Gopal Gurunath Bewoor
Encyclopedia
General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor Marathi
- जनरल गोपाळ गुरुनाथ बेवूर/ಜನರಲ್ ಗೋಪಾಲ್ ಗುರುನಾಥ್ ಬೇವೂರ್PVSM (11 August 1917- 24 October 1989) was an officer of the Indian Army
who served as the 9th Chief of Army Staff
. In a long service spanning four decades, General Bewoor saw action during World War II
and later was involved in Indian Army operations during the 1965 as well as 1971 Indo-Pakistani war. He succeeded Field Marshal
Sam Manekshaw
as the Army chief in January 1973 and following his retirement from the army, served as the Indian Ambassador to Denmark
till 1979.
) on 11th Aug 1916, Gopal Gurunath Bewoor was the son of Sir Gurunath Venkatesh Bewoor ICS and Rukmini Bewoor. He followed his elder brother Madhav (who later died in action in World War II) into Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun
in 1928 and later the Indian Military Academy
. A part of the Kitchener section, Gopal was appointed Cadet Captain in 1934. He also won Lord Rawlinson's trophy during this time.
(now 12 Baloch), with which he saw action in in Burma
. In July 1945, he was transferred from the 5th Baluch and went on to attend the Staff College course at Quetta
and then he was appointed as the Under Secretary (Military) to the Viceroy’s Coordination Council. He was the only Indian Officer to have achieved this feat.
At Independence in 1947, Bewoor was the Secretary of the Army Partition Committee in 1947, which determined the allotment of weapons, equipment and regiments that were to remain in India or to be allotted to Pakistan. Since his parent regiment - the Baluch - went to Pakistan, he was transferred to the Dogra Regiment and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in December 1947. With a view to imparting basic military training to school and college students, he was appointed as the Director of the NCC (National Cadet Corps
in April 1948 with the rank of full Colonel.
In June 1963, he was appointed as the Director of Military Training at Army HQ and remained there till November 1964. He was promoted as General Officer Commanding 33 Corps at Siliguri in November 1964 with the rank of Lieutenant General. He moved to Army HQ in May 1967, as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (DCAS) and held that appointment till June 1969. As DCAS, he was awarded Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM) for his meritorious services. However, he has been later criticized for his role in changing the General Staff Qualitative Requirement (GSQR) for evaluation of anti-tank missiles which resulted in the purchase of the SS11B1 from France's Aerospatiale and the death of a competing indigenous DRDO Anti Tank Missile
project.
In July 1969, he assumed the appointment of General Officer Commanding–in–Chief, Southern Command. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
, the Indian military strategy was mainly defensive on the Western Front, while attacking in the Eastern Sector, culminating in the surrender of Dacca and the secession of East Pakistan into the newly formed Bangladesh.
Bewoor's Southern Command was tasked with maintaining a front from Bikaner southwestwards to the Arabian Sea. This command was divided into 4 sectors: Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer and Kutch. The first two sectors were manned by 12 Division with 11 Division holding Barmer and Kutch. In addition it was supported by an armoured regiment, two independent armoured squadrons, and one missile squadron. For his command of operations in the Rajasthan Sector, Bewoor was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour.
Soon after taking office Bewoor was told of one of the most significant developments in the history of Indian defence policy, of which the Indian Army and the Defence Ministry were previously in the dark, namely the Department of Atomic Energy's plans to detonate a nuclear device. The project codenamed Smiling Buddha
had been underway from 1967 under the leadership of Raja Ramanna
. The task of sinking the shaft for the test was assigned to the 61 Engineering Regiment stationed in Jodhpur. Ramanna first contacted the regiment commander, Lt. Col. Subherwal, in May 1973 to dig the shaft. In June 1973 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
took General Bewoor into confidence and ordered him to support the project. After an initial setback - the finding of water at the first drill site - the location of the test was shifted to the village of Malki near Pokhran
, Rajasthan. Bewoor was personally present at the test site and witnessed the actual nuclear explosion of 18 May 1974. He was the first to inform the Prime Minister's Office via a telephone call to D.P. Dhar. A. Parthasarthi however claims in 1974 he found a note written from the PM (without her characteristic green-ink initials) to Bewoor dated as early as 15 November 1972 asking for the Army's co-operation. This must be viewed with some skepticism, since Bewoor was not the COAS on the purported date of this note.
The street in Koregaon Park, Pune where the general lived after retirement is named General Bewoor Path after him.
His son Group Captain Anant Bewoor (Retd), served in the Indian Air Force
and saw action with the IPKF in Sri Lanka
and during the Siachen operations, and was the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 44th squadron, which flies the IL-76 heavy-lift military transport aircraft. His younger son, Keshav Bewoor, is also an Air Force officer, and is serving currently in Air Headquarters, in the rank of Air Vice Marshal.
Arun Bewoor, former Managing Director, International Flavors and Fragrances is the son of his late brother Madhav Gurunath Bewoor.
