Y. B. Chavan - Pragmatic Approach to Everything
General P. P. Kumarmangalam (Retd.)
My first acquaintance with Mr. Y. B. Chavan was at my father's swearing in as Governor of Maharashtra. I did meet him a few time after that but not enought to get to know him well. My father thought him a man with balance and a pragmatic Chief Minister. He was also not too proud to ask the Governor for advice and used to discuss any problems before introducing any new measures. In 1962 he took over as Defence Minister at a most difficult time. We had been badly beaten up by the Chinese and had lost our morale. I was the Adjutant General at that time but had no direct contact with him. The task of restoring confidence in the Armed Foreces particularly in the Army was difficult one. The manner in which his predicessor Krishna Menon worked was not conducive to good relations between the Chiefs of Staff and the Minister. As a result there was a lack of good rapport between the Ministry and Armed Forces Headquarters. Out lack of preparedness for meeting every serious threat from across our borders had to be rectified. Out armed forces had to be expanded and completely re-equipped if they were to be made fit for meeting an external threat.
The first task before him was to establish a good and close relationship between the Minsiter and the Chiefs of Staff and a more harmonious working between the Ministry and Armed Forces Headquarters. Mr. Chavan's calm and quiet personality was an asset in achieving this in a very short time. The three Chiefs had regular direct contact with the Minister and they were not treated arbitrarily as was his predecessor's habit. This quickened decision making and improved relations between the Ministry and Service H.Q. We were able to get on with our job without any restrictions from the top. Before I left Army H.Q. in May 1963 there was a new confidence in those who worked there and much more liveliness. This change of atmoshphee was a real tribute to the personality of Mr. Chavan. He achieved this change in a mere 6 months. My father's assessment of him was dead correct. He was never flustered or loss balance and had a pragmatic approach for everything. He had intellect and a natural common sense but he never thought it beneath him to consult and ask the advice of those beneath him before he took a decision.
During 1963-64 he went abroad to negotiate for acquisition of equipment. He proved himself a good negotiator and laid the foundations for re-equipping the army and set a good pattern for the future. By the time I returned to Army HQ in November 1964 the outlook in the Ministry was much more purposeful and one felt that we were well on the way to achieving our aims. I was with him as part of a team, he took with him to the U.K. in November 1964. It was to negotiate and obtain certain equipment for the Army in keeping with our policy of modernization and in particular the establishment of a Naval Ship yeard. Agreement was reached on all this on terms advantageous to u. It is to his credit that we not have the capacity to build our warships. That he reached agreement within a week of our stay there showed his aptitude as a negotiator.