RONNIE
PEREIRA: EXAMPLE IS THE BEST NAVY ORDER!
(Vice
Admiral Suresh Bangara & RADM Sudarshan Shrikhande)
If
Admiral Ronald Lynsdale Pereira, the Chief of the Naval Staff from 1979-1982, were to have his way, no books or articles
about him would have been written. He would have probably chewed us both and
called us “sycophants” at best, or good-for-nothing time-wasters prefixed with
a torrent of “technical” words that flowed so easily off his tongue when he was
angry, which he often was! In the 1993 Quarterdeck annual magazine of the Navy
Foundation, (an organization for retired officers) he
delivered a far more polite rebuke to the editor. This is what he had to say:
Quarterdeck
started as the most delightful magazine for keeping the retired and
serving communities together, but you have recently begun to overpower
its contents with articles about and by Chiefs. I find this out of tune, too
long, and rather boring. It should be filled with light and refreshing
articles, and reminiscences that are short and humorous. I do not really think you
want pages and pages of how I made it, and why I did this, that or the
other. The less Chiefs make their presence felt, the better for the
magazine.”
Quite
obviously he was unhappy that some reminiscences about him were included
somewhere and that may have got his goat. Of course, the articles
must have been well-intentioned and written to “bring Ronnie to others,”, especially to the serving readership, but Ronnie wasn’t made that
way.
Making
his Presence Felt, Even if he Didn’t Want it!
Nonetheless,
while he was dead right about the Quarterdeck, Ronnie has had an enduring presence in the
mind-space of the Indian Navy. As authors, we both had different levels of
contact with him as briefly described below, some of it in the first person.
Suresh
Bangara was a young officer in INS Delhi in 1967 when he first
encountered the formidable Captain Ronnie Pereira. “Reflecting
only on leadership qualities that Adm Pereira possessed, there could have been
no better opportunities than observing him from the rank of Captain-in-command
of the old cruiser INS Delhi, through the higher ranks he rose to and
finally as the CNS when he was a
Commander at NHQ. “I shall refrain from commenting on the first contact as I
myself was at an impressionable age. If there was one thread that ran through
not until retirement but even after, was his belief in constantly focusing on
the man behind the machine and fighting for his wellbeing, not just welfare. A
simple example would do. Accommodation for married officers was a critical
aspect at Delhi which had a common roster for all three services. Many had to
move to NOIDA which meant travel by bus from the common pool. Missing a
scheduled departure after working hours had financial and time penalties.
In his very first meeting with the Directors and
Deputy Directors at around 1715 hrs asked those traveling by bus to leave the
venue. It was a message showing concern as also his belief that working late is
not necessarily a sign of efficiency.”
Sudarshan
Shrikhande saw much lesser of Admiral Pereira. “He was the Chief Guest for our NDA (National Defence Academy) 56th course
Passing-Out-Parade and his speech was mainly about honour, simplicity, and the
meaning of officership. Later, in my letter of condolence to Mrs. Pereira dated 30
Oct 1993, I recounted: “I have kept watch in the Taragiri when he
sailed in her as Chief in 1981 and felt his deep conviction for the welfare of
the men and officers. I have faced his righteous wrath while a midshipman at
the sloppy marching of our Squad at Cochin. I remember his ringing words about
the honour required of an officer when he passed us out of the NDA in June 1979.”
There is
Need to Reason Why!
Notwithstanding
the different degrees of “close encounters of the Ronnie kind,”
either for a longer period or as a trainee
cadet/office, in retirement, we both got
involved to different degrees in examining Ronnie’s legacy and figuring
out why he began to matter more than any other flag
officer and CNS in our Navy? Why did he become a larger-than-life presence that he himself never wanted? Why did
someone who was “merely” in the NDA as the Deputy Commandant and did not
participate in the 1971 Indo-Pak War, end up being featured in portrait galleries with Field Marshal
Manekshaw, Air Chief Marshal Pratap Lal, Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh and in a monument or two?
