The passing away of the only Indian to be appointed Field Marshal when in active service has been remarkable for the warmth of the ordinary men and women who queued up to say meebeenamet the adorable dikra who put his life on the line for them. It has also been remarkable for the complete lack of grace and gratitude, civility and courtesy, decency and decorum on the part of the bold-faced names rapaciously grazing the lawns of power in Delhi and elsewhere, for the brain behind India’s only decisive military victory. Sam, the Bahadur, had been unwell for a while now. From about 1000 hours on June 26, reports of his being "critical ill" had appeared in the media. Yet, when the “expected tocsin” sounded at 0030 hours till the guns were fired in salute around 1500 hours on June 27, “civil society” chose to show its uncivility. Pratibha Patil, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces with all the time in the world: Absent Hamid Ansari: Vice-president releasing books and writingr