New Delhi, June 27 : The death of India’s first Field Marshal, Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, should have prompted top leaders of the government and the armed forces to make a beeline for Wellington to attend his funeral, but on Friday, no one of note was present.
Most chose to send messages of condolence to the bereaved family of one India’s most popular and decorated soldiers despite them being in the country.
While President Pratibha Devisingh Patil was in Indore on an official tour, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Defence Minister A. K. Athony were in New Delhi, but chose to send messages of condolence.