Thimayya : An Amazing Life
Contents: Foreword. Acknowledgements. Preface. Introduction. Prologue. 1. The coming events cast their shadows. 2. Grooming in the shadow of the Raj. 3. A breakthrough. 4. Stars on the ascendant command in World War II. 5. Towards tactical excellence. 6. An army in transit - Member Nationalisation Committee. 7. The Indian army on trial. 8. Interlude. 9. For the honour of India: Chairman of Neutral nations\' repatriation commission. 10. The trouble shooter: commanding all the army commands. 11. The years enthusiasm. 12. The honourable course. 13. A distant trumpet. 14. The fateful years (1959-1961). 15. Refusing to fade away. 16. At the altar of peace - Commander UN Forces in Cyprus. 17. The incomparable Thimayya: the man of magic - his leadership beyond national boundaries. 18. Thimayya at a glance. Glossary. Bibliography. Index.
"Recently, Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw, MC, was asked who, in his opinion, had been the best general of the Indian army. "Timmy, of course," he replied and expanded his remark further, "General Thimayya was not only a brilliant tactician and strategist but one whose vision went beyond everyone else\'s. The challenges he faced, and his response to them, were simply incomparable."
It is amazing how Thimayya became an important actor in some of the major legacies of conflict of the mid 20 century: Korea, Kashmir, the Chinese hegemony in Asia, and Cyprus. He was the only Indian who commanded a brigade in World War II and later in Japan as part of the occupation force. He was the only Indian General who was invited to the Japanese surrender ceremony in Singapore; and after whom a boulevard is named in Nicosia, Cyprus, and whose government also issued a special stamp in his memory.
As Commander, Punjab Boundary Force, he handled the holocaust of partition and saved thousands of refugees; it became such an achievement that made the famous poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz say in his praise; Na Hindu, Na Musalman, Sirf insaniat tha Thimayya ka iman (Thimayya was neither Hindu nor Muslim. Humanity alone was his sole faith.). The war he fought in Kashmir against the British-led Pakistani Army, showed his strategic brilliance.
As Chairman of the NNRC in Korea, he earned what President Eisenhower called the \'respect of both sides by firmness and impartiality of his decisions in the face of conflicting pressures and moral view points. He became an instant celebrity.
The biography would be of immense interest to historians, defence and Thimayya admirers." (jacket)
