Wellington, India: Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, hero of India's victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan, passed away early Friday morning, just after midnight at 00:30 am, the defence ministry said in a statement. He was seriously ill, and was being treated for acute broncho pneumonia with associated complications, according to doctors in attendance at the military hospital here.

His condition had been serious for the past four days, military hospital sources said Thursday, having slipped into coma on Wednesday evening.

 Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was 94 years old.

One of Indian Army's only two Field Marshals, the other being Field Marshal KM Cariappa,  Manekshaw had settled down in Coonoor in the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu soon after retirement.

In a long career spanning nearly four decades, Manekshaw rose to be the eighth chief of staff of the Indian Army in 1969. It was under his stewardship that the Indian Army, along with other services, concluded a famous victory over Pakistan in 1971. This victory resulted in the truncation of the two wings of Pakistan, with East Pakistan, as it was then known, being transformed as the independent nation of Bangladesh.

His distinguished military career spanned not just four decades, but also five wars, including World War II.

Known in the Army by his more common appellation, ''Sam Bahadur,'' Field Marshal Manekshaw became a legend in his time. His wit and simplicity, as well as his no-nonsense approach with his civilian 'masters', made him an extremely popular officer within the Army. The victory over Pakistan in 1971 turned him into an icon within the country.

Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, MC, to give him his full name and designation was born 3 April, 1914, in Amritsar, Punjab to Parsi parents who immigrated to the Punjab from the small town of Valsad on the Gujarat coast. 

After completing his schooling in Amritsar and Sherwood College, Nainital, he joined the first batch of 40 cadets at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun on 1 October 1932. He passed out of the IMA in December 1934 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Indian Army. He held several regimental assignments and was first attached to the Royal Scots and later to the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment.

During WWII, Manekshaw saw action in the Burma campaign on Sittang River as a Captain with the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment. Severely wounded, he was decorated for valour on the battle front itself, when a passing British officer, Major General DT Cowan, pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on Manekshaw's chest. The officer was mindful of the fact that the Military Cross could not be awarded posthumously, and the severely wounded Manekshaw, with seven bullet wounds in his body, did not look as he would make it.

Fate, however, had other things in store for the young Captain, who not only pulled back from his injuries but went on to serve - and be wounded once again - on the Burma front.

Subsequently, Manekshaw did the course at the prestigious Staff College, Quetta, and also served there as an instructor.

Towards the close of World War II, after the Japanese surrender, Manekshaw was sent to Indo-China where he helped rehabilitate over 10,000 POWs. He then went on a six-month lecture tour to Australia in 1946, and after his return served as a staff officer in the Directorate of Military Operations.

Here, Manekshaw was involved with the operations during the 1947-48  Pakistani invasion of Jammu & Kashmir.

After commanding an Infantry Brigade, he was posted as the Commandant of the Infantry School and also became the Colonel of 8 Gorkha Rifles, which became his new regimental home, since his original regiment, The12th Frontier Force, became part of the Pakistan Army at partition.

He commanded a infantry division in Jammu & Kashmir and a Corps in the North East, with a tenure as Commandant of Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in between.

Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru rushed Manekshaw to Arunachal Pradesh in 1962 (the North East Frontier Agency as it was the known) to command the Indian forces retreating in the face of the Chinese onslaught. The new commander successfully checked further advances by the Chinese.

As GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, he was involved with the insurgency in Nagaland and was honoured with a Padma Bhushan in 1968.

For his distinguished service to the country, the President of India awarded him a Padma Vibhushan in 1972.

The President subsequently conferred upon him the rank of Field Marshal on 1 January 1973. He 'retired' a fortnight later on 15 January 1973, after completing nearly four decades of military service.

Technically, Field Marshals do not retire, as the rank is conferred for life.

Manekshaw married Silloo Bode on 22 April 1939. Silloo, a graduate of Bombay's Elphinstone College, made an admirable wife and a wonderful mother. They had two daughters, Sherry and Maja, both of whom are married and settled.

Siloo preceded Sam into the other world.