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| Field Marshal K M Cariappa |
Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa was born on 28
January 1899 in Coorg. After his formal education at Madikeri, he went on to
study at the Presidency College, Madras. He was an active sportsman. Cariappa
was one among the select few who was selected for the first batch of KCIOs
(King's Commissioned Indian Officers) at the Daly Cadet College in Indore and
was commissioned in the Carnatic Infantry. He was in active service with the 37
(Prince of Wales) Dogra in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) and then posted to
the 2nd Rajput Light Infantry (Queen Victoria's Own). He went on to become the
first Indian officer to undergo the course at Staff College, Quetta in 1933. In
1946, he got promoted as the Brigadier of the Frontier Brigade Group.
K.M Cariappa saw action in Iraq, Syria and Iran from
1941-1942 and then in Burma in 1943-1944 and became the first Indian Officer to
be given command of a unit in 1942. He went on receive many awards and
accolades in his distinguished career. In 1947, Cariappa became the first
Indian to be selected to undergo a training course at Imperial Defence College,
Camberly, UK. After India's independence, K.M.Cariappa was appointed as the
Deputy Chief of General Staff with the rank of Major General. Thereafter, he
became the Eastern Army Commander and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief,
Western Command during the outbreak of war with Pakistan.
K.M Cariappa was appointed as the first Commander-in-Chief
of an independent Indian Army on 15 January 1949. Post-retirement from Indian
Army in 1953, he served as India's High Commissioner to Australia and New
Zealand.
He was awarded the 'Order of the Chief Commander of the
Legion of Merit' by American President, Harry S. Truman. The Government of
India conferred the rank of Field Marshal on Cariappa in 1983.
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