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Thinking general's funeral on Wednesday

The body of former army chief General Krishnaswamy Sundarji has been kept in state at his home at Delhi cantonment for people to pay their last respects to one of the finest soldiers the Indian army has ever produced.

The flamboyant general, who admirably steered the Indian army from 1986 to 1988, died on Monday night at the Army Research and Referral Centre after a prolonged illness. He had been in hospital since March 1998 suffering from motor neurone disease.

Wreaths were placed on behalf of the President, the vice-president and the prime minister. Defence Minister George Fernandes and the three service chiefs visited the 6, Baird Place bungalow to pay their homage.

The funeral procession will leave Baird Place at 1400 hours on Wednesday for the Brar Square crematorium in Delhi cantonment. The pyre will be lit at 1630 hours.

The high profile 'thinking general' was the first chief to introduce a 15- year perspective plan for the army, something he had been working on as vice-chief.

Born Krishnaswamy Sundarrajan --- he later shortened his name to Sundarji -- leaves behind his wife and son Vikram, a writer.

His condition deteriorated rapidly over the last few days and he slipped into a coma from which he did not recover. The end came at 2115 hours.

Commissioned in 1945, he served as the army chief from February 1, 1986, to April 30, 1988. It was during his tenure that the controversial decision to purchase the Bofors gun was taken.

The general first emerged in the public gaze during Operation Bluestar and shortly after took over the top military post. His was a peace-time appointment, but the tenure saw the army in two intense campaigns -- in Siachen up in the north and in the jungles of North-Eastern Sri Lanka. On at least two occasions, India almost went to war, with Pakistan on the eve of Operation Brasstacks, and with China during Operation Checkerboard and its extension, Operation Falcon in the Eastern sector.

The general hogged the limelight even after his retirement. Adding fresh ammunition to the Bofors controversy, he issued stunning statements about the deal, the provocation behind which remained a mystery in a context when he reiterated that he had repeatedly spurned gubernatorial and ambassadorial offers.

The general had his critics too. While many of them gave him credit for many of his achievements, some labelled him as impulsive and a man in a hurry. "I have to aim for the moon'' was his reply to his critics.

In one interview the general said he had the option of being non controversial and not stepping on anybody's corns, ''but whatever I do I do out of deep conviction.''

He was commissioned into the Mahar regiment in 1946. He was a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the Command and General Staff College, Fort Levenworth in the US and the National Defence College.

He served in the UN mission in the Congo; he was chief of staff of the Katanga command and was mentioned in dispatches for his gallantry in 1963. During 1965, as battalion commander in the Kutch, he was praised for his calm during continuous Pakistani shelling of his post.

In 1971, he made valuable contribution to the planning and conduct of operations as brigadier (general staff) of corps in the Rangpur sector in Bangladesh. As major-general, he was member of the high-power expert committee set up to reorganise the army.

He held an MA degree in international studies from Allahabad university and an MSc degree in defence studies from Madras university.

UNI

EARLIER INTERVIEW:
The Rediff Interview / General K Sundarji

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