Birth anniversary of Field Marshal Manekshaw marked

Lt Gen Bikram Singh,GOC-in-C Eastern Command and Chief Designate,Vice-Chief of the Army Staff Lt Gen S K Singh,Lt Gen A K Singh,GOC-in-C Southern Command,the District Collector,and the two daughters of the Field Marshal,Sherry Batliwala and Maja Daruwala,also paid homage to Fd Marshal Manekshaw.

The wreath-laying was followed by a presentation of arms by a special guard of the Madras Regimental Centre and sounding of the last post after observance of two minutes of silence.

Fd Marshal Manekshaw,also remembered as “Sam Bahadur”,led the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971 which led to the liberation of Bangladesh.

Fd Marshal Manekshaw was born on April 3,1914,and his four-decade military career saw him participate in World War II,the three wars against Pakistan and the 1962 India-China War.

He assumed command of the Indian Army in 1969 and was the first Indian military officer to hold the highest rank of Field Marshal in the Indian Army — on January 1,1973.