Temperamentally Krishna Menon was a loner, and having had no ministerial or administrative experience, he found it necessary to disguise this deficiency by affecting a perpetual sneer at officialdom. He also sought to dominate the military bureaucracy by trying to make a dent in the solidarity of its senior ranks. In this he succeeded to the extent that Bijji Kaul—basically loyal by nature but emotional, insecure and ambitious—fell for his blandishments and for a time an unwonted relationship was established between the minister and the general officer.
