Review of Commanded by Destiny by S.M. Shrinagesh

Commanded by Destiny is a breezy anecdotal memoir of the Indian Army's fourth Indian chief between 1955 and 1957. The USP of the narrative lies in its sweeping landscape and accurate recollection of military and political events during the fledgling years of India's evolution as a nation-state. Adding value is General Shrinagesh's prescient views on several important issues such as civil-military relations, the necessity for an integrated national security architecture and federalism.
The book begins with an interesting peek into General Shrinagesh's privileged childhood and education followed by his entry into the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Navigating the public school environment in England with ease and choosing a military career over a confirmed entry into Cambridge, Shrinagesh's early military career commenced in the mid-1920s as one of the early Kings Commissioned Officers (KCIOs).
After a relatively peaceful but interesting five years in Upper Burma with a Pioneer Regiment (the precursor to engineer regiments), he transferred to the Infantry and moved to the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) where his operational baptism took place in fighting and maintaining the peace in the restive tribal areas of what is now called the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Facing a dilemma
Missing out on most of the action during the Burma Campaign in World War II, Shrinagesh does not hesitate to offer his views on the dilemma that faced the Indian Army on the status of the Subhas Chandra Bose-led Indian National Army and how mutiny was unacceptable in a military. One of the most detailed parts of the book is reserved for his role as the Corps Commander in charge of the two divisions that saw all the action in the first India-Pakistan War of 1947-48. The narrative around the sieges of Leh and Poonch is riveting and his recollections of specific actions and operational plans are excellent.
An unabashed admirer of Jawaharlal Nehru, there is little mention in the book of Nehru when the author discusses some of the post-Independence instances of politico-military dissonance such as the creation of a 'citizen army' rather than a professional army, or the downsizing of the Indian Army in the face of a growing Chinese threat.
General Shrinagesh took over the Indian Army in 1955 at a time when peace-time hubris had set in into India's armed forces. Though he spent much time in ensuring that organisational restructuring and training was not neglected, there is little to suggest that there was any serious evaluation of national security threats in the face of a government that was unwilling to be realistic in its approach to regional geopolitics.
The China angle
With respect to the China debacle too, Shrinagesh is cagey in his memoir to assign accountability to both the political and military leaderships, possibly because of his deep respect for Nehru and not wanting to criticise his peers with whom he had shaped the trajectory of the post-independence army.
Transiting with ease and finesse to post-retirement assignments in the academic and gubernatorial domains, his understanding of what it would take to train good administrators at the Administrative Staff College and the responsibilities of a governor in a federal structure and troubled regions such as Nagaland is striking.
A slightly jarring aspect of the book for discerning readers emerges in the editorial segment. There is no indication of sources and references or when and how the memoir was written, or why it has emerged only now, nearly five decades after the general's demise. Some appendices comprising the notes left behind by the general would have added value and authenticity. However, in the final analysis, this is an eminently readable book.
The reviewer is a retired Air Vice Marshal from the IAF and a military historian
Commanded by Destiny: A General's Rise from Soldier to Statesman S.M. Shrinagesh Penguin Veer ₹699

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