A Tribute to Lt Gen S L Malhotra AVSM, PVSM (Retd)

                                                 
                                                     Lt. Gen S.L. Malhotra, PVSM, AVSM (Retd.)

15 April 2018, Sunday: A condolence meeting was held at the Signals Vihar Community Hall in Mhow to pay tribute to the late Lt. Gen S.L. Malhotra, PVSM, AVSM (Retd.) who had passed away recently. Many eminent Army officers paid rich tributes to the departed General officer and spoke about his greatness as a military commander and as a noble human being who cared for his subordinates and colleagues.

Among those who paid tribute to him included Lt Gen Rajiv Chopra the Commandant of the Infantry School Mhow and Colonel Commandant of the Madras Regiment, previous Commandant of the Army War College Lt Gen Vijay Madan (Retd) and former Commandant of the Infantry School Mhow Lt Gen Sher Amir Singh (Retd). Besides them the regimental colleagues of Lt Gen Malhotra including Lt Gen MM Walia (Retd), Brig D K Rastogi (Retd), Brig Avtar Singh (Retd) also paid rich tributes to their former Commanding Officer. The Chairman of the Signals Vihar Cooperative Housing Society (where he built his house and settled after retirement) Col P C Ohri (Retd) also paid tributes to him. His daughter Ms Sadhna Pasricha and his grandson Chirag Malhotra also spoke about their father and grandfather respectively and shared with us a very human portrait of Gen Malhotra. The function was conducted with elegance by his grandaughter Anisha Malhotra Singh. 

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The professional and career details of Lt Gen S L Malhotra, PVSM, AVSM (Retd) are as follows. Thanks to the Malhotra family for providing these details. 

Lt Gen S L Malhotra was commissioned in the 4th Battalion of the Madras Regiment (Wallajahbad Light Infantry) June 1950. In his illustrious career of 36 years he had the honour of commanding his battalion in erstwhile East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War in December 1971. The Battalion performed exceedingly well during the war and many personnel were awarded for bravery.

After commanding a Brigade and a Division he became the Commandant of the Infantry School Mhow. He was the founding father of the Army Marksmanship Unit at Mhow, which has won a large number of medals for India in international competitions including the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. He was the Colonel of the Madras Regiment and was awarded the AVSM in 1979 and the PVSM in 1983.

He was serving as the Director General NCC at the time of his retirement in 1986. As DG NCC he was one of the pioneers for launching the Microlight flying program in India and he was instrumental in starting the NCC World Youth Exchange Programme with several countries.He was also the Colonel of the Madras Regiment. 

After retiring from the Army he served as Dy. Managing Director of TATA Exports and was on the Board of Directors of TATA International. He was the Chairman of the Leather Council of India for 5 years and also served as an advisor to the Punjab Government on Leather Exports.

He is survived by his wife Mrs Pushpa Malhotra, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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Tribute published in Nai Dunia (Indore-Mhow edition 16 April 2018)

Ace Shooter Jitu Rai Gets Ready For The Commonwealth Games

According to an article by Sabi Hussain in the Times of India dated Feb 28, 2018 Jitu Rai is using meditation, swimming and yoga to stay mentally and physically fit. "I am practising at the Army Marksman Unit in Mhow and not at the national camp. The target is to win medals at the CWG, Asian Games and ISSF World Championships in South Korea. I am leaving for Mexico to compete at the first World Cup of the season in Guadalajara in March. There are no injury concerns and I am confident of delivering results,” said Jitu.     More here. 

Lt Gen J F R Jacob’s Gentleman Cadet days at OTS Mhow.

Lt Gen J F R Jacob’s Gentleman Cadet days at OTS Mhow.

 Lt Gen AAK Niazi of Pakistan signing the instrument of surrender. Next to him is Lt Gen J S Aurora the GOC-in-C of India's Eastern Command. Lt Gen JFR Jacob (then a Major General and Chief of Staff of the Eastern Command) is standing behind Lt Gen Niazi. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 India License
Author Indian Navy

Army Day celebrations on 15 Jan were tinged with  sadness this year as  the nation had  lost the highly respected and loved Lt Gen JFR Jacob (Retd) on Jan 13. Jacob  was  one of the architects of the resounding victory over Pakistan  in the Eastern sector which led to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob was born in Calcutta in 1923 in a Baghdadi Jewish family. After completing his schooling he decided to join the British Indian Army as he was traumatised by the cruel treatment meted out to Jews in Europe by Hitler and the Nazis.

