Page 258 - Leadership in the Indian Army

see that all attempts to plug the breach were proving futile. The force of the
gushing water was just carrying away the large boulders and sandbags
being thrown in. There were several Public Works Department (PWD)

trucks that were loaded with stones and boulders and waiting to be
unloaded. Prem called the Sapper officer who was in charge and explained
to him what he wanted done. As several hundred people looked on, aghast,
the first truck was driven up to the edge of the embankment and then
pushed over the brink. This was followed by the next truck, which settled
on top of the first one. Due to their heavy weight, the trucks sank into the
breach and the flow of water was checked.

The next day, all newspapers reported the incident, calling Prem the
‘Saviour of Lucknow’. Thereafter, whenever his car drove through the city,
policemen stopped all traffic the moment they heard his pilot’s siren, a
privilege not extended even to the governor or chief minister. When he was
transferred to Udhampur a few months later, the citizens of Lucknow were
genuinely sorry to see him leave.

Prem’s concern for the welfare of his men is well known, and is the
subject of several anecdotes. Once, during a visit to an infantry battalion, he
asked one of the men what time he got up in the morning.
‘At three o’clock,’ replied the soldier.
‘Why so early?’ asked Prem. ‘I thought the PT parade is at six thirty.’
The soldier hesitated before blurting out the reason: The men had to spend a
long time waiting in a queue to use the lavatory. Prem promptly asked the

soldier to lead him to the lavatories. He found there were only 20 lavatories
for the 800 men in the battalion. Naturally, there were long queues in the
morning. Taking the CO aside, Prem gave him a dressing down. He asked
the CO if he had ever visited the lavatories. When the CO said no, Prem
literally blew his top. ‘No wonder you don’t know what is happening in
your battalion,’ he boomed. ‘Well, I want you to not only visit the men’s

lavatory, but to use it tomorrow morning. And then confirm to me on
telephone.’
Next morning, the hapless CO got up at 2 a.m., so that he could visit the
lavatory before the men did. Then he returned to his room and phoned the
Army Commander. Of course, the battalion got additional lavatories within
a month.
While he was GOC-in-C Central Command, Prem visited Mhow, where a

large number of training institutions are located. There were several officers