Some men are born to greatness. Others carve their part to it. Subroto Mukerjee was one of the latter category who paved the way to his own tryst with destiny, and laid the foundations of India’s Air Force in the process. The story of his life is one of determination, dedication and total commitment to the cause of the service that he guided from its inception till its transformation into the Air Arm of independent India.
Subroto was one of the six Indians selected for training as pilots at the RAF College, Cranwell. The date of commission of this small pioneering band coincided with the date of formation of the Indian Air Force. Over the next twenty eight years, Subroto was to lead the fledgling service through it’s trials and tribulations, taking it from strength to strength, till it was ready to take it’s place amongst the leading Air Forces of the world.
Family Background
Subroto Mukerjee was the youngest child of a close-knit and well known Bengali family. He was born on 5th March 1911, Calcutta. Subroto’s father, Shri SC Mukherjee had joined the Indian Civil Service in 1892. His outspoken nature and independent ways had a profound influence on Subroto. Subroto used to say that he was what he was, largely due to his father. His mother, Shrimati Charulata Mukherjee was one of the first women students of the Presidency College, Calcutta.
Early Life
When Subroto was three months old his parents took him to England where they stayed for a year and a half. Later, his early childhood days were mostly spent in Krishnanagar and Chinsura where his father was posted on return from England.
Of the four siblings, two sisters and a brother, the eldest sister Renuka, became a well-known parliamentarian. His elder brother Prosanto was a Chairman of the Railway Board. Nita Sen was the youngest sister and Subroto was deeply attached to her. “And as the youngest you know,” his sister said,”he had to do all the odd jobs in the household. We never took him seriously and we never quite got used to his being the Air Marshal. To us he was always the youngest.” And every one loved him. He had the same concern for those he had not seen before. Many people used to come to his father for help and young Subroto saw to it that no servant turned them away. Often he would escort them himself.
From his very early days Subroto had shown an aptitude for a military career – a trait which owed much to the exploits of his uncle, Indra Lal Roy, who had joined the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. Roy was the first Indian to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and was later killed in action when his plane was shot down during a dogfight over enemy lines in 1918. In 1917 a tank came to Chinsura for publicity of the war effort and the six year old Subroto promptly turned up for his first “military” photograph.
Subroto had his early education at the Diocesan School and Loreto Convent Calcutta. In 1921 he went to England again with his parents and joined a school at Hampstead. After a year he came back to India as his father insisted that he should learn about his country first. Subroto then joined the Howrah Zila School and took his Matriculation Examination in 1927. After a year at the Presidency College, he was sent to England – the intention being a spell at Cambridge University as a prelude to a medical career.
Birth of an Air Force
It was at this time that the Government of India decided that a few Indians would be taken, for the first time, into the Air Force, and Subroto’s father sent him a copy of the press notification. Subroto jumped at the idea but his mother was not quite happy about it. Subroto however, was elated and was very confident. He would never have an air crash, he assured her. Years later Subroto was involved in a train accident and his worried mother received a telegram : “Who says flying is dangerous”
In 1929 he wrote the London Matriculation and the Cranwell entrance examination almost simultaneously, and was ecstatic when he heard of his success in the Cranwell examination – a career he had been longing for. At the age of 18 he was one of the first six Indian boys selected to undergo two years of flying training at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell.
Subroto Mukherjee, HC Sirkar, AB Awan, Bhupendra Singh, Amarjeet Singh and JN Tandon were the six young men who embarked for England from India in 1930. Apart from Subroto and Aspy Engineer, who followed them a few months later, none of them had ever been to England before, and the adventure before them was a hundred times more dramatic and momentous than the journey of any RAF cadet from his home in England to the Air Force at Cranwell. These young men were embarking not only on a journey to a distant land, they were in fact laying the foundations of a new Air Force; which as yet existed on paper along, and which many believed would never materialise into reality.
The six Indian cadets were among the pick of Indian sportsmen, and soon made a name for themselves at Cranwell. Sirkar captained the hockey team in which Awan, Amarjit Singh and Mukerjee also played and Amarjit Singh also captained the tennis team. Subroto had finally made his tryst with destiny. As a cadet he told his mother ‘Thank God, I didn’t take up medicine.’ During his traning at Cranwell he often wrote to her.
