Page 351 - Leadership in the Indian Army

to be known as ‘Kanwar Sahib’s Regiment’, where the accent was on high
living rather than professionalism. (In Rajasthan, the name of a highborn
Rajput is prefixed with ‘Thakur’, that of his son with ‘Kanwar’, and

grandson with ‘Bhanwar’.) It was only in the 1950s, after a new breed of
officers began to be commissioned into Poona Horse, that the tide turned
and the regiment once again began to regain its lost glory and place of
honour in the Indian cavalry.
Hanut took immense pride in his regiment, which he considered to be the
best in the Indian Army. In those days, however, it was not as highly
regarded as it deserved to be, and Hanut was pained to hear certain senior

officers pass disparaging remarks about it. He decided that it was not
enough for him to consider his regiment to be the best—every good
regimental officer should also feel the same. It was only when the Poona
Horse was acknowledged as the best by others that it could legitimately
claim this distinction. And so it became his personal mission to ensure that
the Poona Horse was accepted and universally acclaimed as the best cavalry

regiment of the Indian Army. He worked with missionary zeal towards
achieving this goal, and motivated and inspired other officers of the
regiment to do likewise. The success of these efforts can be gauged from
the fact that the exploits of the Poona Horse during the Indo–Pak Wars of
1965 and 1971 became legends. It emerged as the most highly decorated
regiment in both wars, winning a PVC in each. In 1965, the Commandant,
Lieutenant Colonel A.B. Tarapore was awarded the PVC; and in 1971, the

youngest officer in the unit, Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, won the
coveted award. This is a unique distinction, unmatched by any other unit in
the Indian Army. To cap it all, the Pakistani Army acknowledged the
regiment’s valour on the battlefield by conferring on it the title Fakhr-e-
Hind (Pride of India). Hanut’s pride and faith in his regiment were
vindicated.

As a young officer, Hanut developed a deep admiration for the German
General Staff, particularly their total dedication to the profession of arms,
and their unmatched expertise in the art of war. He sought to emulate these
qualities himself, and encouraged other officers in the regiment to do the
same. As a result, qualities like professionalism, personal rectitude and total
dedication to the regiment and the service became the hallmarks of the
Poona Horse officers, and continue to be so even today. In fact, a group of

officers in the regiment jokingly referred to themselves as the ‘PH General