Meet the Mentor - Major General Balraj Mehta
DPC & VOICELINE - Podcast Series
Retired Major General Balraj Mehta shares his profound 35-year journey within the Indian Army, from his roots in the Bihar Regiment to servi
Key takeaways
- Major General Balraj Mehta served 35 years in the Indian Army, including time with the Bihar Regiment and 1 Para Commando.
- He emphasizes that military leadership is defined by leading by example and accepting responsibility for one's subordinates.
Main topics
- Indian Army career and service
- Leadership and command principles
Notable quotes
Army is not a carrier. It is a way of life.
Conclusion
The episode provides an inspiring look at how the values of courage an
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:03) Bye. Speaker 1 (0:14) So hello, after a very, very long time, folks, we are back, Virender and I, Rakesh, we are back with another in the series of achievers that we have as part of our podcast. And today we have someone who is a little different from the kind of professions that we have exhibited so far. Today we have someone from a far more disciplined and a far more courageous line. We have with us a gentleman from the Indian Army. His name is Major General Balraj Mehta. He was from the Bihar Regiment. He was commissioned in 1983 and he's put in 35 years of hard service with the Indian Army. So today we are welcoming him and we are going to ask him what his journey has been, what he has learnt from his many years in the Indian Army and how he has been able to apply that in leading a very fulfilling life. Welcome Major General Mehta. Thank Speaker 2 (1:11) you for the attention. So, General Mehta, I want to welcome you on behalf of Delhi Photography Club and Voice Line. So, today we'll be talking about your journey into Indian Army, how you got introduced to Army, what you did for your initial years and then how life has taken shape. And since I've been talking to you over the years, you were part of special forces and then you commanded a unit and then you rose up to the... like higher ranks so you retired some five years back yeah five years back yeah so what uh so is that something like you wanted to join army or somebody forced you to join army see uh Speaker 3 (1:58) If you are forced into joining a profession, you generally bail out. You don't stick around for 35 years. Yes, so true. So the point is that my grandfather, maternal grandfather, as well as paternal grandfather, both were from the British Indian Army. They were decorated soldiers from the First World War and the Second World War. My dadaji was a distinguished service order. The first one he got in 1917 in France and the second one he was barred to DSO. And my nanaji was Order of British India and he had a jagir of 25 acres which is still there somewhere in Narayankarambala area. My mamajis are now tilling it. So that, though I have seen them very, very young age and all but the stories and the pictures and all those medals which are going around. so that was always there then my elder brother was in the artillery okay retired as a lieutenant colonel my so many uncles and cousins and there there were so many people in the army so that motivation was always there and then you know as a rugged village bum when you are physically fit and you're running around and all those things so naturally going to army comes as a natural cause and then you know i was a failed Speaker 3 (3:23) doctor as per and I appeared for FMC pass the written test went for interview could not come in the merit list so I had the desire to be in the uniform okay my father was in the police he did not allow us to join police he says it is very corrupt organization my brother and myself we went to army so that is it so I was not forced But I did not force my children in turn. Speaker 2 (3:53) Yes, that is right. So I was about to put them in order because I guess your one son is a pilot and another son is a lawyer. Speaker 3 (4:02) Yeah. Speaker 2 (4:03) So how come, like, so what happens to the family when it comes to the dinner table? So is it the army or like the civilian life or like? Speaker 3 (4:14) See, you see, you know, as one of our commandant in IMA, General Matthew Thomas used to say, and I still remember because we are young, impressionable people who just joined. I think in the first address ever in January 1982, he told us, he says, Army is not a carrier. It is a way of life. Speaker 2 (4:34) Way of life. Speaker 3 (4:34) So my children have also been through the Army. Speaker 3 (4:39) called army brats for nothing. So they have all the, you know, characteristics of an army life. The army wife is also a kind of a category which stands out from all other ladies. So in our family, there is no distinction between army and the civilian life because even if they are civilians, now they are part of the army growing up. Speaker 1 (5:01) So just a question. Where did you, do you belong to Delhi? Where did you grow up? What was your schooling or college? See, Speaker 3 (5:09) just give you a small brief. My family came from Rawalpindi district of now Pakistan. So they migrated and they settled down in the area around Ambala. So I was there and then after fourth class there, I shifted to Delhi. My father got posted to CBI