Page 345 - Leadership in the Indian Army

affable, and related to Sinha the story behind his supersession, which he
claimed had been done at the instance of the Prime Minister.
Though the IAF offered a service aircraft to take him to Patna, Sinha

declined, and decided to go by a scheduled Indian Airlines flight. He had
planned to depart quietly, but when he reached the airport, he was surprised
to find a large crowd of officers and men, including some from his own
battalion, who had come from Meerut. There were also a large number of
press correspondents, who were surprised that several of his senior
colleagues had come in uniform to see him off. When his plane landed in
Patna, the crowd that had gathered to receive him was even larger. It

included several prominent politicians, including Karpoori Thakur and Raj
Narain. The Sub-Area Commander was also there, and he escorted Sinha to
his house in a manner befitting a Vice Chief, with outriders and a pilot jeep.
Sinha’s retirement was to come into effect the next day, and he was entitled
to these courtesies, though he had not expected them.
Unlike most other retired generals, Sinha did not fade away. He was

invited by a large number of universities to deliver lectures on a variety of
subjects. He also continued to write for almost all major newspapers and
journals. Major Opposition leaders, such as Charan Singh of the DMKP,
Chandra Shekhar of the Janata Party, and Atal Behari Vajpayee of the BJP,
invited him to join their parties, but he declined. He decided to take a
holiday, and accompanied by his wife, went to Spain, where one of his
daughters was living with her husband. His other two daughters, who were

in the USA, joined them for a family reunion. Sinha and his wife spent a
pleasant month with their children and grandchildren in Spain.
In the 1984 General Elections, Sinha stood as an independent candidate
from Patna. He was supported by three Opposition parties, and it was
expected that he would win. After the polling was over, the ballot boxes
were kept in a strongroom. Next morning, it was discovered that the room

had been opened during the night by the District Magistrate, and a number
of ballot papers bearing Sinha’s name were found strewn about. At the same
time, ballot papers with the name of the Congress (I) candidate were found
stacked in the box. When the votes were counted, Sinha was found to have
polled about 117,000 votes, while the ruling party candidate had 200,000.
Sinha complained to the Election Commission, and later even filed a writ
petition in the High Court, but to no avail. That was the end of his foray

into politics, though he campaigned for V.P. Singh in 1988, when the latter