Sam Manekshaw Age, Height, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Sam Manekshaw Age, Height, Wife, Family, Biography and more

Sam Manekshaw

Bio Profile
Full Name: Sam Hormusji Framji Jamsetji Manekshaw
Surname: Sam Bahadur
Profession: For Army Personnel
Famous: Being the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the post of Field Marshal

Physical stats and more

Height (approx)

- In centimeters 173 cm

- In meters 1.73 

- In feet 5' 9"

Weight (approx)

In Kilograms - 65 kg 

in pounds - 143 pounds

Eye Color : Dark Brown
Hair Color : Black

Career
Service/Branch: Indian Army
Rank: Field Marshal
Years of Service: 1932-2008

Unit
• Royal Scots
• 12th Frontier Force Regiment
• 5th Gorkha Rifles
• 8th Gorkha Rifles
• 167th Infantry Brigade
• 26th Infantry Division

War / Battle
• World War 2 (1939)
• India Partition War (1947)
• China Indian War (1962)
• India Pakistan War (1965)
• India Pakistan War (1971)

Awards, Honors and Achievements
• Military Cross (1942)
• Burma Gallantry Award (1942)
• 9 Years Long Service Medal (1944)
• 1939–1945 Star (1945)
• Burma Star (1945)
• War Medal (1945)
• India Service Medal (1945)
• General Service Medal (1947)
• 20 year long Service Medal (1955)
• Padma Bhushan (1968)
• Purvi Star (1971) 

• Pschimi Star (1971) 

• Padma Vibhushan ( 1972 )
• Sangram Medal ( 1972 )

Personal life 

Date of birth : 3 April 1914 (Friday)
Place of birth: Amritsar, Punjab
Date of death: 27 June 2008
Place of death: Wellington, Tamil Nadu
Age (at the time of death): 94 years
Cause of death: Pneumonia
Zodiac Sign: Aries
Nationality: Indian
Hometown: Amritsar, Punjab
School: Sherwood College, Nainital

College / University
• Hindu Sabha College, Amritsar, Punjab
• Indian Military Academy, Dehradun

Educational Qualification (s)
• Graduate from Hindu Sabha College, Punjab

• Post Graduate from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun 

Religion: Jorastrian [1]

Relationship and more
marital status (at the time of death): widower
marriage date: 22 April 1939

Family
Wife / Spouse: Silu Bode

Sam Manekshaw with his wife Silo Bode

Children 

Son- None 

Daughter (2) -
• Sheri Batliwala
• Meja Daruwala (Hostess)

Sam Manekshaw with his daughter Major Daruwalla

Parents

Father- Hormusji Manekshaw (Doctor) 

Mother- Hilla (Homemaker) 

Siblings
Brother (s) - 3
• Pod (Elder; Engineer)
• Jan ( Elder ; Engineer)
• Jamie (Younger; Medical Officer of Royal Indian Air Force)

Sister (s) - 2
• Silla (elder; teacher) • Sheru (elder; teacher )

Style Quotient
Car Collection
• Sunbeam Rapier

Sam Manekshaw with his sunbeam rapier

• Maruti 800

Sam Manekshaw

Some lesser known facts about Sam Manekshaw

• Sam Manekshaw was an Indian Army officer who was the first officer from independent India to be awarded the rank of Field Marshal.
•  When Sam was a teenager, he wanted to go to London to study medicine and become a gynecologist, but his father refused. He said that his father would not let him go to London because he was too young. He joined the Indian Army as an act of rebellion against his father.

Sam Manekshaw's parents

• He joined the first batch of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in 1932. There were only 40 students in his batch, and were called precursors.
•  When he was badly wounded while fighting for the British Army in World War II, his divisional commander, Sir David Tennant Cowan, placed his military cross on Sam's chest and said- "A dead man with a military cross Cannot be honored ”.
•  In the early 1960s, a court inquiry was ordered against him, which could end his career. Although the allegations never surfaced, it is believed that the 1962 war against China saved him and Manekshaw was given the command of 4 PPS.

