Page 121 - Leadership in the Indian Army

should gift it. Thorat met Sardar Patel, who was a member of the Viceroy’s
Executive Council, and explained the case to him, including the benefits
that would accrue to Bombay State. Patel listened patiently, but gave no

assurances. Within a few days, however, Thorat got a phone call from
Bombay to inform him that the ‘Government of Bombay would be happy to
make a free gift of the required land to the Academy’.
Thorat recalls several other incidents involving Sardar Patel. In early
1947, Thorat was given command of 161 Brigade located at Ranchi. Shortly
thereafter, the brigade was rushed to Calcutta to quell the communal riots
that had erupted there. During the unrest, a patrol led by a lance-naik (a

naik is equivalent to a corporal, and lance appointments rank below the
ranks which they prefix) encountered a gang of armed hooligans. The
police sub-inspector accompanying the patrol asked the lance-naik to open
fire, which he did. As a result, one gang member died. Later, however, the
lance-naik was charged with murder. Thorat tried to get the charge dropped,
but the West Bengal government insisted that the lance-naik stand trial,

though promising that he would be exonerated. Thorat was not satisfied. He
felt that the indignity of being tried for murder, when all that the lance-naik
had done was his duty, would affect the morale of troops. During a visit to
Delhi, he called on Sardar Patel, who was the States Minister. When Thorat
explained the case to him, Patel had the charges dropped.
India became independent of British rule on 15 August 1947, and soon
after this Thorat was posted to Delhi as Director, Staff Duties & Weapons

and Equipment (SD-&-WE), at Army HQ. One of his jobs was to divide the
assets of the army between India and Pakistan, in the ratio of 3:1. He was
also responsible for sending Pakistan its share of weapons and equipment.
He soon realised that most of them were being used against Indian troops in
Kashmir. Thorat tried to stop, or at least slow down, the flow of arms and
ammunition into Pakistan but the C-in-C, General Bucher, insisted that it

continue. Thorat sought an appointment with Sardar Patel, who was also the
Deputy Prime Minister. After hearing him out, the Sardar smiled and said:
‘Why have you come to me? You should have gone to the Prime Minister.’
Then, without waiting for a reply, he added: ‘All right. Don’t be too prompt
in doing your duty.’ Thorat was puzzled and said: ‘Sir, these are the orders
of the Commander-in-Chief. What will I tell him when he finds out?’ Patel
smiled, and said: ‘Surely you can tell a plausible lie for the delay? I am with

you.’ After this there was a sharp decline in the quantity of arms and