From: eric pinto
Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2022, 10:08
Subject: Lt. Gen. Eric Vas & his famous 'Chapati Letter'
To:
*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Having gracelessly removed General Thimayya and superseded General SPP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 India