On 08 October 1932, the six young Indian cadets received their commissions. Subroto Mukerjee, HC Sirkar, AB Awan, Bhupendra Singh and Amerjeet Singh were commissioned as pilots, while the sixth, ‘Tich’ Tandon, was commissioned into the Equipment Branch for no other fault but that his legs were too short to reach the rudder pedals of the aircraft. On that very day, the Indian Air Force Act was passed by the Indian Legislative Assembly, and the Indian Air Force came into being.
At the same time as the pilots were undergoing their training at Cranwell, twenty nine young men were recruited primarily from railway workshops in India and trained for a year as Apprentice Aircraft Hands, later called Hawai Sepoys, Twenty two of them qualified, and one amongst them who rose to be a legend in the IAF in his own right, was AVM Harjinder Singh, MBE. After completing their course of instruction at Cranwell, the Indian pilots passed through the Army Cooperation School at Old Sarum in Wiltshire. They then served a tenure with an RAF squadron before returning home to embark on the most momentous undertaking of their lives, the formation of the Indian Air Force.
Life in RAF
Service conditions in the Air Force in the 1930’s for the Indian officers and men were quite hard. The freedom movement having gained considerable momentum, the young Indian officers and men, fired with the spirit of patriotism, looked forward to making the IAF an independent, efficient and a strong service. But they had to struggle hard for fifteen long years (1932-1947) to achieve the laudable objective they had set before them.
The Indian pilots and technicians were often discriminated against by many of the Royal Air Force personnel under whose direct control they had to function. They soon realised that they had to be twice as good as the RAF pilots, in order to prove their worth, and to be accepted. In fact, certain elements in the RAF had tried their best to throttle the IAF in its very infancy by insinuating that the Indians were incapable of managing affairs on their own. This not only infuriated the Indian personnel, it further steeled their determination and goaded them on to greater efforts and sustained hard work, not only to keep the Air Force going, but to prove that they were no less, rather better than the British in every field. In the bargain they were often subjected to all kinds of humiliation and hardships. At the same time, it is worth recording that there were many amongst the British establishment who had the best interests of the fledgling IAF at heart. They laboured hard along with the Indian personnel to ensure that the IAF established itself as an independent service as soon as possible.
On 01 April 1933, ‘A’ Flight of the No 1 Squadron, Indian Air Force, was formed at Karachi. Subroto was among the five Indian pilots who made up the flight. The flight was equipped with four Westland Wapiti biplanes, said to have been acquired by the Government at £10 each. The Commanding Officer of the flight was Flt Lt CA Bouchier, DFC, of the RAF (later Air Vice Marshal Sir Cecil Bouchier KCBE, CB, DFC). A hard task master, he had an excellent rapport with the Indian pilots and airmen.
A word about the Westland Wapiti or ‘Wop’ as the aircraft was popularly known. The Wapiti was inducted in No. 1 Squadron, IAF at Drigh Road, Karachi on 01 Apr 1933. It was the IAF’s first aircraft on which the pioneers were trained, and on which the IAF was built. It was put to a variety of tasks by the IAF including escort of convoys, anti-submarine patrols, recce, close air support, strafing and bombing. The Wapiti was a two-seat, multi-role biplane with a maximum speed of 225 kmph and a combat range of 580 kms. It was an antiquated aircraft at that time, and from its inception, our fliers had learnt to make up for the inadequacies by initiative, innovation and excellence. These qualities have created a tradition in the IAF and has paid handsome dividends whenever we have been called upon to stretch the performance graphs of men and machines.
In the course of the development of the IAF, Subroto was a man with innumerable ‘Firsts’ to his credit’. He became the first Indian to command a Flight, a Squadron, a Station (Kohat), and finally, the Service itself. On another occasion, he also had the unique distinction of being the first IAF pilot to carry out an airdrop over a beleaguered army picket. In the spring of 1941 the Faqir of Ipi again became active and the IAF renewed their acquaintance with this wild man of the mountains. Operations started quietly towards the end of 1940 when Subroto was in command of Miranshah. Except for a minor battle in the Tappi hill area, the big stuff was reserved for the coming spring.
By the time World War II started in 1939, Mukerjee was the senior-most officer in the IAF and as such the responsibility weighed heavily on him. He was known to be a good, sound and a steady pilot and was known not to take unnecessary risks in flying. He met with no accidents except for a forced landing when caught up in a fierce storm of long duration. For his participation in the North West Frontier operations in 1942, he was Mentioned-in-Despatches. He became the first Indian to take over an RAF Station, when he commanded RAF Station Kohat from August 1943 till December 1944. In June 1945 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (Military Division).
