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the-south-asian Life & Times July-Sep 2011 |
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Sports Tennis Feature Indian
Military Lt Gen R S Sujlana - A Conversation
Royals in
Uniform Art
Adventure 60
Years of Indian
Travel
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Tempered by forty years in uniform,
Lt Gen Sujlana, Commandant of the IMA, is
a graduate of IMA. He will retire from the military on June 30, 2011 - a
couple of months after this conversation took place in the historic and
imposing Chetwode Hall – the sanctum sanctorum of IMA. An officer, a leader,
a golfer, a philatelist, a
numismatist,
a bird-watcher, his interests are wide-ranging. His association with IMA
goes back forty years when he arrived here as a GC. Subsequently he has also
been an Instructor and Colonel General Staff at IMA – and is now the
Commandant of his ‘Alma Mater’. It is a place he feels passionately for. He
has recently brought out a book on ‘Birds
of IMA’ and is working on another one – ‘Flowering
Trees and Shrubs of IMA’.
We spoke in mid-April 2011 on all things related to IMA.
Here
are his views. - Editor
That’s going back forty
years. There have been many overall changes but the biggest change has been
in the field of training - from conventional and nuclear warfare to
sub-conventional or non-conventional
dealing basically with insurgency,
terrorism or certain international duties under the UN flag. One thing that
hasn’t changed is the good old cycle. We’ve still got those old cycles here
– and they keep everybody fit!
Your vision for IMA Loyalty to the nation,
integrity, morals and ethics – all are of paramount importance.
My vision is to ensure that with these
parameters I train them to become good soldier warriors and leaders.
Your priorities:
To develop the GCs into warrior leaders. To stress personal responsibility
and accountability. Improve mental toughness.
Not at all – there is no problem on that score. In
fact there is a lot of camaraderie amongst them. Let me give you an example
of their comradeship. We had an outstanding GC here, heading possibly for a
major award at the academy. His father became suddenly unwell and he went
home to see him. But sadly, he met with an accident and died. His course
mates remembered that he talked of one sister whom he wanted to educate and
make her an engineer. So they all collected Rs 10 lakhs, put it in a fixed
deposit in his sister’s name – to honour their course-mate. There are no
qualms about being from different states, caste, tribe or religion. Even the foreign GCs who
come here, integrate very well with the rest of them. The foreign cadets who
come via NDA can speak Hindi – they form a part of the pipping ceremony –
though they come as a separate group. They use Hindi words of command –
savdhan, vishram etc. That’s the
level of integration that takes place here.
What is the state-wise
breakdown of GCs at IMA? Haryana, UP, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, and Bihar are
the top five states where most of the GCs are from. The middle order states
are Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh. The poorly
represented ones are Arunachal, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Mizoram,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Tripura There are no GCs from Andaman and
Goa. If every state were to send cadets – it would address the shortage of
officers in the army.
Does it help to have
been an alumnus of IMA and then come here as the Commandant
Definitely.
In
my case it has helped me because I am aware of the nuances of how things
function at all levels. I understand the issues better – having been here
not only as a cadet but also as an instructor.
Have you enjoyed your
time at IMA? I go around the campus
every morning on a cycle – I
have enjoyed my time at IMA and I will
retire a very happy person from the army. I am looking forward to my
retirement, though I would love to continue working for the army. My last
tenure has been a big step in my career – as the commandant of my alma
mater. When I passed out of here forty years ago on 13th of June
, I didn’t know I would be completing my career here and leaving on the 30th
of June.
Your Interests I enjoy reading and I have
a strong interest in Sikh history. I collect stamps , first day covers – I
have all the first day covers related to the armed forces -
all
the 662 covers but for seven.
(He has a handy list of the covers he
doesn’t have ). I also collect commemorative coins. I enjoy photography,
bird-watching, angling, and have begun this exercise of cataloguing the
number and species of trees in IMA. There is a book under production -
‘Flowering Trees and shrubs of IMA’.
I
have already brought out a book ‘Birds of IMA’ .
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