The earlier series was more interesting than this one. It was the story of the India-versus-Portugal battle in Goa, often coming up with diverse interpretations that most of us might have not known. In that case, it was possible to contest, verify, check, agree or doubt.
With the topic of military biographies, these tend to come mostly from official sources, and sometimes from what can be gleaned from the (scant) written record, the (uncontestable) writings of their army colleagues, and from those (few) who knew them personally. It's hard to confirm or verify what was said about each. I recall meeting Gen S. Rodrigues, when he had just taken over as the CoAS, and was the chief guest at an INS Mandovi (before it got shifted) passing-out parade. There was some military-related controversy in the news, and we raised the issue while informally interacting, as the press was then allowed/encouraged to (unlike in these Press Conference-mukt days). His answer? "*Hanv tumcho mur'rey*!" (I am one of you!) Needless to say, we were hardly impressed by the needless side-stepping of the entire issue. I agree it's too slight an issue to judge a person on, but first impressions.... On Sunday, 25 September 2022 at 06:48:57 UTC+5:30 valmiki wrote: > *Lt. Gen. Eric Vas & his famous Chapati Letter* > > > > Lieutenant General Eric Alexander Vas, with ancestral roots in Saligao, > was born in Karachi in 1923. He was an alumnus of St. Patrick's High School > (some years senior to LK Advani and many years to General Pervez Musharraf > but > attended the famed Jesuit run high school after many famous men like > Valerian Cardinal Gracias, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Cincinatus Fabian > D'Abreu, the legendary Goan administrator of Sind). His father was a > prominent medical doctor in Karachi. > > > > Lt. Gen. Vas was commissioned into the Infantry in 1942 and posted to the > Baluch Regiment. During Partition, the then Governor of Sind tried his > level best to retain him but he chose to be away from a theocratic state > and opted for secular India. > > > > Assigned to the Gorkha Regiment, he took part in the 1947-48 J&K Ops. He > later commanded the 1st Battalion, The 9th Gorkha Rifles (1/9 GR), one of > the elite regiments of the Indian Army. He saw active service during > successive operations in J&K, NEFA (North East Frontier Agency) and Sikkim. > > > > Colonel Anil Athale, co-author of official history of Sino-Indian border > conflict of 1962, wrote: “The year was 1960, the ‘Hindi-Chini Bhai-Bhai’ > slogan had lost much its sheen. There were clashes on Ladakh-Tibet border. > Having gracelessly removed General Thimayya and superseded General SPP > Thorat, Krishna Menon [then Defence Minister] and his chosen coterie ruled > the roost. In a bizarre twist to the drama, some armchair Generals thought > of a ‘brilliant’ idea of pressuring the Chinese on the Eastern front in > Arunachal Pradesh [the erstwhile NEFA]. It fell to the lot of Eric Vas, > then a Lieutenant Colonel in command of first Nine Gorkha Rifles battalion > to be the first regular battalion to be inducted in Towang area. Earlier > the border was sparsely manned by the Assam Rifles men, a para-military > outfit. The journey to Towang and the border was over 300 kms, mainly mule > tracks through one of the toughest terrain. > > > > “Vas was given the ‘task’ of defending Towang district, having area larger > than the state of Kerala [the Defence Minister’s home state], and with less > than 400 men at the end of a long, tenuous line of communications. There > were shortages of all kinds, from boots and warm clothing to ammunition. > Eric Vas decided to do something about it. Since there was shortage of even > paper to write on, he wrote a letter on a ‘*chapati*’ to the higher ups > highlighting the shortages and warning that the Indian army was in no > position to take on the Chinese unless these were rectified. > > > > “At a time when ‘the Chinese will not attack’ was a mantra that > substituted for realistic strategies, Vas became a marked man for speaking > the truth. There was furore in Parliament, opposition MPs (who were to turn > 180 degrees later) raised the issue of lack of ‘discipline’ in the army! > Eric Vas was moved from his command and posted to Mumbai in NCC, regarded > as