Subroto’s even natured temperament helped defuse tensions and avoid unnecessary confrontation. As the senior-most officer, he was ideally suited to act as a buffer between the Royal Air Force from whose control the IAF was trying to extricate itself, and the young Indian officers and men who often chafed at the manner in which some members of the RAF treated IAF personnel. He would mollify such situations and further strengthen their resolve to work for higher aims and greater achievements. He defused such volatile situations and infused the spirit of integration among all the ranks of the IAF. “Are we pilots risking our neck and self respect for the pay we get – or the airmen sweating it out for the petty pay of Rs 45 per month (that was the pay of Hawai Sepoys in 1930s)? We must work for a cause, otherwise there will never be an Indian Air Force.” His touching and inspiring talks always had the desired effect, goading officers and men to work with devotion. This role paid rich dividends in the long run.
Genuine Conviction
After long years of struggle, Indian Independence became a reality on the 15th of August 1947. However, freedom came at a cost and the partition of India into the dominions of India and Pakistan was part of the price that the people of the long-suffering sub-continent had to pay. Along with the Army and the Navy, the assets of the Indian Air Force were also divided between the two new countries. A heavy burden of responsibility descended upon the shoulders of young officers like Subroto Mukerjee, who suddenly were faced with the enormous task of reconstruction in the face of the sudden vacuum created by the departure of the British.
However, to Subroto’s great credit, in all the decisions to be made, the interests of the country and the service were ever uppermost with him. When the Governor General, Lord Louis Mountbatten asked Mukerjee, the senior-most officer in the IAF, as to how long British officers should remain with the IAF, Mukerjee replied, “For five to seven years”. Though this was a decision which delayed his own promotion by a good seven years – it showed how genuine in conviction and action were the thoughts and deeds of the man.
The first three Air Chiefs of independent India, Air Marshals Sir Thomas Elmhirst KBE, CB, AFC, Sir Ronald Ivelaw Chapman, KBE, CBE, DFC, AFC, and Sir Gerald Ernest Gibbs, KBE, CIE, MC, were from the RAF. The IAF was lucky to have as Chiefs of Air Staff, men of such calibre, integrity and experience.
Sir Thomas Elmhirst guided the IAF through the stormy days of independence, partition and reconstruction. He made it abundantly clear at the very beginning, that as the Air Force of an independent country, the Indian Air Force was to be an independent service and not merely an adjunct of the Indian Army, as it had been during the days of the Raj. It fell to his lot to organise the truncated IAF into a viable fighting force.
In this task he was ably assisted by Subroto who tried to utilise these years by gaining worthwhile experience in the appointment of Deputy Chief. He held this appointment under the two subsequent British Air Chiefs as well. In December 1952 he proceeded to England to undergo a course at the Imperial Defence College, London to further equip him to take over the top appointment. On his return to India in 1954, Subroto took over as the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Air Force on 01 April 1954, in the rank of Air Marshal, with the passing of the Change in Designation Act, 1955, the title of “Commander-in-Chief” was dropped, and from 01 April 1955, it came to be known as the “Chief of the Air Staff”.
The First Indian Air Chief
April 1st 1954 was a red-letter day in the history of Indian Air Force. On this day, the only surviving officer of the first batch of six Indian cadets trained at Royal Air Force Flying College, Cranwell, London, commissioned in 1932, Subroto Mukerjee took over the reins of Indian Air Force. It was also on this day that, with the departure of the third British Air Chief, Air Marshal Sir Gerald Gibbs, the last links of the IAF with the British Raj came to an end.
On this memorable day, while getting into the car to take the salute at Air Force Day, which also coincided with his taking over as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Air Force, Subroto told his wife, “Believe me Sharda, I don’t deserve all this at forty three, it is all God’s grace". It was the finest prayer anyone could offer his Deity. This unassuming, humble man took over as Commander-in-Chief of the IAF at a turning point in its history.
On assumption of this high office Air Marshal Mukerjee brought with him the intimate understanding of the problems of the Air Force, with the full import of responsibility, having been with it since its inception in 1932. Having held all types of appointments from Pilot Officer to Air Marshal, he was fully equipped with abundant maturity and an incisive insight, of which he made full use in the six years that he was the Air Chief. Years later, Air Chief Marshal PC Lal, DFC, wrote of him in his memoirs. “Imagination, improvisation, quick reaction were characteristic of him. Remarkably even tempered, he showed hardly any signs of stress even under the most trying circumstances, such as the partition riots in Delhi, the Kashmir fighting of 1947-48, the Hyderabad operations or working with a strong personality like Mr Krishna Menon as Defence Minister. Perhaps the only sign of stress was his incessant smoking – and stubbing out the cigarettes after a few puffs. He smiled often and spontaneously.”
