Towards an Indian Identity

Up until 1955, during Maj Gen Lentaignes tenure, the

course at the Staff College was Camberley oriented and quite
inattentive to Indian military needs. The trend was very
Western - be it doctrines, tactics or strategies of war. The new
Commandant, Maj Gen PS Gyani set out to give the Staff
College its own identity, related more and more to Indian
requirements, Indian geopolitics and ethos. He put a stop to
the repeated modifications of the doctrines, pamphlets, prcis,
syllabi and exercises carried out to suit British requirements.
He insisted that the Camberley prcis be studied by the DS for
seeking information only rather than for producing notes.
Thus a considerable revision of the basic books and exercises
took place. Even the halls and syndicate rooms came to acquire
Indian names, though a few like Kitchener, Mountbatten and
Slim were retained. Studies of foreign countries from an Indian
point of view, as well as those of big powers, were introduced
in the curriculum to enable the students to learn more about
these countries.

Maj Gen PS Gyani

Col Prem Bhagat during his tenure as the Chief Instructor

(Army) rewrote most exercises, especially those pertaining
to warfare in the plains. It is interesting to note that the
Staff College did not remotely study, analyse or examine the
possible hostilities with China or Pakistan, lest we upset our
policy of Panchsheel. The number of Indians martyred during
the Chinese aggression of 1962 shattered their beliefs
for sure.

View of the College with Ashoka Block on the left, 1957

17

Maj Gen PS Gyani was succeeded by Maj Gen

PP Kumaramangalam, DSO and he in turn by Maj Gen SHFJ
Manekshaw, MC in 1959 before the commencement of the
13th Course. The number of foreign students and those of
the civil services increased in number, as the years passed by.
Broad based training became a distinctive feature of the
DSSC. Along with the wing studies, the students underwent
studies of Foreign Countries, Economic Surveys of India,
and were also introduced to Missile, Nuclear and Electronic
Warfare. Most importantly, they learnt that the serviceman
who looked inwards into his own Service would not be able to
function in the modern environment.
During the tenure of Maj Gen Manekshaw, MC the standards
of instruction at the College went up. The courses were run in a
relaxed atmosphere although the pace of work was maintained
at a high pitch. The establishment was revitalised and brought
in tune with modern thought and spirit.

Maj Gen SHFJ Manekshaw, MC

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1962-67 - Training Redesigned

The Progressive Years

In the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War, seven staff courses,

from the 16th that commenced in Oct 1962 to the 23rd
Staff Course, were truncated to 26-30 weeks and the syllabus
redesigned accordingly.

Orders for the introduction of 45-week courses with a

break of seven weeks between the courses were received from
the Army Headquarters in 1966. The rules pertaining to the
eligibility of candidates remained the same as before. Command
Headquarters were to conduct preparatory courses annually
although the attendance at this course was not a pre-requisite
for taking the entrance examination to be held in March
every year. The officers were allowed three chances to appear
for the examination.

Though the students of the 16th Course were selected

through a competitive examination, those of the 17th Course
were nominated from those who were to sit in the entrance
examination in December 1962 and from those who had already
qualified and were within the age limit. However, competitive
entrance examinations were re-introduced from the 18th Staff
Course. Henceforth, an officer was to be allowed four chances
to appear for the examination.
It can be rightly said that if Staff College, Camberley, was built
after the mess of the Crimean War, the Defence Services Staff
College came into its own after the 1962 debacle. The standard
of professionalism was very high indeed and the atmosphere
imbibed at the Staff College encouraged independent
thought. A definite shift towards studying problems and tactics
related to India and Indian conditions was seen.
When Maj Gen Har Prasad took over the reins of DSSC
in August 1965, tension between India and Pakistan was
mounting. However, the Staff Course was not affected by the
Indo-Pak conflict. The only effect was seen in the syllabus, as
it came to include mountain, jungle and irregular warfare in
greater detail. The Commandant also incorporated a study
of infiltration which highlighted the lessons learnt from the
recent conflict.
Maj Gen Har Prasad, PVSM

