There were many aspirants for the Defence portfolio. T.T. Krishnamachari and Mr. Biju Patnaik were among them. But Nehru decided to entrust the Defence portfolio to Yeshwantrao Chavan. He not only wanted a person of proven administrative ability but also some one who would be loyal to Nehru and Nehru's ideals. Chavan was known for his progressive views. He had proved his loyalty to Nehru during the agitation for Maharashtra State. He was a friend of V. K. Krishna Menon and was known to have respect for Mr. Morarji Desai, though not necessarily for his views. He was thus on all counts acceptable. But there were also some who raised their eye-brows at the appointment. Was he not an unknown politician from Maharashtra, who had been catapulted to the office of Chief Minister just a few years ago when Mr. Morarji Desai decided to step down ? People who thought they were alikely successor to Nehru were naturally upset because success as Defence Minister would give Chavan tremendous prestige and therefore advantage. Michael Brecher mentioned him as one of the ten persons, likely to succeed Nehru.
Chavan's task in the Defence Ministry was difficult but was made more difficult by this under-current in certain quarters to run him down. T.T. Krishnamachari was angry at his appointment. Mr. Biji Patnaik for some time behaved as if he was the de-facto Defence Minister. Matters reached a stage where Chavan had to write to the Prime Minister and virtually tell him that he was not prepared to be a 'dummy' Defence Minister. The performance of the new Defence Minister was being keenly watched. There was plenty of talent available at the Centre and in the States. In the Central cabinet, there were Morarji, Shastri, Jagjiwan Ram, T.T. Krishnamachari and others. Among the State Chief Ministers, there were persons of proven ability like C. B. Gupta, Mohanlal Sukhadia, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, Biju Patnaik to mention only a few. Out of all of them Jawaharlal Nehru picked Chavan for the Defence portfolio. His performance was therefore under close scrutiny all the time.
V. K. Krishna Menon was a brilliant man who put the Kashmir question in proper perspective in the Security Council by stating the Indian case firmly and even bluntly. He also laid the foundation of the nation's defence production industry. The Mig agreement with the Soviet Union and the Ishapore Semi Automatic Rifle Factory were only two of the many projects which he initiated. Unfortunately, Menon was also gifted with an acid tongue and was in the habit of treating senior service officers not only discourteously but also rudely. Matters had once reached such a pass that the then Army Chief, Gen. K. S. Thimayya tendered his resignation. He withdrew it only after the Prime Minister intervened. In the years which followed this incident, promotions to top posts in the three Services were often dictated by factors other than merit or seniority. Brilliant persons like to be surrounded by 'yes men'. The rise of these 'yes men' was one of the reasons for the reverses of the Indian Army in the Himalayas because at the critical moment, the top leadership failed.
Chavan set about the task of building rapport with the Services. Every morning he began meeting the three Service Chiefs and Defence Secretary and Secreary, Defence Production to know their problems, discuss them and find solutions. These were not a one-way affair. He was prepared to listen and to learn. The Defence Ministry is unique among Central Ministries. It has its own method of work and its own idiom which are completely different from any other Central Ministry and much more so from any State Government. The problems were different, their dimensions different and so was the method of administration. The problems had been further compounded by the Chinese aggression. At the psychological level, there was the question of rebuilding morale particularly in the Army. Its confidence in itself was shaken and had to be rebuilt. Equally important was the question of the morale of the people and their trust in their Armed Forces. These had been put to severe strain because of the reverses in the Himalayas. There were also many fake notions even among the educated in the matter of defence. 'We will defend every inch of our border' may be good as a slogan but was bad tactics. It had to be realised that every reverse was not a debacle, it may be part of a larger plan.