Manekshaw, the Army Chief. Incidentally, Lal had been awarded Padma Bhushan in 1965 as Air Vice Marshal while Manekshaw had been awarded the same in 1968 as a Lt General. The then Naval Chief Admiral S M Nanda was also awarded Padma Vibhushan. Air Chief Marshal O P Mehra, who retired as Chief of Air Staff in 1976, was also awarded the decoration in 1977.
General A S Vaidya, former Chief of Army Staff, is among the only two military officers to have been awarded Padma Vibhushan posthumously. He was awarded the decoration after he was assassinated by terrorists in Pune after he retired from the Army in 1986. Group Captain Suranjan Das, a top test pilot of the IAF, was also awarded Padma Vibhushan posthumously in 1970 after he died in an air crash while test-flying the HAL HF-24 aircraft.
Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri
The list of military personnel who have been awarded these two civilian honors is long and distinguished. Leading among them is Lt Gen K S Thimayya in 1954 and Maj Gen Gurbaksh Singh in 1957. While Thimayya received it for his tenure as the chairman of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Committee, Korea, Maj Gen Gurbaksh Singh was the Deputy Force Commander of the Indian Custodian Force in Korea overseeing the repatriation of Prisoners of War.
Maj Gen Sardar Harnarain Singh received the award in 1963. He had served as Military Secretary to two Presidents of India — Rajendra Prasad and S Radhakrishnan. After the 1965 India-Pakistan war, many military officers were given the award. These include Lt Gen J S Dhillon, Lt Gen Patrick Dunn, and Lt Gen Kashmir Singh Katoch. All three were Corps Commanders during the war.
Lt Gen J S Aurora received the Padma Bhushan after the 1971 war as did Lt Gen K P Candeth, Lt Gen G G Bewoor, Lt Gen Sagat Singh, Lt Gen Sartaj Singh, Lt Gen Khemkaran Singh, and Maj Gen (later Lt Gen) I S Gill. Lt Gen S P Malhotra, Lt Gen Adi M Sethna, and Lt Gen M L Chibber also received the award.
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Maj Gen Sardanand Singh, who served as Military Secretary in Army HQs, was awarded Padma Shri in 1962. Brig Ram Singh, who was awarded Padma Shri in 1958, is perhaps the only Brigade Commander to have received it to date. He was then commanding 201 Infantry Brigade.
This is not an exhaustive list of the officers of the three services who have been awarded the highest civilian awards. Many more have been given these awards for their services. The jury is still out, though, whether a Field Marshal’s rank would be embellished by a Bharat Ratna or does it stand apart due to its uniqueness.
