Just a few months after his death the memory of the late great Lt Gen Hanut Singh (CO, Poona Horsein 1971 ops; GOC II Corps 1987 Exercise Brasstacks) stands dishonoured. The Armoured Corps Centre and School, Ahmednagar, to honour its most reputable commandant and the army’s most renowned armoured commander in its history since independence, decided to memorialize the General — the epitome of competence in command, and of steadfast integrity and unimpeachable character, with an annual lecture. But this the finest of gentleman-officers the army has known finds that no one in the army or government wants to so remember him. Two high-placed persons who were approached to deliver the inaugural ‘Lt Gen Hanut Singh Lecture’ declined to do so. Finally, the former Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lt Gen Philip Campose, a mechanized infantry officer (1/8 Gurkha) has been roped in to give the talk scheduled for Monday, January 18.

In other words, not one stalwart from the BJP Govt or from the retired cavalry officer cadre could be found to do Hanut’s memory the honour it richly deserves. This is the fate suffered by the most exemplary of mobile warfare exponents in the Indian Army — he wrote the manual for armoured operations — and unarguably the most effective battlefield commander the country has seen. There lies Hanut then, with no one from even his own combat arm willing to publicly sing his praises for the service he rendered the army and country.

Feel really sorry and ashamed.