Page 130 - Leadership in the Indian Army

When Thimayya retired in May 1961, it was expected that Thorat would
succeed him as Army Chief. He was highly decorated, had combat
experience, and was held in high regard by the service. Most important, he

was GOC-in-C Eastern Command and was familiar with the situation on the
border with China. But the government nominated Thapar, who was senior
but had little else to commend him. Many factors were cited for bypassing
Thorat. One was a laudatory speech that Thorat made during the farewell
dinner for General Thimayya at the Kumaon Regimental Centre. Another
was the fact that he was not recommended by B.N. Mullick, the all-
powerful Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). In fact, Mullick had

suggested to the government that Thimayya was planning a coup, and
Thorat was an active participant in the plot. Whatever the reason, both
Thimayya and Thorat could not see eye to eye with Krishna Menon, who
quite naturally preferred the more pliant Thapar as Chief.
When Thorat retired in May 1961, he was still three months short of his
55th birthday. Similarly, Cariappa had retired at the age of 53, Nathu Singh

at 51, and Thimayya at 55. This was because soon after Independence, a
rule had been promulgated to limit the tenures of the Chief and Army
Commanders to four years. The decision was unfortunate, as it removed the
top leadership of the Indian Army at an age when they had several years of
useful life still left, and the nation could have benefited from their
experience. The rule did not apply to the civil bureaucracy, or to the navy or
the air force. Even in the army, it was applicable only to the Chief and

Army Commanders, not the heads of technical arms and services. If
Thimayya and Thorat had not retired in May 1961, the events which took
place after a year may well have taken a different turn.
On 8 May 1961, Thorat was given a ceremonial farewell at Lucknow.
Donning his uniform for the last time, he inspected the guard of honour and
then mounted an open jeep, which was pulled by the officers of Eastern

Command to the tune of ‘Auld Lang Syne’. When he entered his railway
saloon after bidding farewell to the large number of military and civil
officials who had come to see him off, his eyes were moist. When he saw
the Eastern Command flag being lowered and heard the buglers sounding
the ‘Retreat’ he sprang to attention and saluted the flag. He then unbuckled
his sword from his Sam Browne belt, and handed it over to his son
Yashwant.