A bit of
third-person explanation may again be necessary. Suresh Bangara was
critical to the push and help that Commander Anup Thomas needed to enable depth
of research and the writing of a tremendous book, With Pride and
Honour: A True Story of Inspiring Leadership (2017), a biography of
Ronnie. Shrikhande also got involved a bit later in 2015 and helped Thomas examine
Admiral Pereira’s legacy. Both veterans have continued their conversations--
mainly via phone-- about issues of
ethics and leadership where Ronnie’s life and example remain very relevant.
Making
his Presence Felt, But Posthumously
Since
Admiral Pereira’s passing on 14 Oct 1993 (he was born on 25 May 1923), a
lot of articles were written about him. They came from all quarters of the
armed forces and from his small circle of civilian friends and relatives. We
can only guess that many of these reminiscences might have made it
into the public space before his death if social media as we know it
today had existed, despite Ronnie’s allergy to “make his presence felt.”
Thomas’ book and one by Brigadier Mike Bhalla are full of such recounting and
well-illustrated with examples of his leadership, impish sense of humour,
booming laughter, loyalty to juniors, generosity, and selflessness. These
attributes were complimented in his beloved wife, Mrs. Phyllis Pereira in full
measure. For today’s generation of military personnel and in other walks of
life, Ronnie ought to remain a beacon of what most might want to be but
would find difficult to be. It is these aspects that we try and examine
here and try and understand as best as we can, the “why” of the inspiration
that Ronnie became even before his passing.
Ronnie
did not play a direct role in the 1971 war. It is a possibility, though, that
his indirect role as Deputy Commandant of the NDA from Dec 1970 to March 1973,
forged future officers in useful ways. However, Ronnie was himself forged by
the Second World War as an emergency commission officer in the RINVR (Royal
Indian Navy Volunteer Reserve). Anup Thomas mentions that his first preference
was to join the British Indian Army in the footsteps of his father (who was a doctor)
and his brother (Engineers). At the last minute, it seems he upped his choice to RINVR. As recounted in separate chapters, his war
experience and his clear priority in ships and ashore were towards combat
readiness, seamanship and engineering efficiency, and the morale of his crew. That
is, fortunately not an uncommon set of priorities we find in the Navy, and
that is how it should always be.
Thou
Shalt NOT Compromise on Values
Where
Ronnie was different from many, was in
his uncompromising honesty, morality, and integrity. These virtues are not as
common in leaders, including military leaders as they ought to be. In a reply
to the condolence letter, referred to earlier, Mrs. Pereira wrote with much economy
of words, “Ronnie’s strength-- both physical and moral—came from his
unshakable faith. His rights and wrongs were so clearly defined.”
It seems
that his value system, his moral code and the force of his character, when
combined with his other leadership traits and persona, contributed to the
reputation he had throughout his service. But, more so, it seems to be
his moral code, his clearly defined “rights, and wrongs” that transformed him
into the legend he became so soon after his retirement. In some ways, a
few events in the decade-plus after his retirement were somewhat
disturbing and embarrassing for a
considerable proportion of the Navy. From the late 1980s to well into
the 1990s, a small number of senior leaders did not give a good account
of themselves. The examples or individuals are not our concern here. Suffice it to
say that there were rather widespread perceptions of manoeuvreing
and/or unfairness in writing of ACRs (Annual Confidential Reports) of and
by flag officers, or for vital appointments or indeed jockeying for the
top appointments of CNS. To add to this, some went to court; selective leaks
appeared in the media, and so on.
Washing dirty linen in public, certainly not
with the intent of improving service conditions, was against the ethos and
traditions of any military. As expected, perceptions of the negative impact on
the Service varied depending on the seniority of the officer. Since social
media did not exist, largely the sailors remained unaffected. Seven years into
retirement, Ronnie reluctantly agreed to deliver the keynote address to the
officers of the Southern Naval Command, at Kochi about leadership. It was a
stunning mix of oratory, emotions, and the unshakable belief he had in the value
system that he stood by whilst in uniform. The audience in the auditorium got
to see and hear the quintessential “Ronnie P” at his best. So powerful
was the impact that over two decades later that speech found its way to Youtube!
(Here is the link for “Inspirational
Speech by Admiral Ronnie L. Pereira” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB2ppN4tv60).