Sam Manekshaw after being commissioned as Colonel of the 8 Gorkha Rifles

• On 8 July 1969, Sam Manekshaw was appointed as the eighth Army Chief by the Indira Gandhi government.

Sam Manekshaw appointed as Chief of Army Staff

• During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, Sam led the Indian Army against Pakistan; This led to India's victory in December 1971 and the creation of Bangladesh.

Sam Manekshaw during the war

• In April 1971, Indira Gandhi asked Manekshaw if the army was ready to attack Pakistan, to which Sam said he would be defeated by an untimely attack. He asked her for a few months to get ready.
• In December 1971, on the eve of the war, Indira Gandhi asked Sam if he was ready. Sam replies- "I'm always ready, sweetie".

Sam Manekshaw with Indira Gandhi

• He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1968 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1972 for his exemplary contributions to the country.

Sam Manekshaw awarded Padma Vibhushan

• In January 1973, the month of his retirement, he was awarded the rank of Field Marshal. This made Sam Manekshaw the first Army officer of independent India, awarded the highest rank in the Indian Army.

Sam Manekshaw commissioned as Field Marshal

• During his career, Maneco fought 5 wars - World War 2, India Pakistan Partition War, China Indian War of 1962, India Pakistan War of 1965 and 1971.

Sam Manekshaw

• He was very bold and straightforward. Sam often takes a stand against the Indian government if he feels that the government's decision will somehow compromise the military's position.
• Once he heard that the Pay Commission was going to reduce the allowance for uniforms of soldiers. He went to the Pay Commission and said- "Now gentlemen, you tell me, if I had worn my clothes and a kurta, who would have obeyed me." The statement reportedly put an end to the debate.

Sam Manekshaw addressing a Guard of Honor

• Once, in an interview, he was asked if he had chosen for Pakistan during Partition, what he had replied- "Pakistan must have won all the wars".
• He was always critical of the government and regularly defied and opposed orders.
• He would go to any length to maintain the dignity of the Indian Army and always resisted political pressure. Allegedly, when the government intervened in the work of the army, it often threatened to resign.

Sam Manekshaw with Indira Gandhi

• In 2019, film director Meghna Gulzar announced that she would release a film based on Sam Manekshaw starring Vicky Kaushal.

• He died of developing acute bronchoponia, a type of pneumonia, at the military hospital in Wellington, Tamil Nadu on 27 June 2008.
• A few days before his death, former President of India Drs. APJ Abdul Kalam went to meet him at the military hospital where Sam was admitted.

Sam Manekshaw with former President APJ Abdul Kalam

• After his death, many sections of the society were angry that Manekshaw was given a very minor funeral. People were upset that the funeral was held in Tamil Nadu and not in New Delhi. Allegedly, people were upset that it was an insult to his stature. Neither the Prime Minister, the President of India nor the Chief of Army Staff were present at the funeral. People demanded that he should be cremated in view of his contribution to the country.

Sam Manekshaw's funeral procession

• On 11 September 2008, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi named a flyover in the Shivranjani area of ​​Ahmedabad after him.
• On 16 December 2008, a postage stamp showing Manekshaw in his field marshal's uniform was issued by former President of India, Pratibha Patil.

Sam Manekshaw Stamp

• On 27 October 2009, the statue of Sam Manekshaw was unveiled near the headquarters of Pune Cantonment on Infantry Day.

Sam Manekshaw Statue

• On 3 April 2014, on the 100th birth anniversary of Sam Manekshaw, former Army Chief General Bikram Singh unveiled his statue at the Manekshaw auditorium in New Delhi. He also credited for this - "as Bangladesh in 1971, building a country on the world in 13 days".

Sam Manekshaw's statue was unveiled by former army chief General Bikram Singh

Tags: #SamManekshaw # IndoPakWar1971 #FieldMarshal # India_Army #Bangladesh