a punishment posting.” > > > > [Maj Gen SCN Jatar recalled that Lt Gen Vas was a person of strong > convictions, not afraid to stand by them. "I have known him for over five > decades and served under him in Punjab in 1974-75. His conviction and his > straight forward attitude set him apart from his peers.” Fellow Goan, Air > Chief Marshal H Moolgavkar said, "I have known him for a long time. An > educated person, he formed the ‘Group of 12’ which now has 18 members who > meet every month and organise discussions on various subjects. He was a > gallant officer.”] > > > > As a Brigadier during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, Lt Gen Vas commanded an > infantry armoured brigade in action. He was later GOC 12 Infantry > Division. In the 1971 war, he was reserve Commander of two infantry > divisions (11 and 12) in the Rajasthan desert. As Lt Gen, he was a Corps > Commander in Punjab in 1974 and was appointed Adjutant General of the > Indian Army in 1977. > > > > To him goes the credit for establishing the prestigious College of Combat > at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh (now known as the Army War College). Commandant > of the College from its inception, he crafted the army's Higher Command > Course. He abolished grades and encouraged student officers to question > doctrines and dogma. The aim was to make them think out of the box. He > even introduced the controversial system of students grading the teachers! He > was known in the Indian Army’s top brass as *“**The Thinking General*” > (which became *“**The Original Thinking General*” after Gen. SF Rodrigues > was later called “*The Thinking General”*). > > > > In his illustrious career spanning almost 40 years, he was General > Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Army Command. Lt Gen Vas was elected > to the prestigious position of Colonel Commandant of the 9th Gorkha > Rifles Regiment. He was also President, the Gorkha Brigade. > > > > Lt Gen Vas ought to have been the COAS in June 1981 (it would have made > him the first Goan-origin chief of the Indian Army). But he retired on 31 > May 1981 because he would be unable to salute a junior. In the words of > Col. Athale: > > > > "The incumbent Army Chief was to retire in June 1981. Vas was the senior > most Army Commander. He had completed 58 years in May. On technical grounds > he was retired and next in line became the chief. It is to the credit of > persons involved that there was no rancour or ill will. He was then offered > a job to run the Asiad games project. But Vas was very clear that he would > not work under any ‘babu’. That ruffled too many feathers in the > bureaucracy and the job went to someone else. Even the PM felt sad and > offered him a governorship -- which he refused. This is not hearsay as I > have seen that letter with my own eyes." > > > > Lt Gen Vas contributed hundreds of articles on matters as diverse as > national security and international affairs to military history and travel > in various national and international journals. He authored many books, > among them *Fools and Infantrymen: One View of History 1923-1993* (Kartikeya > Publications, Meerut, 1995). His last book was a biography of his hero, > *Subhas > Chandra Bose: The Man And His Times* (Lancer International, New Delhi, > 2008). > > > > Lt Gen Vas was son of Dr. Cyril Vas, alumni of Grant Medical > College-Bombay, son-in-law of Commander JH da Lapa Soares and nephew of > Joseph Vas, amongst the first Goan ICS (now IAS) officers, and father of > Surgeon Lieutenant Commander Michelle Asha Vas. He passed away in his sleep > on the night of 18 Aug 2009 at his house in Pune where he had settled after > retirement. His remains were cremated as per his wish with full military > honours at the crematorium in Golibar Maidan, Pune. > > > > (This first appeared in the Marathi language in Goa’s daily, *Gomantak,* 14 > August 2022, and is excerpted from revised text of the book, *Patriotism > In Action: Goans in India’s Defence Services* by Valmiki Faleiro, first > published in 2010 by ‘Goa,1556,’ ISBN: 978-93-80739-06-9. Revised edition > awaits publication.) > [image: 2a Lt Gen Eric Vas.JPG] > > > -- *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/18a348bd-e2c9-4024-869f-e25159202043n%40googlegroups.com.
