Page 295 - Leadership in the Indian Army

In November 1973, after commanding 4 Corps for exactly three years,
Sagat was transferred and given command of 1 Corps. He had been serving
in the East for more than eight years, and wanted to go to some place nearer

home, from where he could look after his family. His request was accepted
and he was posted to 1 Corps, which was in Mathura. He retired in
November 1974 and moved to Jaipur, where he had decided to live after his
retirement. He built a farmhouse on the outskirts of the city, aptly named
‘Meghna Farm’, and settled down. Shortly after his retirement, he became a
director of the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, as well as several other
companies.

Sagat had four sons, two of whom joined the army. His eldest son, Ran
Vijay, was born in February 1949. He was commissioned into 1 Garhwal,
which was later mechanised and redesignated as 6 MECH. He retired as a
Brigadier in March 2003 and lives in Jaipur. The historical association
between the Garhwal Rifles and 2/3 Gurkha Rifles lies in the fact that the
original 2/3 Gorkha Rifles, raised in 1887, started with a nucleus of

Garhwalis, and in 1890 was renamed 39th Garhwali Regiment, the forbears
of the present Garhwal Rifles. Based on this historical association, the
Colonel of the Garhwal Rifles claimed Sagat’s eldest son when he was to
get his commission. His second son, Dig Vijay, was born in October 1950,
and was commissioned into 2/3 Gorkha Rifles, the battalion his father had
commanded. Unfortunately, he died an untimely death on 4 March 1976—
while serving as a captain with the battalion in Poonch, the jeep he was

travelling in met with an accident. Sagat’s third son Vir Vijay was born in
August 1954. An ill-fated scooter accident in Delhi claimed his life just
eight months before that of his elder brother. The loss of two sons in the
prime of their lives within a short span of eight months was a terrible blow
for Sagat and his wife. Their youngest son, Chandra Vijay was born in April
1956. He is a business executive.

In November 1998 Sagat lost his wife. He lived alone in Jaipur, where his
children and grandchildren visited him whenever they could. About two-
and-a-half years after the death of his wife, he was operated for cancer of
the prostate in Delhi. He returned to Jaipur in July 2001 and seemed to have
recovered. But the heavy medicines he was taking had fatal side effects. He
was infected with Hepatitis A and once again had to be moved to Delhi. He
breathed his last at the army hospital on 26 September 2001.