19

The 24th Staff Course (15 January 1968 to 23 November

1968) was the first long course of 45 weeks after 1962. The
syllabus was once again revised and new subjects introduced
like Systems Analysis, Work Study, Nuclear Medicine,
Nuclear Strategy, Nuclear Warfare and Low Intensity Conflict
Operations, in addition to the introduction of studies of
Defence Management, Foreign Countries and Defence
Economics. The inter Service content of the syllabus was
about 35%.
Planning was taken in hand to expand the course capacity
from the authorised 170 to 185 for the 27th Staff Course in
1970 to 265 for the 28th Staff Course starting from January
1971. There was also a gradual increase in the number of foreign
students with 22 countries represented at the Staff College
in 1972.
With the College keen to be affiliated to the Jawaharlal Nehru
University for the award of a post-graduate degree to students
on successful completion of the course, a system of quizzes and
examinations was gradually introduced to meet the university
requirements. The affiliation eventually did not materialise.
As years progressed, the College not only gained qualitatively,
but quantitatively too. With the number of students on the
increase, more syndicate rooms as well as entitled residential
accommodation for officers were constructed. The Peace
Establishment of the College was sanctioned in 1965 for a

course capacity of 170. But the number of students in each

course invariably shot up, with the result that an expansion had
to be made in the Training, Coordination and Administrative
Divisions in terms of lectures, visiting dignitaries, vehicles
and so on.

Maj Gen RK Ranjit Singh

Maj Gen SP Malhotra, PVSM

Maj Gen Har Prasad was succeeded by Maj Gen RK Ranjit

Singh who in addition to all else, took upon himself the ouns
to beautify the institution, results of which are visible
even today. In November 1972, when Maj Gen SP Malhotra,
PVSM, took over as the Commandant of DSSC, he was to
bear the brunt of tremendous shortages in terms of staff,
infrastructure and accommodation, while the strength of the
course continued to swell. He gave a face lift to the hill station
with the construction of more residential accommodation and
lecture halls. The aesthetically planned library complex was
also completed.
Maj Gen AM Sethna took over command of the College
in April 1975, the year the College celebrated its Silver
Jubilee. He initiated the Electronic Data Processing System
in 1976 during the 32nd course as a subject for joint study
by the three Wings and the external feed back system under
which the three Service Headquarters received feedback on
graduates of the Staff College from the formations. He was
also the first to issue a note on the behaviour pattern at the
College, functions, get-togethers and Student-DS relationships.
He will long be remembered for integrating the College
into the mainstream of the University education system.

POST-GRADUATE STATUS
Little did anyone ever fathom that the chance
visit to the College of Dr Malcolm Adiseshiah, Vice
Chancellor of Madras University, on 10 August 1977,
would signal the beginning of a new chapter in the
history of DSSC. Impressed by the methodology of
instruction and objective assessment procedure, he was
convinced that the instruction at the College was of a
high order and deserved the award of a post graduate
degree. Subsequently, a University Commission was set
up to go into the affiliation question. Several university
requirements were incorporated in the syllabus and
assessment procedure of the College. Finally in 1978,
the Madras University decided to confer M Sc degree
in Defence and Strategic Studies to all officers who
successfully completed the Staff Course. The first
recipients of this degree were students of the 35th Staff
Course in 1979.
For all pre-1978 psc officers aspiring for the M Sc degree,
it was decided that they would be granted the same
once they submitted a dissertation on a selected and
approved subject, and also took a written examination
on International Relations and National Security, the
number of appearances being governed by the University
regulations. This scheme came into effect from
January 1987.

Maj Gen AM Sethna, AVSM

20

The Crest of DSSC, Wellington, from 1948 to 1962

Oh Owl! Who Art Thou?