Ronnie
and the Slender Rope of Hope
The
essence of Ronnie could be summarised thus: he simply walked the talk and was
seen by his juniors to have done so “always and every time.” For him,
leadership by example indeed was figuratively, the best “Navy Order” (a term
used for laying down orders covering a host of naval tasks and purposes). More than that, his example seemed to be far more
relevant in the years when he himself was sadly moving towards his own
last sunset. In his letter of condolence to Mrs. Pereira, (then Lt Cdr
Shrikhande) wrote, “The IN has undoubtedly lost the finest Chief we
ever had. The Admiral lived a life that many do not have the moral courage
for…I have come across midshipmen and sub-lieutenants who know of him…”
All this
pointed to the older generations, who knew Ronnie in uniform-- and younger
followers who knew of him—to think of Ronnie’s ethical nature and
moral courage as his defining legacy. It is perhaps the slender rope
of hope of his life as legend and legacy which the Indian armed forces’ future leadership needs to consider and
use it to forge itself to be ever stronger even when the rope may feel slender. Indeed, we would urge that Ronnie Pereira’s life and
character provide a beacon, an ideal far beyond armed forces to every walk of
life and every level of leadership.
Above
all, Leaders are Human and Have a Wart or Two
A
noticeable characteristic of much biographical writing in India on military
leaders becomes fawning and hagiographical. We tend to deify them as
perfect humans, almost godly. Ronnie might have guffawed at the thought about
anyone and certainly about himself, adding-- for good measure—a dose of ungodly
profanity. Admiral Pereira had warts but, who doesn’t?
One was
his temper. He could, and did lose his cool at people and this often was a problem. True, this did not happen at
sea where he could be cool, collected and forgiving, especially if he knew
people were trying their best. At times, his temper tended to shut down
conversations. Consequent silences in the corridors of power in NHQ could deny
him the contrary opinions he would have or ought to have gladly heard. At other times, he could
embarrass himself somewhat if he took off someone’s less-than-perfect cap on
parade and stomp on it. One supposes his profanity might also have upset a few
now and then. Three points may be mentioned. First, for those times, such
expletives could roll off quite a few officers’ tongues rather easily, even as
some others who were not only fine, but even great leaders did not do so.
Second, Ronnie not only cooled down very quickly, he also never hesitated to
apologize. Third, he had an obvious heart of gold and all around him
realized it and we suppose, they too forgave him if for his occasional trespasses!
His empathy, concern for the larger welfare of all hands and enforcement of
discipline were hallmarks. These have been illustrated well in all that has
been written about him. Essentially all these stories are true, even if they may
have acquired some burnish in their retelling.
A
few things could get his goat, though including unethical behavior, especially
corruption involving financial matters, and abuse of position and privilege.
His own post-retirement life, his austerity, and his purchase (and serious accident
on the scooter he owned as the only personal vehicle) after retirement are
simple markers. There are stories about his wrath when he was in the Navy at even allegations of wrong-doing in a case
or two.
Ronnie
was a fine seaman and an excellent gunnery officer. As VCNS and CNS, though, he
did seem to have some difficulty in seeing the utility, despite the struggle in
terms of time and cost it might take, to go in for nuclear propulsion. In
his biography and elsewhere this is given deeper treatment. It must be said,
though, that he “allowed himself to be dissuaded from taking a very firm
position” and deferred to staff opinion. The Navy, BARC, and DRDO did
collaborate to make nuclear-propelled submarines, even if Ronnie was not
enthusiastic about such steps.
Ronnie
died relatively young, at the age of 70 from cancer, borne stoically. “He
coined no slogans, wrote no self-congratulatory memoirs. He merely did one rare
and precious service. He led by example. It is the only style of leadership
that ultimately counts” is how Shrikhande concluded his short letter of
condolence.
What
Admiral Pereira might have wanted was to always see Armed Forces where this
style of leadership remains precious, but not rare.
Such is the legacy that he left behind that a
young Lt Cdr Anup Thomas was inspired to
research and write a book 27 years after the Admiral passed on. Ronnie P will
be long remembered and his presence felt!