Meenakshi Bakhle (wife of D.S. Bakhle, ICS) was General Bewoor's sister. She was a president of the Maharashtra State Women's Council. For her (minor) role in the Samyukta Maharashtra controversy in 1956 she was famously referred to as कोमडी चोमडी मिनाक्षी ("Komdi Chomdi Meenakshi") by "Acharya" Prahlad Keshav Atre
and satirized as a अति विशाल महिला ("Ati Vishaal Mahilaa") in the famous P.L. Deshpande 1957 play तुझे आहे तुजपाशी ("Tujhe Ahe Tujapashi").
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
- जनरल गोपाळ गुरुनाथ बेवूर/ಜನರಲ್ ಗೋಪಾಲ್ ಗುರುನಾಥ್ ಬೇವೂರ್PVSM (11 August 1917- 24 October 1989) was an officer of the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
who served as the 9th Chief of Army Staff
Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army
The Chief of the Army Staff is the commander and usually the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Army. The position is abbreviated as COAS in Indian Army cables and communication....
. In a long service spanning four decades, General Bewoor saw action during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and later was involved in Indian Army operations during the 1965 as well as 1971 Indo-Pakistani war. He succeeded Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Sam Manekshaw
Sam Manekshaw
Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, MC "Sam Bahadur" was a Field Marshal of the Indian Army. His distinguished military career spanned four decades and five wars...
as the Army chief in January 1973 and following his retirement from the army, served as the Indian Ambassador to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
till 1979.
Family and Education
Born at Seoni (Now in Madhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
) on 11th Aug 1916, Gopal Gurunath Bewoor was the son of Sir Gurunath Venkatesh Bewoor ICS and Rukmini Bewoor. He followed his elder brother Madhav (who later died in action in World War II) into Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun
Dehradun
- Geography :The Dehradun district has various types of physical geography from Himalayan mountains to Plains. Raiwala is the lowest point at 315 meters above sea level, and the highest points are within the Tiuni hills, rising to 3700 m above sea level...
in 1928 and later the Indian Military Academy
Indian Military Academy
The Indian Military Academy, Dehradun is the officer training school of the Indian Army. IMA was established in 1932.-Demands for an Indian military training academy:...
. A part of the Kitchener section, Gopal was appointed Cadet Captain in 1934. He also won Lord Rawlinson's trophy during this time.
Commissioned into the Indian Army
In July 1937, Bewoor was commissioned to the 2 Green Howards Regiment and saw action during operations in Waziristan. He was later transferred to 5th Battalion 10th Baluch Regiment10th Baluch Regiment
The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After the Partition of India, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments...
(now 12 Baloch), with which he saw action in in Burma
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
. In July 1945, he was transferred from the 5th Baluch and went on to attend the Staff College course at Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
and then he was appointed as the Under Secretary (Military) to the Viceroy’s Coordination Council. He was the only Indian Officer to have achieved this feat.
At Independence in 1947, Bewoor was the Secretary of the Army Partition Committee in 1947, which determined the allotment of weapons, equipment and regiments that were to remain in India or to be allotted to Pakistan. Since his parent regiment - the Baluch - went to Pakistan, he was transferred to the Dogra Regiment and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in December 1947. With a view to imparting basic military training to school and college students, he was appointed as the Director of the NCC (National Cadet Corps
National Cadet Corps (India)
The National Cadet Corps is the Indian military cadet corps with its Headquarters at New Delhi. It is open to school and college students on voluntary basis....
in April 1948 with the rank of full Colonel.
Promoted to general rank
He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in 1951, later assuming command of the 80th Infantry Brigade in Jammu & Kashmir. He was appointed as the Director, Personnel Services at Army HQ in August 1953. In February 1959 at the age of 42 years and 6 months he was promoted to Major General as the first Chief of Staff at the Western Command HQ in Shimla. He is believed to be the youngest ever Major General in the Indian Army. He assumed the appointment of the Colonel of the 11 Gorkha Rifles on 25 May 1960. He was then appointed as the GOC of the 27th Infantry Division in February 1961 at Jalandhar. Later he moved this division to Kalimpong (West Bengal) in the wake of Chinese aggression during the 1962 Indo-China War.In June 1963, he was appointed as the Director of Military Training at Army HQ and remained there till November 1964. He was promoted as General Officer Commanding 33 Corps at Siliguri in November 1964 with the rank of Lieutenant General. He moved to Army HQ in May 1967, as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (DCAS) and held that appointment till June 1969. As DCAS, he was awarded Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM) for his meritorious services. However, he has been later criticized for his role in changing the General Staff Qualitative Requirement (GSQR) for evaluation of anti-tank missiles which resulted in the purchase of the SS11B1 from France's Aerospatiale and the death of a competing indigenous DRDO Anti Tank Missile
DRDO Anti Tank Missile
The DRDO Anti Tank Missile is a first generation wire-guided missile developed in India by Defense Research & Development Laboratory of Drdo...
project.
