‘Think for the country;
think for the people’

Tejal Sinha

The first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal, Sam Manekshaw, fondly called Sam Bahadur, once said, “If a man says he is not afraid, he is either lying or he is Gorkha.”

While many of us might fear dying, there are soldiers out there, our defence wall, who don’t even think twice before losing their lives for the country. Today, something that might be an adventure for us is the daily routine of the warriors out there. By now, you might have guessed! Today, our guest for the day is a veteran Army officer.

This week, for our weekly edition of the Hyderabond, it was a privilege for us to connect with the former Army officer, (Retd.) Lieutenant General K Surendra Nath. It is definitely safe to say that, though he did not belong to an Army background, being in the Army and serving the nation was in his blood, ever since his childhood.

Taking us through how he got into the forces, he said, “My father was a professor, and I had studied in a village school, staying with my grandparents. My cousins used to go to the Sainik School in Korukonda. And so, my grandfather also got me to join there. At the age of nine and a half, I joined high school. Later in 1969, at the age of 16, I joined the NDA.”

During his service, he travelled all over the country and served along our borders, including in Jammu and Kashmir, Lucknow, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Shimla, and Bhopal, to name a few. Not only this, but he was also on deputation with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cambodia, as well as at UN headquarters in New York. He retired in May 2013 after four years of rigorous training at the National Defense Academy (NDA) and later at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, and 40 years of service, but not completely.

Wondered how? Let’s hear from the former lieutenant general himself, “In May 2013, when I retired from the forces, I was then appointed as a member of the Armed Forces Tribunal. I served there for four more years, first in Lucknow and then in Chennai, and finally retired in December 2017. On retirement, we decided to settle down in Hyderabad. I have had a flat in Secunderabad since 1987, but we wanted to be closer to the Cantonment, so we built our own house in Yapral, close to the Cantonment.”

Contrary to the popular belief, the Army lifestyle is quite conservative and frugal. It is a disciplined and rule-based force that always focuses on training and operations. It is a 24/7 duty with “Country First” as its motto.

As a product of Sainik School, he was prepared to join the armed forces from the time he was a child. The Sainik School prepares the cadets to join the forces and also emphasis on education, sports, character building, and all-around personality development. Further, being trained for three years and then spending one year in the Indian military academy, made the adaptation to military life come naturally. Having travelled all over India and stayed in many cities like Bhopal, Lucknow, Jaipur, Delhi, Chennai, Patiala, and Ambala, to name a few, he believes that Hyderabad is the most diverse and cosmopolitan city.

“Of all cities, I find Hyderabad the most diverse and cosmopolitan city. It has a temperate climate for most of the year, and the people are friendly. It has a syncretic culture.

People from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds live in perfect harmony. Language is not a barrier here, as one can get along in Telugu, Hindi, Urdu, and English. It has an excellent infrastructure, good educational institutions, and job opportunities in various sectors. It’s no surprise that many veterans from the Armed Forces from all over the country are settling down in Hyderabad because it’s a very comfortable place to live,” he said, adding that Chennai is also a very good city with a rich culture, but it’s not as cosmopolitan as the city of Nawabs.

In Chennai, language beyond Tamil and English tends to be a barrier. In fact, cities such as Delhi, Jaipur, Bhopal, and Lucknow are also culturally rich and unique in their own way, but not as diverse as Hyderabad.

We asked him, who has lived in Hyderabad since childhood, about the changes he has witnessed in the city over the years. He said, “From Sainik School, we used to come to Hyderabad for sports meets at the Hyderabad Public School and also appear for various examinations. Back then, Hyderabad was a much quieter city. Now it’s become very busy, and especially in the last few years, roads have become very congested and there’s a lot more traffic. The traffic discipline is quite poor and needs to be improved. Agricultural lands have gradually disappeared, and buildings and townships have mushroomed.”

Over the past years, many people from South India have joined the forces. The late Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu and late Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan are a few of those who have inspired many more youngsters to join the Indian Army.

And, guess what? Shaheed Colonel Santosh Babu was also from the same school, where the former Lieutenant General Surendra Nath had also completed his schooling. To this, the former Lieutenant General opined,“The Army belongs to everyone in India, and people have become more and more aware there’s very stiff competition, and increasingly young men and women from all parts of the country are joining the services. The military is a noble profession, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only one. Every profession is equally important; one must take pride and strive to do well. Our Constitution provides us with rights and freedoms. It also enjoins us to do our duties towards the nation, society, and fellow citizens.

These are the values you can take from the Armed Forces. Think of the country, think of the people, and whatever position you are in, you should do really well.”Before we could end the interview, we asked him about something that he misses the most about the military life, he had during his service. “I do miss the military, my old colleagues, getting up early for the morning walk, playing games, and playing golf.

We used to live in these far-flung areas. But I do enjoy my civilian life too. Fortunately, in the area where I now reside, there are a lot of military officers and lots of retired civilian friends. I feel that there is great harmony amongst all the communities, and I have made really good friends,” signed off the veteran.