here. So we used to live in Andrewsganj and I studied here from class 5 to class 7. No, class 3 to class 7 in Andrewsganj schools. This must Speaker 2 (5:44) be way back in 1960s. 65, 66, Speaker 3 (5:47) 67, 68, 69, 70, 72 I think we went back. So, thereafter, I studied in the village school, shifted to Ambala Kent, then I, Sanatan Dharam College in Ambala Kent. Speaker 1 (6:00) Okay. And Speaker 3 (6:01) then I Speaker 1 (6:01) got into army. Into the army. Yeah. All right. So, we were talking about, you know, the family life as, you know, on one hand, a very, very strong, you know, army influence. Yeah. And yet, this new generation is now more... See, I Speaker 3 (6:17) have a theory on this. Okay. This is what the podcast is about. This is what the podcast is about. See, I'll tell you. You know, now, see the other day, we heard Kangana Ranaut talk about nepotism in the film industry. So similarly here, you get, obviously you get a lot of support when you go into your family profession. Speaker 2 (6:36) Yes. Speaker 3 (6:37) You know, even if you're not a very bright doctor, but if your father and mother, they own a clinic and all, you can, you know, go by. You have access to all of them. And then you join that business and then you are able to carry on. Speaker 1 (6:47) Absolutely. So Speaker 3 (6:48) similarly, if the people like my many course mates are there, fathers were army, brigade. generals and all those things so they had a kind of a first of all I'll say orientation and then secondly they have some kind of an indirect support or belonging you may call it belonging and then some kind of an indirect support you know uncle will be somewhere and some yeah so that kind of regimental or the place type or Jat network or Sikh network or somebody South Indian network something so when you get into a different profession Now, this is a very important thing, which I'm going to say. Speaker 2 (7:21) When Speaker 3 (7:22) you get into a profession which is different from your parental profession, you have to come up, struggle and rise from the scratch. So this is the most... important satisfaction that I have in my life that I have come up without any godfather at my back. My younger son is a lawyer. There is no connection of any legal assistance. He's coming up on his own, practicing in high court since last 10 years. My elder son is a pilot. He has had a tough life and he stood by his principles. He's a captain now with Vistara. Last 11 years he's flying. So I'm very proud of them. And they have, you know, stood up on their own two legs without any support from me. They have shaped their careers on their own. So it gives them a lot of confidence. You know, I see a lot of people whose fathers were having some support system for them. So those people, even if they are now senior enough or whatever, but they don't have that inner self-confidence that we could have done it on our own. So they know in the inner heart of their own that we couldn't have done it without the support of our father. Speaker 1 (8:33) So this is the, I think, foundation. That's very important. It's something one must recognize. You know, when you see somebody who achieved something, how did he get there? Without a support system. Yeah, how did he get there? That's very important. Speaker 2 (8:46) So, sir, let's move back to Indian Army. Sir, what was your, like, where was your first posting? Speaker 3 (8:53) See, my first posting was in Nahan in Vanparakamando. Now it is renamed as one para special forces. Okay. So it was one of the three para commando battalions in the Indian Army at that time. So I was commissioned in June 83. And after 21 days, I think in July somewhere, I joined the battalion in Nahant. And I left after about nearly quarter to three, three years because of some problem in my knee. Okay. And so I decided that I should not. continue and then no no i'll tell you one more thing see you know i have been criticized by some of my course mates and seniors you chickened out you know you left para commandos and you become a non-para volunteer but the point is you should understand your limitations and you should accept your limitations yeah Speaker 2 (9:48) it is not always about like yeah you can't be bullheaded and you know keep on Speaker 3 (9:56) So that is not correct. You should understand your limitations. And if you know, like my knee was bad, so I said, yeah, I can't compete with these people. Speaker 2 (10:04) And Speaker 3 (10:04) if I go on the Speaker 2 (10:04) point, it is going to like suffer your performance. It Speaker 3 (10:08) will harm the career and the task and the profession. Absolutely. So at the cost of being ridiculed by some of my friends, I decided to let go. And I succeeded very nicely. Well, my knees got ready all right. Speaker 2 (10:25) And then, so you spent rest of your life with infantry, Speaker 3 (10:30) right? Speaker 2 (10:30) Infantry, yeah. So, sir, tell us something about what was like some of your fond memories while you joined. So, there's something when they call it induction in the army. So, they do something. There are some rituals they do. Like, you are made to live with the Jivans. Kuch kuch hota hai? Yeah, yeah, Speaker 3 (10:49) yeah, yeah. You see, when I went to one para, in para