A leader who was keen to listen & learn

Lt Gen Raj Sujlana (retd)

SARDAR Parkash Singh Badal stood out for his qualities of humility, concern, perseverance, willingness to listen and keeping his word. As a young Captain, I first met him in 1977 during his visit to Leh as the CM of Punjab. Being the Aide to the General Officer, I was present during the interaction with the CM. He walked up to me, met me warmly and complimented me.

Three decades later, Badal sahib, again the CM, called on me when I was commanding the Corps at Bathinda. Pleasantries exchanged, he came straight to the point; he was looking for a retired General for an important assignment. I told him that there was a General retiring soon who would meet the criterion and that I would contact him. But Badal sahib insisted, ‘Baad vich kyon, main unhan naal hune gal karna chahunda han (I would like to speak to him right now)!’ I rang up a surprised Tej Bakhshi, informed him about the reason for the call, and before he could protest, I handed over the handset to the CM, who took a commitment from him for a meeting.

A few months later, I visited Badal sahib in Chandigarh. I highlighted the necessity to construct two underpasses (a light and a heavy one) to connect the two parts of the Bathinda Military Station, split by NH-7, to avoid the speeding traffic which had led to a number of fatal hit-and-run cases of cycle-borne soldiers. He immediately spoke to the officer concerned to have the matter prioritised. Then he asked, ‘Eh heavy underpass ki hunda hai (what is this heavy underpass), General sahib?’ I explained that this was meant for the movement of tanks. ‘Thank you, I learnt a new thing!’ he said. Today, the military station boasts of a flyover and an underpass.

Later, as the Commandant of IMA, Dehradun, I flagged the rather low strength of under-training Gentleman Cadets from Punjab. The urgency registered with Badal sahib; rapid planning was soon under way. The result was the setting up of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Preparatory Academy at Mohali. A decade old now, the academy has achieved resounding success.

After hanging up my uniform, I got a call to meet him; he told me that he had selected me for the post of PPSC Chairman. Thanking him, I hastened to add that I would not consider any ‘recommendation’ for selection. He smiled and said, ‘General sahib, I will never call you for any such matter. Take over the chairmanship, jiddan di jarnaili fauj vich keeti hai uddan di jarnaili PPSC vich karo (Just go ahead and lead by example, like you did in the Army)!’ He kept his word and only welcomed suggestions to improve the functioning of the PPSC.