AIIMS director, Dr Venugopal, is in a different league compared to officials who seek to crawl when asked to bend. One can’t stop admiring this man for doggedly fighting an unequal battle. This eminent surgeon, who was pitted against a first-time but powerful minister, came out of the ordeal with his personal honour intact and stature enhanced. It is a difficult task to find a worthy successor when he retires in July. Another eminent man, in a different era, refused to become a puppet in the hands of his political masters. General Douglas MacArthur dared to defy the US president Harry Truman in 1951. Although feted by the public, the much-decorated general was slighted and scorned by the US government at the fag-end of his illustrious career. A distinguished alumnus of the military academy at West Point, MacArthur was a veteran of two world wars. As the supreme commander of the Allied forces, he accepted the surrender of Japan to signal the end of World War II. MacArthur was sent as the commander of the UN troops when North Korea invaded South Korea. He quickly started repulsing the North Korean army. Trouble began when China threatened to join the war and MacArthur refused to back out. The general believed in war; there was no substitute for victory. President Truman wanted to open channels of communication with China but MacArthur became an irritant. The defiant general believed he was answerable to his country and not to the temporary occupant of the White House. So the WW II hero was dubbed a warmonger and recalled. MacArthur and Venugopal belong to the same league that puts institutions above individuals. The general advocated the motto: duty, honour and country, and the surgeon strictly adhered to it. While the system prevailed in the case of MacArthur, justice prevailed for Venugopal.