Page 228 - Leadership in the Indian Army

sophisticated communication systems that were to be introduced in the near
future.
At that time, satellites had been launched only by the USA and the USSR,

and their relevance in the sphere of military communications was yet to be
understood. Raj was one of the few who could appreciate the tremendous
potential of satellites, and though he could not achieve much in the field, his
concepts proved to be of great help to his successors. Similarly, except for
the rudimentary aspects of jamming, electronic warfare was relatively
unknown. Raj constituted a sub-committee of the Joint Communication
Electronics Committee, of which he was Chairman, to study the subject. He

submitted a report to the Chiefs of Staff Committee. After it was approved,
he initiated the process of acquiring capability in this field. Another area in
which he made a significant contribution was in the automation of handling
of messages in the army’s signal centres, a task that was hitherto being done
manually. Apart from reducing errors, this resulted in considerable saving
of time and effort.

During his five-year tenure as the SO-in-C, Raj literally transformed the
Corps of Signals and made an extraordinary contribution to the Indian
Army in terms of enhancing its capability. A number of factors were
responsible for facilitating his task. The first was his tenure in Washington,
which exposed him to modern communication systems and the future trends
in this and related fields. The second was the 1962 war with China, after
which it was realised that the army was ill-equipped and the government

was forced to increase its budgetary allocation for the defence forces. The
third was the close rapport which Raj was able to forge with General J.N.
Chaudhury, as well as officials in the Ministry of Defence. The fourth factor
was the excellent team of officers which Raj was able to assemble to give
concrete shape to his ideas. He had an excellent eye for talent, and was able
to discern between the brilliant and the pedestrian, which is not very easy,

especially among soldiers. The last, and probably most important factor was
his own personality and strength of character. He was a determined man,
who rarely gave up until he had achieved what he had set out to do. His
powers of persuasion, coupled with his passion and vitality, affected
everyone who came into contact with him, and he almost invariably got
what he wanted.
In recognition of his immense contribution, Raj was awarded the Param

Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), the highest non-gallantry award for the