What intrigued me most about DSSC, Wellington, was the
serious looking insignia which met ones eyes every now and
then when we first descended on the Staff College. It was the
sombre looking owl, emblazoned in gold with piercing eyes
and perched at a vantage point on crossed swords. I reflectively
mused that as the College is credited as the fount of knowledge
it was befitting to have the wise old owl as the crest.
Being from the owl fraternity, I was yet not satisfied with a
passive acceptance of the owl. So I started a research into the
primevial antecedents of the Staff College owl. The earliest fact
I stumbled upon in the erudite portals of the DSSC library was
that it was more than a hundred and thirty years ago that the
owl was adopted as a crest. The nascent owl, so to speak was
adopted in 1868 the original design being one of a crowned
specimen used as a crest by the Staff College at Camberley.
The underlying motto was Tam Marte Quam Minerva. The
literal translation of the Latin words was, as much by Mars as
by Minerva. Minerva is the Roman Goddess of wisdom. The
owl said to be the wise bird, was her favourite and thus used as
a symbol of wisdom.
FM Wavell translated the motto as By fighting as much as
by writing or By kill as much as by skill. Almost forty years
later the Staff College Quetta in 1907 also adopted the owl
with the Latin motto Tam Mane Quam Minerva as its own.
The bond between Staff College and the owl had come to stay
permanently.
The new Staff College established at Wellington had to have
its own crest and motto. The founding father, Brig Verma
adopted the existing crest and motto of the Quetta Staff
College - that of the owl with the motto Tam Mrt Quam
Minerva. When this crest was forwarded to Army HQ for
approval, it was turned down as inappropriate and a new crest
with a Hindi motto was asked for.

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At first I thought, the OWL

1907 - 1947

Brig Verma pressed persuasively for retention of the owl and

suggested a couple of mottoes in Hindi. These also met the
same fate, this time on philological grounds as they seemed to
have a mixture of Punjabi. There was even a move to replace
the owl by a falcon but it met with no success. While this
controversy was going on, Brig Verma continued to use the old
crest and motto of the Quetta Staff College. But according
to observers of the time, the owl had the status of an alien
diplomat without his proper credentials.
Thus the owl, though not officially recognised, continued in
its glorious designation. In 1957, during the tenure of Maj Gen
Gyani as Commandant, it was once again fervently argued for
the retention of the owl on the plea that it had been commonly
accepted by all Commonwealth Staff Colleges. The General
highlighted the Inter Service aspect of the College by making
the owl perch on the Vajra (Indras thunderbolt). He suggested
the motto Yuddhaya Gnan Pragnya Api - (For war, knowledge
and wisdom are essential). No final decision was taken and
the old crest continued to rule the roost.

1948 - 1962

It was in 1963 that the owl, perched on crossed swords against

a maroon background was approved by the Chiefs of Staff and
the motto Yuddham Pragnaya - To war with wisdom, received
its final blessings in 1964. The wise old owl won the war of its
survival after waging its battles tenaciously for many long years.
Finally I could understand the sagacious look the owl bore was
as one who had looked through a hundred bygone years and
was fully in command for the millennium to come.

Fun and Pun

1963 onwards

- Excerpt from an article written by

Mrs Jyotsna Mayadas in The Hoot.

Understandably, selected officers of high calibre and

competence get into the Staff College. However, the schedule
and pace make even the best of the lot sweat with seldom
any time on their hands for any extra curricular activity. One
student officer expressed his woes thus:

Was simply a jungle fowl!

But now I know better.
The OWL is a word three letter
For Over Worked Lads
Including students, DS and other cads.
The Owl (name of the College magazine) has often found
itself becoming a medium for both the student officers and the
DS to vent their feelings or even take a dig at each other. An
instance, as it appeared in The Owl (1985) regarding Exercise
Kurukshetra under the title Some Little Known Facts, the
Basic DS put the following on the notice board:

Exercise Kurukshetra
(Some little known facts)

Consumed
Working days
Telephones deployed
Peak number of calls (21 Aug)
Support staff (non permanent)
Eats (vadas, patties, pastries)
Tea/Coffee (cups) consumed
from Mess/Cafeteria
Paper sheets
Tape
Talc
Pins
Electricity units used (watts)
Lost
Cups by Mess
Hair by Basic DS
Tempers by Senior Instructors
Edges
Found
Saved

9
270
5000
150
5000
10,000
50,000
1.5 km
0.50 sq km
40,000
3,000,000
150
Still being counted
Lost count
By Mahjong Tiles
Humility by Junior Appointments
Innumerable bottles of Whisky

22