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Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa OFTEN referred to as the father of the Indian Army, Field Marshal Kodandera Modappa Cariappa was one of the most decorated generals of the Indian Army. He was in the very first batch of Indian officers of the Indian Army, and had the distinction of being the first Indian to qualify at Staff College, the first Indian Commanding officer, the first Indian Brigadier, the first Indian Army General Officer (1947), the first Indian Army Commander (1948), and the first Indian Commander-in-Chief (1949).
India was soon going to be independent, but Independence was coming at the cost of Partition. Cariappa was totally against Partition, but when the inevitable happened, he advised the new leaders that the defence of the realm should now be their top priority. Since most of the top officers before Independence were British, there was a vacuum after their departure. Cariappa realised this problem, and saw the need of setting up new institutions to train young officers. He believed that an "officer did not become a great commander without long experience and passion for study of war". A tireless worker that he was, his only complaint was that there were only 24 hours in a day, and not 48. "There is so much to do and so little time to do it." Cariappa always led from the front, and by personal example. He used to tell his jawans, "I will never ask you to do anything that I am myself incapable of doing." He believed that the Army should uphold its glorious tradition and should keep itself away from politics. He was also against the idea of the so-called 'martial races', for he believed that anyone could become brave and courageous if proper training was given, and the right atmosphere was created. He felt that raising regiments on the basis of religion or caste was the ploy by which the British kept Indians divided. So he tried to make the Army as democratic as possible. After his long and illustrious career, Cariappa retired in 1953 prompting Nehru to say: 'People like you should never retire." After retirement he was appointed High Commissioner to Australia. But although he had retired, he never forgot his dear soldiers. In fact while in Australia, he was impressed by the methods that the Australian Government employed to help its ex-servicemen. Cariappa brought this to the notice of the Indian Government, and his recommendations were soon adopted. Showing spiritual leanings from the beginning, Cariappa now found time to study the ancient scriptures, especially the Upanishads and the Bhagvadagita. In spite of all the love and respect the he got from his countrymen, there were times when he was appalled by the slow manner in which things moved. A man of action, he decided to enter politics, but ended up tasting defeat. Recognising the
General's role, President Harry Truman of the United
States honoured him with the 'Order of the Chief
Commander of the Legion of Merit', and the Indian
Government made him Field Marshal. |
P. T. Usha THE sports instructor of Thriottur Upper Primary School was casually overseeing little girls running about and trying to catch one another. What surprised him was the leopard-like alacrity and movement of a tallish ten-year-old girl who was obviously beyond the reach of anyone her age. From then on he began to groom the girl who ultimately, with the help of Madhavan Nambiar, her other excellent coach, became the Sprint Queen of India: Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha or P. T. Usha for short.
Little Usha tasted blood in Cannanore in 1977. She won a bronze in the high jump as well as in the 100 and 200 metres by equalling the then national record at the Kerala State School Meet. But before she went to Cannanore, many of her relatives actually cautioned her parents that Cannanore was far away, and it was not nice for girls to take up sports. But her parents had complete faith in her, and they stood by her. In fact when Usha was a little girl, her father used to wake her up early in the morning and go jogging with her. Usha, who had no ambition of becoming an athlete then, used to make excuses to avoid getting up so early in the morning, but her father was too clever for her. Usha was good in sport but she was also good in studies, in fact if her sports career had not taken off so well she might have become a doctor. Later in 1977, Usha created a national record in the Kerala State Athletic Meet at Kottayam, when she finished the 100-metre race in 13 seconds flat. Again at the All-India School Meet at Trivandrum, she helped Kerala lift the championship trophy for the first time in 23 years. In the 1978 National Athletic Meet, Usha triumphed with four gold and one silver medal. Success followed success, and Usha the Moscow Olympics as the youngest participant. She didn’t do too well in Moscow, but the experience of seeing other world class athletes in action was invaluable. Usha missed the bronze in Los Angeles Olympics by a fraction of a second. As she sat alone that evening in her room, she received a message from Indira Gandhi, the then PM: "Don't worry. You may not have won a medal, but you have won the hearts of your countrymen." When it was time for the Asian Games in Seoul in 1986, everyone had written her off because she had performed quite poorly in the Goodwill Games in Russia. But she proved them wrong by winning four gold medals and one silver. Usha has always had a
very mature attitude towards success and failure:
"Winning made me more and more interested in
athletics. Slowly, running became a part of my life. My
only aim was to better my timing. . . . my aim is not to
defeat anybody. That has never been my intention. I only
want to improve my timing." |
Madan Mohan Malviya WHEN the Banaras Hindu University was finally opened in 1921, Madan Mohan Malviya went a step closer to realising his cherished dream of spreading modern education in India.
