Page 193 - Leadership in the Indian Army

Sam is known for his quick wit, and the ability to say the right thing at the
right time. When President de Gaulle died, Mrs Indira Gandhi went to
attend his funeral. On her return, the three service Chiefs had gone to the

airport to receive her as was customary, along with other dignitaries. When
Indira Gandhi came to Sam, he complimented her on her hairdo. She
smiled, and said ‘You are the only one who has noticed it.’
Another of Sam’s endearing qualities is his sense of humour. In
September 1970, Sam and Silloo went to the USSR. After being received
with due ceremony by several Soviet Marshals, they were taken to their
hotel suite. Silloo asked one of the Marshals, ‘Where is my room?’ The

Russians were nonplussed, till Sam explained that he and his wife slept in
separate bedrooms, because he snored. Then taking the Marshal aside, he
whispered, ‘You know, she is the only woman who has ever complained.’
The Russian laughed, and slapped Sam on the back.
During his visit to Lahore, for the delineation talks after the war, he was
invited to an officers’ mess where he recognised a silver trophy, which

looked like one from his old regiment. On enquiry, it was found that the
trophy had indeed once belonged to 4/12 FFR. Sam had recognised it after
more than 30 years. During the same visit, Sam asked General Tikka Khan
why he always wore dark glasses. ‘You don’t smoke, you don’t drink, and
neither do you like pretty faces. I do all these things, and still I don’t hide
my face.’
There is an intriguing anecdote about Sam’s distaste for dark glasses. He

had bought an expensive pair of sun glasses when he was a young officer.
Sam did not know that his Commanding Officer had an aversion for
glasses. One day he saw Sam wearing them and in a fit of rage, literally
ground them into pieces. Sam was flabbergasted and stood glued to the
ground as the old man rode away. He never wore sunglasses again.
Though Sam had an excellent rapport with Indira Gandhi, his relations

with Jagjiwan Ram were somewhat strained. When Jagjiwan Ram tried to
raise the issue of reservations for scheduled castes and tribes in the Army,
Sam put his foot down. A note was sent from the Defence Ministry to Army
HQ wanting to know why action should not be taken against those
responsible for failing to implement the government policy on recruitment,
formulated at the time of Independence. Sam sent a reply, saying that action
should first be taken against him as the Chief since he had not only failed to

implement the policy, but was in full agreement with the actions of his