Page 206 - Leadership in the Indian Army

measure, for Raj’s brilliant performance at the Academy. Tutu Bhagat was
an outstanding cadet, and both Raj and Tutu’s younger brother, Prem
Bhagat, who later won the VC, had to strive to emulate him. Raj tried to

follow in his footsteps and made his mark in the first term itself, by getting
a place in the Academy’s football team. He continued to excel in the
subsequent terms, and by the time he passed out his performance had
surpassed Tutu’s. He had represented the Academy in almost every game,
had won his spurs, as well as a prize in the fourth term camp for ‘showing
the most initiative and power of leadership’. A brief on the cadets who were
passing out was prepared by the Indian Military Academy, and contains the

following description of Raj: ‘Batra is a fine combination of brain and
brawn. He is equally at home in the ring or the examination hall.
Undoubtedly one of the finest boxers the IMA has had.’
Raj’s natural leadership qualities had become apparent at the Academy
itself. His batch was one of the best to pass out from the IMA, and produced
no less than nine generals (R.N. Batra, K.N. Dubey, D. Premchand,

Virendra Singh, D.G.R. Rajwade, D.B. Chopra, Niranjan Prasad, Kamta
Prasad and R.S. Shergill ‘Sparrow’) in India alone. All the cadets in the
batch called themselves the ‘Zunts’, which was Punjabi slang for ‘smart
ones’. Raj emerged as the leader of the group and galvanised them into a
team which developed a distinctive sense of esprit de corps and
camaraderie. The nine or 10 who settled down in Delhi after retirement
continued to meet regularly, and even their spouses, who called themselves

the ‘Zuntinas’, as well as their children and grandchildren, who were called
Zuntlings, became part of the unique fellowship. The Zunts held regular
meetings in each other’s homes, and whenever the Zuntlings got married,
the Zunts would give them a collective present—a silver salver—a practice
that they follow to this day. Raj, the unelected president of the Zunts, was
the moving force behind the association, holding them together as their

numbers dwindled. The surviving Zunts and Zuntinas bear testimony to his
stellar role, and the moral and physical support that the group provide to
each one of them, particularly in their twilight years.
The Punjabis are a robust and fun-loving people, and Raj was no
exception. Major General Niranjan Prasad, one of his batchmates at the
Academy, recalls that Raj’s zest and exuberance often landed them in very
difficult situations. But when in trouble, there was no better friend than Raj.