The man who would go on to devote his life to education and the freedom of his motherland, Madan Mohan Malviya, began his education at the age of five at Pandit Hardeva's Dharma Gyanopadesh Pathshala. After completing his matriculation in 1879, he went to Muir Central College, and then graduated from the Calcutta University in 1884. He was offered the post of teacher by the authorities of his school. Earning Rs 40 for a start, Malviya went ahead with his job with dedication and hard work, and became very popular with his students. Though he was busy in furthering the cause of education in India, he took active part in political activities and attended the Second Congress Session held in Calcutta in 1886. Owing to his devotion and services, he was made the Congress Party President in 1909, 1918, 1932 and 1933. After his return from Calcutta he was made editor of Hindustan — a Hindi weekly, and Indian Union. In 1887, he invited the Congress to Allahabad, and it proved to be a very successful effort. He became popular for his outspoken views about India as a subject of the British, the abject poverty of the masses, and the indifference of the British towards them. It is surprising that in spite of his busy life, he found time to complete his LL. B. As he got involved in the freedom movement, he hardly had time to pursue his legal profession, although he did come to the rescue of the 225 persons who were condemned to death in connection with the Chauri Chaura riots. Because of his untiring public service, he was elected to the Provincial Legislative Council in 1902, and later to the Imperial Legislative Council in 1909. He used his position to advocate free and compulsory education, and the prohibition of recruitment of Indian indentured labour for British colonies. He believed that in order to fight poverty and backwardness, India should industrialise. He was duly appointed member of the Indian Industrial Commission in 1916. As Gandhi started the non-cooperation movement, Malviya did not stand for elections to the Indian Legislative Council in 1921. He nevertheless became member of the Assembly from 1924 to 1930, resigning shortly after the Salt Satyagraha. He supported the demand for full dominion status to India. Malviya believed that awareness and involvement of the common masses was essential if the goal of freedom was to be realised. With this in mind, he started publishing Abhyudaya, a Hindi weekly in 1907, and later, because of its popularity, made it a daily. Maryada a Hindi monthly, and Leader an English daily were also published under his guidance. "I appeal to my countrymen," he reminded Indians, "to wakeup to the reality of the situation. I take it that every Indian wants that we should have complete freedom for the management of our own affairs. The attainment of of this freedom will become easier if we unite and work with one mind and purpose to achieve it. I implore all Hindus, Musalmans, Sikhs, Christians, Parsees and all other countrymen to sink all communal differences and establish political unity among all sections of the people." (To be
concluded) |
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Belonging to the Coorg district
of Karnataka, a region that is particularly known for its
natural beauty and for giving India a regular supply of
excellent soldiers and army officers, Cariappa often
heard stories of valour of World War I veterans of his
region. It was not long before he started dreaming of
becoming an officer himself. He soon won his Commission,
and found himself at Daly Cadets College, Indore. It was
there that he learnt the basics of military warfare,
battle tactics, leadership techniques, and administrative
skills. His officers were very happy the way this young
man was shaping up, so they sent him to the prestigious
Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was made Second
Lieutenant in 1919, and was posted first to the Second
Battalion of the 2/88th Carnatic Infantry, and then to
the 2/125th Napier's Rifles. 
Usha,
the second daughter of her parents, was born in Payyoli,
Calicut district, Kerala. But it was her maternal
grandfather who named her 'Usha' after a character in a
poem that he was reading when Usha was born.
Later, when the British Government stopped
its annual grant to the BHU, and even his patrons, the Maharajas
and rich businessmen were hesitant to help him, the Maharanis
of the various Royal families handed over their
jewellery to him, while the professors volunteered to
work at reduced salaries. That was the kind of respect he
commanded from his colleagues and admirers.