Not many know that Jacob joined  Officers’ Training School (OTS) Mhow for his cadet  training and he was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery though he wanted to join the infantry. OTS Mhow was one of many  training schools set up in India during World War II for churning out officers for the war machine. One of Jacob’s  batchmates at OTS Mhow was T N Raina who later became the Chief of Army Staff.  In his memoirs An Odyssey in War and Peace (Roli Books, 2011, Rs 350) Jacob briefly describes his short stay at Mhow. He praises the terrain around Mhow for being appropriate for military training. He mentions that though the training schedule was tough and demanding the gentlemen cadets were treated as officers in their off hours and were provided comfortable accommodation and even personal servants – a luxury for cadets!

Jacob’s description of how he ended up in the artillery is hilarious. He had done well during cadet training and was confident of being commissioned in the infantry – his first choice. But he was called to the company office and told that he had volunteered for the artillery.  He then proceeded to Deolali, against his wishes, for his pre-commission training for the artillery. He describes the quality of cadet life in Deolali to be much inferior to that in Mhow. Four cadets had to share a tent and they had no electricity. Even off hours were devoted to training activities. Of the  28 cadets in his course only 21 could complete the course. They were commissioned as Second Lieutenants without any fanfare or a  passing out parade on 7 June, 1942.  Thus began a glorious career which culminated in his retiring as GOC-in-C Eastern Command in 1978.

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Links
The Wikipedia page on General Jacob. Click here
An Israeli journalist pays tribute to General Jacob. Click hereRediff dot com's chat with General Jacob in 2006. Click here
Who was Lt Gen JFR Jacob (India Today) Click here.

Royalty is Royalty....

04 March 2014, Tuesday

Army Despatch Rider's Royal Enfield Motorbike in Malwa Market Mhow

Blade Runner Major D P Singh and the Infantry Run

Infantry Run held as part of Infantry Day Celebrations 2013
A Photo Essay....

Major D P Singh, India's first blade runner who lost a leg in the 1999 Kargil War was the star attraction in the Infantry Run conducted in Mhow on Saturday 26 October 2013. This run was part of Infantry Day celebrations conducted in Mhow by the Infantry School - the alma mater of the Indian Infantry. D P Singh participated in the 10 km run and was a figure of admiration for each one of us who was there.
A majority of people who were there would not remember who the actual winners of the 3 km and 10 km race were... But we can forgive them after all it was DP's day... I too dedicate this blog post to the indomitable spirit of the soldier in Major DP Singh...

With Army officers before the run began...

With members of the NGO Swayam Jyoti which assisted Infantry School in conducting the Infantry Run...

With Lt General Rajesh Pant, AVSM, VSM, Commandant MCTE (Military College of Telecommunication Engineering) Mhow and Senior Colonel Commandant of the Corps of Signals. 

Encouraging and accepting the greetings of the participants of the 3 km race....


Some of the young participants in the 3 km run.


This group of ladies was also raring to go.....


Some of the veterans who participated in the run.


The Equestrian Squadron of the NCC (National Cadet Corps), RVC (Remount and Veterinary Corps)
was also in action helping in the smooth conduct of the run.  

Loosening up after the race. Nobody expected DP to go out of the stadium and he was left alone (something very unusual for this visit of his) for quite some time. 

Above and below: With some of his innumerable admirers.....

With a young subaltern...

Major DP Singh with Lt Gen A S Nandal, UYSM, AVSM, SM, Commandant Infantry School, Mhow


Major DP Singh being felicitated by Lt Gen A S Nandal, UYSM, AVSM, SM, Commandant Infantry School Mhow

                                        
The winner of the 10 km race young Pankaj Kumar Pardesi .... Wishing him many more successes in the future...

                             
Smartly turned out soldiers of the Sikh Regiment who made sure that the event went off peacefully.
Hats off to them....


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The Infantry school, Mhow organised an Infantry Run on Saturday 26 Oct as part of the Infantry day celebrations, which falls on 27 October, and is celebrated every year to commemorate the landing of first elements of the Indian Army at Srinagar airfield on 27 October 1947  thus preventing  Kashmir from falling into Pakistani hands.

 Approximately 5000 people from all spheres of life including defence personnel, civilians and school children participated with full zeal and enthusiasm. The run was conducted in two categories of 10 Km and 3 Km. Mr Pankaj Kumar Pardeshi in age group of 18 to 35, Nb Sub Amarjeet Singh in age group 35 to 45 and Nk AN Pandey in age group 45 to 55 came first in 10 km category whereas 3 Km run was won by Kumari Seema Awase in girl child category, Master Naveen Chauhan in boys category, Capt Sadhana Singh in ladies category and Mr N Sanjeev in senior category.  

 Many senior army officers and civil dignitaries participated in the run to support the spirit of Infantry Men who always leads from the front and are always ahead in war, counter insurgency operations or humanitarian relief during natural calamities.

