Lieutenant General Nathu Singh Rathore – Fearless Nationalist Who Made the “Point”

Lieutenant General Nathu Singh Rathore was the army officer who raised his voice against the de-facto prime minister of India - Jawahar Lal Nehru, who was of the view that Indian soldiers lacked the adroitness to uphold the commanding position of Commander in Chief of Indian army. Palpably, it was as humiliating to the Indian soldiers as it may sound.  Of all the Gazetted officers present in the meeting, Lieutenant General Nathu Singh Rathore was the only one to break the reticence with a thunder. He stood up to make a ‘point’ and provided a solid antidote to Prime Minister’s view saved the nation from the biggest blunder.

Quick Facts  

• Nathu Singh Rathore was born to a Rajput family on 10 May 1902 at Gumanpura a princely state of Dungarpur.
• He was the only son of Thakur Hamir Singhji of Gumanpura and the scion of notable warrior Rathore Jaimal who fought for Mewar against Akbar.
• Unfortunately, he was orphaned at the age of seven. Soon, he was fostered by Maharawal Vijaya Singhji, the ruler of Dungarpur state.
• He completed his early education in Mayo College where he was popularly called as ‘Baghi’ (a rebel).
• He was then sent to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in England where he was trained to serve as an officer to serve Military Army.

Military Career

• Lt. Gen. Nathu Singh Rathore was the second Indian to graduate from Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England; first one being Rajendra Sinhji Jadeja.  Singh went on and attained a three-star rank in the Indian army at a very early stage of his career.
• In 1923, on passing out from Sandhurst he was commissioned to the 1/7 Rajput Regiment, attached to the Second Battalion to The Prince O’ Wales.
• In 1935 he was posted as a Divison Commander in Burma during World War II, rescuing thousands of refugees.  
• In 1943, he was finally promoted to Lieutenant Colonel having the charge of 9/7 Rajput at Chindawara.

"Sir, I have a point..."

However, Nathu Singh Rathore’s name floated only after 1948 when General Rob Lockhart resigned from the post of Commander in Chief.  Seeing the Indian army headless Jawaharlal Nehru called for an emergency meeting to appoint another British officer as Army chief, for he thought, “we do not have a capable and experienced Army Man in our Country”.  To this, Lt. Gen. Nathu Singh Rathore refused to be a stooge and darted a remark which changed the history,

“Sir, I have a point….You see Sir, we don’t have a man with enough experience to lead a nation too, so shouldn’t we appoint someone from Britain as the first PM of India?” 

He was then offered the post of Army chief of Indian army by Defence Minister Baldev Singh, to which he refused and gave the name of K.M Cariappa (first Indian Commander in Chief) instead, who was his senior and a much deserving candidate.  Undoubtedly, Lieutenant General Nathu Singh Rathore knew the potential of Indian soldiers better than their own PM and he proves out to be an epitome of sacrifice, courage, and leadership.
Although his life-size bust has been installed at the Rajput Regiment Headquarters in Fatehgarh, yet he is not as much recognized as he deserves to be. Every Indian is indebted to him for saving us from the biggest imperialist blow the nation could have faced.  He indeed was a ‘Fearless Nationalist’.

Life Size Bust of Lieutenant General Nathu Singh Rathore
Image Source - IndianExpress

Hi, I am Riddhima Seth an English trainer and a literature post Graduate from the University of Delhi, aspiring to be a research scholar in Gender Studies. Currently having a stint as a learner and a content writer at The Radical and relishing the wonders of our Indian Army.

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