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‘You must have it in your blood to serve the country’

Chandigarh, Hindustan Times | By
Jun 07, 2019 05:30 PM IST

Lt Gen PN Hoon (retd), a former general officer commanding-in-chief of the army’s Western Command, says faith is his strength and his guiding principle has been his commitment to truth.

All is fair in love and war, says Lt Gen Prem Nath Hoon, who served the army for four decades before hanging up his boots as chief of the Western Command in 1987.

Lt Gen Prem Nath Hoon served the army for four decades before hanging up his boots as chief of the Western Command in 1987.(Karun Sharma/HT)
Lt Gen Prem Nath Hoon served the army for four decades before hanging up his boots as chief of the Western Command in 1987.(Karun Sharma/HT)

Four months shy of his 90th birthday, the tall general with a commanding stride and piercing eyes offers a warm handshake as he shares anecdotes from a life lived with courage, determination and “absolute truthfulness”.

TRUE TO HIS NAME

“I was sure about what I wanted and went ahead to achieve it whether it was marrying Amrita, my commanding officer’s wife, or capturing the Siachen heights,” he says. “I found this grit to be an asset throughout life, even under variable conditions of combat.”

Hoon was commissioned into the Sikh regiment in 1949 but wanted to resign from the army within three years. “I was 22 when I was posted to Ambala as a second lieutenant and had fallen in love with the wife of my commanding officer. She was at the receiving end in an abusive relationship. After a few meetings, we discovered we wanted to tie the knot. I submitted my resignation to avoid being punished for indiscipline. Dismissal was the only recourse for stealing the affection of a brother officer’s wife.”

As a backup, he applied for a job with the Burma Shell Company in Bombay. But after hearing him out, the army headquarters decided it was not sufficient reason to resign and changed his regiment from Sikh to Dogra.

For the record, the marriage held strong for more than six decades.

FEARLESS AND FORTHRIGHT

A soldier to the core, even today his office on the first floor of his car showroom in Chandigarh’s Industrial Area, Phase 1, resembles a squeaky clean general’s retreat complete with mementoes, insignias of formations he served, and photos with then prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and then president Zail Singh. But what catches the eye is the Dogra regimental logo on a brass stand facing him with the words of the Gentlemen Warriors, “Kartavyam anvatma (Duty before death).”

Even as the air-conditioner in his room conks off in the 45-degree Celsius heat, the general, known for his resolute leadership and cool courage, is unflappable till he turns the heat on politicians making customary trips to Siachen. “Rajnath Singh should stay on in Siachen for a day to know what a soldier goes through at those heights,” he says as news of the new defence minister taking a flight to the world’s highest battleground flashes on TV. The general knows for he was the Srinagar-based 15 Corps commander who led Operation Meghdoot to capture the glacier in 1984. “I would like someone to do that today,” he says.

“If we lose Siachen, we lose Kashmir. I had briefed Indira Gandhi about Pakistan’s designs to capture Khardung La, the highest motorable road, and thus dominate Leh to then link up with the Chinese at Aksai Chin,” he says, adding he had kept only her in the loop before the operation.

“Politicians and successive governments have messed up Siachen,” he says, criticising then army chief general K Sundarji’s forward policy that has led to a standoff, stretching into decades. “Siachen literally means a valley of roses but today it has become a thorn of contention between India and Pakistan, exposing the raw nerve of Partition.”

BLUESTAR A BLUNDER

Hoon says a true leader must own up. “No PM can give the final decision on a task to be carried out by the military. Generals take up operations only when they are achievable. If things don’t go as per plan, it is a military blunder. Indira Gandhi was assassinated because of the failure of generals who harboured personal ambitions. They underestimated the strength of militants holed up in Golden Temple,” he says of Operation Bluestar.

Yet, after the operation, he invited Indira to address four battalions of the Sikh regiment in his corps. “The soldiers were holding rifles without bullets but she didn’t know that when she addressed them. You need to face fear to get over it.”

He admits that the charm of a career in uniform may have waned for many, but for him it will always be the best. “You must have it in your blood to serve your country. You go there to die and fight to return alive.”

LIFE LESSONS

Threats are in the minds of the weak. Strong are the ones who fight and survive

Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something

The cigarette does the smoking. You are always the sucker

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