 Major DP Singh, the first blade runner of the country and a Kargil war veteran also participated in the Infantry run as a special invitee and was felicitated by Lt Gen AS Nandal, UYSM, AVSM, SM, Commandant Infantry School.

A Hundred and One years for the Indian Army's Corps of Signals

101 years of the Corps of Signals, Indian Army

Celebrations at Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE) Mhow

Pagal Gymkhana held on Sunday 12 Feb 2012.

A young Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi at a fancy dress competition to celebrate 101 years of the Corps of Signals at MCTE Mhow today Sunday Feb 12... खूब लड़ी मर्दानी वह तो झाँसी वाली रानी थी

 

                                             "Catch me if you can..." Kids enjoying themselves during the 'Pagal Gymkhana' 

Quite a mouthful... Children's favourite - Jalebi Race in progress...

"Calmly..." Thread and needle race 

"No flying today" said the pilots of the micro light aircraft of the Army Aero Nodal Centre who were supposed to perform a fly past. I was told that the wind speed was around 20 knots - double the 10 knots that is the upper limit.

                                            "He Ram!" A boy dressed up as Mahatma Gandhi for  the fancy dress competition 

 

 

A Two Day Army Exhibtion (Fauji Mela) in Mhow

Fauji Mela in Mhow.

Jan 12-13 2012.

To celebrate National Youth Day (the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda).

The station commander Brigadier Mukesh Kumar was requested by Mhow MLA and State Industries Minister Shri Kailash Vijayvargiya to extend the mela by one day so that people from Indore could also see it. That is the reason why the exhibition of military hardware was open on Jan 13 too...

An infantryman atop a T-72 Battle Tank .

पैदल सिपाही (रायफलमैन) टैंक पर ....

           The infantryman, the infant and the artillery..... The 105/37 Indian Field Gun... एक फौजी अपने पुत्र के साथ....

                                         

     A visitor is curious about the ATGM (Anti Tank Guided Missile) Launcher टैंक को नष्ट करने वाले ATGM  के बारे में जानकारी लेते हुए....

Small arms and other Infantry weapons on display...

पैदल सिपाहियों के हथियार की प्रदर्शनी

 

                                            40 mm Multi Shot Grenade Launcher
                                 ४० एम् एम् मल्टी शाट ग्रिनेड लौन्चर

84 mm Rocket Launcher RCL Mark III

८४ एम् एम् राकेट लौन्चर आर सी एल मार्क III

                                               

30 mm AGL-17, Automatic Grenade Launcher.

३० एम् एम् ऐ जी एल - १७ आटोमेटिक ग्रिनेड लौन्चर

 

7.62 mm Machine Gun

७.६२ एम् एम् मशीन गन  

                                       
Click here to see my photo essay on the same event in the English daily DNA (Indore Edition) (www.dnaindia.com)

Adieu Lt Colonel (Retd) VG Sowani, SM (1920-2010)

On 01 May 2010 Lt. Col (Retd) V G Sowani, SM passed away. At the age of ninety he was the seniormost surviving veteran in Mhow. He was also one of the few surviving veterans who had joined the Army in the pre-independence era. According to a blog of the Corps of Signals these are some of the details about him:
1. Date of birth: 11 Sep 1920
2. Date of Seniority: 04 Feb 1942
3. Date of retirement: 03 Feb 1970



He had settled in Mhow after retirement. I do not remember seeing him in my childhood though my parents knew the family. I remember him from 1979 onwards when I was in my late teens. He and I would often meet on our evening walk. We both would be with a dog. My father had been allotted an official quarter on the Mall which was known as Burmah Shell ka Bungla by the locals of Mhow. And the Sowanis lived diagonally across the road in a house they had purchased after the Colonel had retired from the Army. I also remember him for the side car attached to his Lambretta scooter. And for his impeccable manner of dressing - something very characteristic of officers commissioned in the pre-independence Indian Army.

We left the Burmah Shell Bungalow in 1980 when my Dad retired but we were always in touch with the Sowani family. There is a feeling of sadness when I think of veterans like Colonel Sowani and my dad. These are soldiers who were born in the nineteen twenties and and had served during historic times.





Mrs Vasundhara Sowani and their daughter Dr Abhijeet were kind enough to let me have access to the old photographs in the family albums. I am uploading some of them in this post as a tribute to the deceased soldier.

Mhow Diary – A Collection of fascinating historical facts on Mhow.
(As it was published in the Free Press, Indore edition on May 31 2007)

In 1818 the English under the Scotsman Sir John Malcolm defeated the Holkars at the Battle of Mahidpur. The Treaty of Mandsaur was signed after this battle. The 7 th article of this treaty deals with the founding of Mhow. It was also as a result of this treaty that the capital of the Holkars was shifted from Maheshwar on the banks of the Narmada to Indore . Mhow was the headquarters of Sir John Malcolm till 1821.