Subroto laid great stress on the welfare of the men and their families. His genuine understanding of human nature, his love for his men and his humane approach to their problems endeared him to one and all, whereby he came to be known as the ‘Father Figure’ in the Air Force. His deep concern for the officers and men could not have been portrayed better than in the words of Sharda Mukerjee, which she says “Every time one of his men was killed in a crash, Subroto felt that he lost a part of himself." Subroto Mukerjee had an able partner and the epitome of a perfect helpmate in his wife, Mrs Sharda Mukerjee nee Pandit.
Mrs Mukerjee took a keen interest in welfare activities, and did her best for the families of men and officers. Air Chief Marshal Lal elaborated upon her role and contribution in the following words: “Life in the Defence Services, and I speak specially of life in the Air Force, with which I am familiar, is not quite like civilian life. It is much more of a community life and the principle of synergetics works here. Two plus two is not just four but plus. A sense of belonging to a service, to a community contributes considerably to that intangible but important ‘something’ called morale and espirit de corps.”
Every effort has to be made, and is made, at each station for adequate housing. Education has to be provided to children at any cost. Medical care is most essential. Even entertainment has to be organised. And where there is sorrow, one had to stand beside the stricken, not merely for the moment, but for the future as well. Much of this is done officially. But a substantial contribution comes from the personality, the drive, the sensitivity, compassion and emotional involvement of the CO and his wife in making a station or command or cohesive unit, an extended family. The men who have to take risks when called upon to do so as part of their duty, can be expected to contribute more of themselves, be more purposeful, if they are confident that their families will be looked after.
Humane Approach
In keeping with his humane approach to every problem, he was averse to finding fault just for the sake of it. He did not believe much in overly formal inspections. He preferred to conduct those in an informal manner, with a view to helping the unit, rather than to find faults in the functioning.
In Bombay, once in the absence of the Station Commander, while inspecting a unit, Mukerjee sat in the Adjutant’s chair and went through the day’s mail. On finding a number of reports and returns being asked for by Air Headquarters, he enquired of the Adjutant if all those were relevant. On being told otherwise, he dictated a letter from there itself, asking his Staff at Air Headquarters to review the relevance of such returns and reports. He did not order these to be discontinued unilaterally; he was much too considerate in his dealings with his subordinates. His positive approach helped create an atmosphere of pleasant and relaxed efficiency.
The End of an Era
However, this idyllic phase in IAF history was too good to last long. Air India inaugurated its service to Tokyo by a proving flight in the first week of November 1960. Air Marshal Mukerjee and Air Commodore (later Air Chief Marshal) PC Lal went on this flight while on an official visit to Japan. It was a happy and comfortable journey. On reaching Tokyo on 08 November 1960, Air Marshal Mukerjee stayed in the city, while Air Commodore Lal went on a sightseeing trip to Mt. Fujiyama and Lake Hakone. Late on night, he received a message that struck him like a bolt from the blue “Air Marshal Mukerjee has passed away.” While having a meal with a friend of his, a senior officer in the Indian Navy, in a restaurant in Tokyo, a morsel stuck in the windpipe choking him to death. Before a doctor could be summoned, it was all over.
Thus ended a life full of hope and promise and a twenty eight year long career of dedication, devotion and loyalty to the service and to the country. With his death, the Indian Air Force lost one of its most illustrious officers. His untimely demise was something that the country or the service could ill-afford. The body was flown to Palam Airport on 09 November 1960 and on 10 November 1960 he was cremated with full military honours. His only son, Sanjeev, lit the pyre. A grateful service paid its tribute in the form of a fly-past of forty nine aircraft, one for each of his forty nine years. As each aircraft dipped its wings in a last salute to the ‘Father Figure' of the Air Force there were many moist eyes among the gathered congregation. The honours and mourning were not merely a matter of protocol and form, they were conducted amidst genuine tears and sorrow. Subroto Mukerjee was the foremost pioneer of military aviation in India and because of his friendly, kindly disposition, he was loved and admired by many.
The mentor of the Indian Air Force, Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee has passed into history, but he left behind the indelible imprint in the annals of the service, of a man to be emulated and remembered with respect and reverence.
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