Page 86 - Leadership in the Indian Army

favourite. Thimayya became very close to the Hamilton-Brittons and was
often a guest at their house. As in Bangalore, Indians were not allowed in
the Basra Club. The Colonel decided to take up the matter with the club

committee. Due to his efforts, and the fact that the club was located in the
cantonment, Indians were granted full membership and began to enjoy the
facilities that the club offered. This also served the useful purpose of
keeping the officers away from the notorious flesh pots of Baghdad.
Sometime later, Colonel Hamilton-Britton recommended Thimayya’s
appointment as Assistant Provost Marshal, who was in charge of enforcing
discipline among the troops, especially when they visited the city. It was a

very responsible position and Thimayya was warned that he would have to
withstand temptation, as well as pressure, to look the other way at various
types of wrongdoing. Thimayya performed his task diligently and the other
officers of the battalion gave him a lot of support. This also served to bring
the British and Indian officers closer to each other. When the battalion left
Baghdad, the CO told Thimayya: ‘I am proud of you, my boy.’

In 1928, Thimayya’s battalion moved to Allahabad, where he was to
spend the next four years. On his way to Allahabad, Thimayya stopped for a
few days in Bombay, where he met Sarojini Naidu, who introduced him to
Mohammed Ali Jinnah. This was Thimayya’s first contact with nationalist
leaders, and he found the experience confusing. As an Indian, he
sympathised with their cause. But as a soldier, he had sworn an oath of
allegiance to the British sovereign. He was not sure if he could reconcile the

two positions. In Allahabad, he came into close contact with the Nehrus and
was a frequent guest at Anand Bhawan, where he came to know Nehru’s
sisters, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit and Krishna (Betty) Hutheesingh. He also met
Dr Kailash Nath Katju and Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, as well as several other
prominent citizens of Allahabad. He had his first glimpse of Mahatma
Gandhi when he came to Allahabad to address a public meeting. The Civil

Disobedience movement had begun and there was a general upsurge of
nationalist feeling among the people. Thimayya’s battalion was often
charged with mantaining law and order and doing flag marches. On one
occasion, he almost got into trouble, when he threw his peak cap into a
bonfire of British goods, at the behest of Krishna Hutheesingh.
Thimayya was deeply impressed by the nationalist fervour then sweeping
the country and the sacrifices being made by the people. At one point, he

and some of the other Indian officers wanted to resign their commissions