According to the Treaty of Mandsaur (1818) the East India Company took the responsibility to "support a field force to maintain the internal treasuries of the territories of Malhar Rao Holkar, and to defend them from foreign enemies. It shall be stationed where the British Government determines to be best, and the Maharajah Malhar Rao Holkar agreed to grant some place of security as a deposit for stores." The place of security mentioned here is what is known as Mhow Fort.

The Army Garrison at Mhow consisted of an Infantry Battalion from a 'Native Regiment' (the rather condescending manner in which the British referred to regiments comprising Indian troops), a wing of a regiment of 'Native' Cavalry and an Artillery Battery comprising British Gunners but which was driven by 'natives'.

The highest point in Mhow is presently part of the campus of the MCTE (Military College of Telecommunication Engineering). It is roughly 1920 feet above mean sea level. It was the location where a British Infantry Battalion was stationed. It was from this point that the British guarded the Bombay track via Chotta Jam.

The Mhow Fort was built in 1821. It covers an area of roughly 10 acres and was used as to store the arms and ammunition of the Mhow Garrison. During the 1857 uprising the Bengal troops in Mhow disobeyed their English officers and took up arms against the English. The surviving English, which included men, women and children, took refuge in Mhow Fort. They stayed here from 1st July 1857 till 2nd August when English troops from Aurangabad under the command of a Brigadier General Stuart entered Mhow via Simrol. Mhow was the only station in Central India which was never abandoned by the British.

If one were to go through the list of regiments stationed at Mhow one can read the names of many Indian Regiments which do not exist any more. In 1857 the year of the uprising the regiments stationed in Mhow were: 5 Regiment Scindiah's Contingent, 23 Regiment the Bengal Native Infantry, The Bengal Artillery, 14 Bombay Native Infantry, 14th Light Dragoons and 25 Bombay Native Infantry. In 1858, after the uprising was suppressed the 5th Regiment of the Madras Cavalry was stationed in Mhow. It is interesting to note that in 1857 the regiments from the Bengal Presidency Army had taken up arms against the British. The Armies of the Bombay and Madras Presidency had not participated in this uprising and were used by the British to crush what they called the Sepoy Mutiny.

In the period between the two World Wars Mhow was the headquarters of the 5th Indian Division which was also known as the Mhow Division. During World War II the troops who had retreated from Burma were kept in Mhow and were trained for jungle warfare in the forests around Mhow. The gruelling forced marches used to start from Mhow and end at Jhansi . Mhow was also used to house prisoners of war including Italian POWs.

From 1940 to 1946 Mhow also housed the Officers Training School . This School trained and converted many a raw young man into an officer of the Indian Army. In 1946 the buildings of the British Infantry Lines were used to establish the Indian Signal Corps School . The first commandant of the School of Signals was an Englishman named Colonel AL Lewis ( 1 Oct 1946 to 27 Oct 1947 ). After independence it was renamed School of Signals on 25 Jun 1948. In 1967 the School of Signals became the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering.

The Infantry School Mhow came into existence on 01 July 1946 and its first commandant was Brigadier RT Cameron, DSO of the 5 Gurkha Rifles (FF). He served in this post from 01 July 1946 to 19 April 1947 . In 1948 the Small Arms School in Sagar, or Saugor as it was known then, was shifted to Mhow along with the Tactical and Administrative School Dehra Dun, the Battle School and Tactical Training Centre DehraDun, the Indian Infantry Platoon Commanders School, Faizabad, the Indian NCOs Training School, Jhansi, the Methods of Instruction School, DehraDun and the Machine Gun School, Deolali. All these institutions merged into the Infantry School – the alma mater of the Indian Infantry. Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw was the Commandant of the Infantry School from 01 Jan 1955 to 29 Novemeber 1956. He was a brigadier at that time. In 1971 the tactical wing of the Infantry School was separated and The College of Combat was born. The first commandant of The College of Combat was Major General OS Kalkat, PVSM of the 6 Gurkha Rifles. The College of Combat is now known as the Army War College .

The Army Training Command or ARTRAC was born in Mhow in 1991. Its first GOC-in-C was Lt. General A.S. Kalkat who had earlier commanded the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. ARTRAC shifted to Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) in 1994. At that time its General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C) was Lt. General Shankar Roy Chowdhary who went on to become the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). ARTRAC was housed in the former BMH (British Military Hospital) which was used by All Arms Wing MCTE for many years. After ARTRAC shifted to Shimla the BMH building was handed over to Army School Mhow.


Mhow will continue to provide fascinating facts of Indian Military History. The facts listed above could well be called the tip of the iceberg. Readers who wish to contribute more facts may send them to me at dev.kumar.vasudevan@gmail.com

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