Soldier of integrity and courage (1921-1980)
General Raina was born on 21 January 1921, in Ludhiana. After early education at Ludhiana, he studied at Foreman Christian College, Lahore. He was commissioned into the Kumaon Regiment on 12 April 1942, and took part in the Burma Campaign in the Second World War. He was mentioned-in-dispatch for gallantry. During the war, he was injured in a grenade accident and lost one eye. He commanded 14 Kumaon from September 1957 to September 1959, and was then posted as Commander 114 Infantry Brigade in Ladakh, which was responsible for the defence of Chushul.
Chushul village is situated at a height of 14239 feet in a narrow valley about 25 miles long and four miles wide. The flanking mountains are above 19,000 feet. It touches a 100 miles long salt water lake, the Pangong Tso and the Spangur gap in the mountains leads to another lake, the Spangur Tso which extends into Chinese territory. The Chinese had made roads, capable of carrying tanks, right upto the Spangur gap. The Chinese had an advantage and were able to overrun our posts from Karakoram Pass to Demchok in October 1962.
Initially, the Brigade had only two battalions- 1/8 GR and 5 Jat. 13 Kumaon was also inducted and 3 Infantry Division was formed for the defence of Ladakh. One company of 13 Kumaon was deployed at the pass, Rezang La. Preparation of defences and construction of bunkers was difficult due to terrain. Thin air and extreme cold made it even more difficult. No artillery support could be given to Rezang La due to an intervening feature. Half a squadron of tanks had also been air lifted to Chushul. Both the sides prepared for the impending attack which came on 18 November. The Indian soldiers had 303 rifles while the Chinese had self-loading rifles, machine guns, mortars and recoilless guns to break bunkers. Brig (later General) Raina commanded the troops with great courage and leadership and stuck to Chushul against heavy odds. Major Shaitan Singh fought to the last man and last bullet. He was awarded the PVC and Raina was awarded MVC for outstanding leadership qualities.
After several staff and command appointments, he commanded 2 Corps in the 1971 war. It was deployed in the Khulna Sector and he was awarded Padma Vibhushan. He took over as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) on 1 June 1975. Emergency was declared on 26 January 1979, and people expected him to toe the line of the Prime Minister (PM), since he was a Kashmiri. Much to the surprise of these people, he kept the Army completely apolitical. Some of the bureaucrats had started talking of a committed civil service, but not the Army.
Raina was soon put to test. When the then PM Indira Gandhi asked for the Army’s support, General Raina told her that the Army could not be used for promoting the interests of a political party and could carry out the orders of only a legally constituted government. When the Defence Minister Bansi Lal wanted the Army to provide drinking water at Indira Gandhi’s rallies and to provide tents for the Congress session at Guwahati, Raina said it could not be done unless the facilities were made available to all the political parties. The Punjab Government had invited Sanjay Gandhi for the inauguration of the Anglo-Sikh War Memorial at Ferozepur and had given him the protocol of the PM by organising a Police Guard of Honour. All Army officers in Punjab and Delhi were invited to come in uniform. The Army HQ gave verbal instructions not to attend and nobody went to the function. When the Congress lost the elections, General Raina called on Indira Gandhi to talk about the election results. Sanjay Gandhi walked in and suggested re-imposition of Emergency with the cooperation of the Army. General Raina ignored his remarks and told Indira Gandhi that history would honour her for respecting people’s verdict. The Army remained apolitical due to the clear stand taken by General Raina. He retired on 31 May 1978, and was posted as India’s High Commissioner in Canada in February 1979. He passed away on 19 May 1980 in Ottawa, Canada.