NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru’s handpicked defence minister V. K. Krishna Menon may have plotted to stage a coup against the prime minister, a new book on Menon by Congress MP Jayaram Ramesh says.

In an interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire news portal on Monday, Mr Ramesh said Menon, who was in office when India lost the 1962 war with China, was unsuited to be defence minister and Nehru made a mistake appointing him.

“Menon demoralised and divided the army. He often gave Nehru poor and misleading advice and was a bad defence minister. He was a man possessed by demons and was possibly schizophrenic,” Mr Ramesh said.

In the book ‘A Chequered Brilliance: The many lives of V.K. Krishna Menon’ to be released on Wednesday, Mr Ramesh quotes the army chief of the day as saying that the defence minister had plotted to replace Nehru.

About the circumstances surrounding former army chief General K. S. Thimayya’s resignation in 1959, which he withdrew in 48 hours. Mr Ramesh spoke about accessing for the first time the papers of former British High Commissioner Malcolm MacDonald.

According to the papers, whilst serving as army chief Thimayya revealed in detail his problems with his prime minister and defence minister to the British High Commissioner. “Thimayya even told MacDonald that Menon had Bonapartist ambitions and could be involved in a political coup to replace Nehru.”

Mr Ramesh called the revelation “highly unusual” but in the interview to The Wire admitted Menon was unjustifiably soft and perhaps swayed by his fondness for Thimayya and that in fact this was “inexcusable” and “sackable”.

Menon was insecure and craved for reassurance of his worth and value. Consequently he frequently offered or threatened to resign and though close to Nehru also drained the former PMs patience and tolerance.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2019

Opinion

Editorial

Short-changed?
Updated 24 Nov, 2024

Short-changed?

As nations continue to argue, the international community must recognise that climate finance is not merely about numbers.
Overblown ‘threat’
24 Nov, 2024

Overblown ‘threat’

ON the eve of the PTI’s ‘do or die’ protest in the federal capital, there seemed to be little evidence of the...
Exclusive politics
24 Nov, 2024

Exclusive politics

THERE has been a gradual erasure of the voices of most marginalised groups from Pakistan’s mainstream political...
Counterterrorism plan
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Counterterrorism plan

Lacunae in our counterterrorism efforts need to be plugged quickly.
Bullish stock market
23 Nov, 2024

Bullish stock market

NORMALLY, stock markets rise gradually. In recent months, however, Pakistan’s stock market has soared to one ...
Political misstep
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Political misstep

To drag a critical ally like Saudi Arabia into unfounded conspiracies is detrimental to Pakistan’s foreign policy.