Page 256 - Leadership in the Indian Army

leave, and described him as the perfect example of a Chief of Staff, doing
all the donkey work and leaving the boss to take credit.
On 1 August 1964, Prem was posted as GOC 9 Mountain Division. The

division had fought in World War II as an infantry division, and had been
disbanded afterwards. It was now to be re-raised, as a mountain division at
Saugor in Central India. In November 1964, it was moved to Ramgarh in
Bihar. After a year, it was again redesignated as an infantry division due to
a change in its operational role. On 3 September 1965, India and Pakistan
went to war. Though 9 Infantry Division was not directly involved, it was
kept in readiness for operations against East Pakistan. However, after 22

days, a ceasefire was declared and the war ended. Prem had been following
the events closely, and was somewhat disappointed at not being directly
involved. However, he was elated by the performance of the Indian Army,
and wrote a paper shortly after the war, entitled ‘A Reputation is
Redeemed’, in which he said: ‘The black mark against the Army in general,
and the Officer Corps in particular, has been washed clean.’ Later, when he

wrote The Shield and the Sword in 1967, he included this paper as a chapter,
under the heading ‘Honour Redeemed’.
In August 1966, Prem was promoted Lieutenant General and appointed
GOC 11 Corps at Jullunder. The Army Commander was Lieutenant General
Harbaksh Singh, who had blunted the Pakistani attack during 1965. Prem
spent four years in Jullunder, where he carried out extensive changes in
tactical doctrine and training. From a purely defensive role, he visualised a

mixed offensive and defensive role for 11 Corps, and trained the troops
accordingly. He also planned the construction of fixed defences on the
border, to prevent being surprised by Pakistani armour in future wars. He
was an exponent of the ditch-cum-bund (DCB) defences, which now form
part of the fixed defences in Punjab.
The welfare of troops had always been of major concern to Prem, and he

paid attention to this aspect at Jullunder too. He spent a lot of time visiting
the living accommodations of officers and men, and came down heavily if
he found them in a state of disrepair. Several new projects were sanctioned,
and he was rarely deterred by rules and regulations. An incident which
occurred in 1970 is typical. There was a young captain who had recently get
married, but could not bring his wife to the station due to the acute shortage
of accommodation for married couples at Jullunder. His CO advised him to

seek an interview with the Corps Commander, which he did. On hearing