In July 1969, he assumed the appointment of General Officer Commanding–in–Chief, Southern Command. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
, the Indian military strategy was mainly defensive on the Western Front, while attacking in the Eastern Sector, culminating in the surrender of Dacca and the secession of East Pakistan into the newly formed Bangladesh.
Bewoor's Southern Command was tasked with maintaining a front from Bikaner southwestwards to the Arabian Sea. This command was divided into 4 sectors: Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer and Kutch. The first two sectors were manned by 12 Division with 11 Division holding Barmer and Kutch. In addition it was supported by an armoured regiment, two independent armoured squadrons, and one missile squadron. For his command of operations in the Rajasthan Sector, Bewoor was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour.
As Chief of Army Staff
He succeeded the popular SHFJ Sam Maneckshaw, the victor of Bangladesh as Army Chief on 15 January 1973 and held that appointment for two years and four months till his retirement on 31 May 1975.Soon after taking office Bewoor was told of one of the most significant developments in the history of Indian defence policy, of which the Indian Army and the Defence Ministry were previously in the dark, namely the Department of Atomic Energy's plans to detonate a nuclear device. The project codenamed Smiling Buddha
Smiling Buddha
The Smiling Buddha, formally designated as Pokhran-I, was the codename given to Republic of India's first nuclear test explosion that took place at the long-constructed Indian Army base, Pokhran Test Range at Pokhran municipality, Rajasthan state on 18 May 1974 at 8:05 a.m....
had been underway from 1967 under the leadership of Raja Ramanna
Raja Ramanna
Raja Ramanna , D.Phil., was an Indian nuclear scientist and a prominent physicist, is best known for his leadership directing the research integral for the development of Indian nuclear programme in its early stages. Having started and joined the nuclear programme in 1964, Ramanna worked under...
. The task of sinking the shaft for the test was assigned to the 61 Engineering Regiment stationed in Jodhpur. Ramanna first contacted the regiment commander, Lt. Col. Subherwal, in May 1973 to dig the shaft. In June 1973 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
took General Bewoor into confidence and ordered him to support the project. After an initial setback - the finding of water at the first drill site - the location of the test was shifted to the village of Malki near Pokhran
Pokhran
Pokhran is a city and a municipality located in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the test site for India's first underground nuclear weapon detonation.-Geography:Pokhran http://marupradesh.org/ located at...
, Rajasthan. Bewoor was personally present at the test site and witnessed the actual nuclear explosion of 18 May 1974. He was the first to inform the Prime Minister's Office via a telephone call to D.P. Dhar. A. Parthasarthi however claims in 1974 he found a note written from the PM (without her characteristic green-ink initials) to Bewoor dated as early as 15 November 1972 asking for the Army's co-operation. This must be viewed with some skepticism, since Bewoor was not the COAS on the purported date of this note.
After retirement
He served as the Honorary Colonel of the Dogra Regiment up to 11 August 1979. After retirement, he served as the Indian Ambassador to Denmark, from February 1976 to March 1978. He served as a member of the Senate of the University of Pune, for two years from August 1979 onwards. He was also on the Board of Directors of Kirloskar Oil Engines & Vickers Sperry of Pune. Besides, he was often invited to give talks on leadership and military matters by various educational societies. He died on 24 October 1989.The street in Koregaon Park, Pune where the general lived after retirement is named General Bewoor Path after him.
Family
General Bewoor was married to Radhika Gokhale on 12 March 1943. They had two sons and a daughter.His son Group Captain Anant Bewoor (Retd), served in the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
and saw action with the IPKF in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and during the Siachen operations, and was the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 44th squadron, which flies the IL-76 heavy-lift military transport aircraft. His younger son, Keshav Bewoor, is also an Air Force officer, and is serving currently in Air Headquarters, in the rank of Air Vice Marshal.
Arun Bewoor, former Managing Director, International Flavors and Fragrances is the son of his late brother Madhav Gurunath Bewoor.
Meenakshi Bakhle (wife of D.S. Bakhle, ICS) was General Bewoor's sister. She was a president of the Maharashtra State Women's Council. For her (minor) role in the Samyukta Maharashtra controversy in 1956 she was famously referred to as कोमडी चोमडी मिनाक्षी ("Komdi Chomdi Meenakshi") by "Acharya" Prahlad Keshav Atre
Prahlad Keshav Atre
Prahlād Keshav Atre , popularly known as Āchārya Atre , was a multi-faceted Indian figure. He was a prominent Marathi writer, a poet, an educationist, a newspaper founder–editor of Maratha , a political leader, a movie producer–director–script writer...
and satirized as a अति विशाल महिला ("Ati Vishaal Mahilaa") in the famous P.L. Deshpande 1957 play तुझे आहे तुजपाशी ("Tujhe Ahe Tujapashi").