Page 350 - Leadership in the Indian Army

Hanut was born on 6 July 1933 at Jasol. He was sent to Colonel Brown’s
School at Dehradun for his early education, where he was exposed to
Western values, some of which conflicted with those held for centuries by

the Rajputs. Hanut tried to resolve the contradiction by adopting what was
best in both traditions. A brilliant student, Hanut earned a double promotion
from Class 7 to Class 9. He was a voracious reader, who made an extensive
study of Rajput history and tradition, in which he took immense pride. His
choice of the martial profession was almost natural, as was his predilection
for the Cavalry, which he later joined.
On 1 January 1949, the Joint Services Wing (JSW) of the IMA was

established, at Clement Town in Dehradun. This was later shifted to
Khadakvasla, near Poona, and renamed the National Defence Academy.
Hanut joined the first course at JSW, along with S.F. Rodrigues, who later
become COAS; Ram Das, who rose to be the Chief of Naval Staff; and
N.C. Suri, who retired as the Chief of Air Staff. At the Academy, he was
seen as a loner. His fellow cadets could not help but notice his strict self-

discipline, moral values and strength of character, and held him in high
regard. Unfortunately, this regard turned to jealousy in later years, when
some of his colleagues used these very qualities to sideline him, calling him
arrogant and stubborn.
Hanut was commissioned on 28 December 1952 into 17 Horse—or the
Poona Horse—one of the elite cavalry regiments of the Indian Army. This
was not surprising, given his background and inclination. In the early

1900s, Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh of Jodhpur, the famous Sir ‘P’, had
funded the raising of two Rathore Rajput squadrons in the Poona Horse. Sir
‘P’ was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Regiment, and ever since then
the Maharajas of Jodhpur have continued to hold this appointment. Hanut’s
father and uncle, who were in the Jodhpur Lancers, did attachments with
the Poona Horse. So it was only natural that Hanut should also join the

Poona Horse.
The Poona Horse was one the last regiments to be Indianised. As a result,
it had very few Indian officers at the time of Independence. To make up the
shortfall after the British left, several officers from other regiments were
transferred to Poona Horse. This heterogeneous collection of officers, most
of whom were of average calibre, did little to enhance the reputation of the
regiment. For some reason, most officers from the IMA who joined after

Independence were from a feudal background, and the Poona Horse came