Page 72 - Leadership in the Indian Army

There was a stunned silence, and Nehru did not reply. In the end, Nehru’s proposal
was accepted.
Nathu Singh had always been a stormy petrel, and neither rank nor age had
dimmed his ardour. He had as many admirers as he had detractors. Most of his
superiors found him a difficult subordinate. He possessed many fine qualities, but
two which he lacked were modesty and reticence. Even Cariappa, who was from
the same regiment, while commending his loyalty, sense of duty, concern for the
welfare of troops and administrative abilities, could not help adding that he found
him loquacious and arrogant. His close association with Cariappa, who became
the first C-in-C, rarely deterred Singh from doing what he thought was right.
Cariappa was a stickler, who never allowed regimental loyalty to affect his
behaviour, and this led to several altercations between the two ‘Rajputs’. But they
were also close friends, and Nathu Singh was not above pulling Kipper’s leg
whenever he got the chance.
Once, when he was the GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, he was a house guest at
White Gates in Delhi, where Cariappa lived as the C-in-C. This incident also finds
mention in the chapter on Cariappa. Nathu Singh was familiar with his host’s rigid
dress code, but wanted to tease him. So he put on a kurta and pyjama and went
and sat in the drawing room. When Cariappa entered the room some time later, he
immediately noticed this and asked Singh why he was improperly dressed. Nathu
Singh replied that what he was wearing was the national dress and was now
permitted even at formal functions.
Cariappa had taken over as C-in-C on 15 January 1949 and retired after exactly
four years, on 14 January 1953. At that time, the three Army Commanders were
Maharaj Rajendra Sinhji, Thakur Nathu Singh and S.M. Shrinagesh. Rajendra
Sinhji, who should have retired three months earlier, was given an extension,
probably in order to enable him to succeed Cariappa. Due to a new rule
promulgated in 1950, officers retired after four years in command, and when
Cariappa retired, he was only 53 years old. In fact, Rajendra Sinhji, though a year
junior, was six months older than Cariappa. Nathu Singh was junior to Rajendra
Sinhji by a year-and-a-half, but almost three years younger in age. Eventually,
Rajendra Sinhji was appointed the next C-in-C. Nathu Singh had already created a
few ripples, which had effectively jeopardised his chances of being considered for
the top post in the army. In March 1948, when he was GOC UP Area, he had
protested at not being considered for promotion to the rank of lieutenant general
merely because he had not been graded ‘outstanding’ by the Army Commander,
Lieutenant General Rajendra Sinhji, who promptly rectified the mistake. In 1951,
he wrote to the C-in-C, General Cariappa, making certain allegations against
Major General Hira Lal Atal, who was then Adjutant General (AG) at Army HQ.
Nathu Singh felt that the methods adopted by the AG to screen State Forces