New Delhi: The nation on Tuesday (January 28) celebrates the 121st birth anniversary of Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, who was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Army. Cariappa led Indian forces on the Western Front during the 1947 Indo-Pakistani War, also received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award.
Born on January 28, 1899, in the Coorg district of Mysore (now Kodagu district in Karnataka), Cariappa is one of the two Indian Army officers to have been decorated with the five-star rank of Field Marshal. He was also appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army in 1949. He breathed his last on May 15, 1993, at the age of 94.
Notably, Field Marshal KM Cariappa's son Air Marshal KC Cariappa was also a Squadron Leader during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War.
KM Criappa is the second General of the Indian Army to have been conferred the rank of Field Marshal in 1986, after Sam Manekshaw. The day Field Marshal Cariappa took command of the Army on January 15, 1949, is celebrated as Army Day in India.
After completing his education from the Presidency College in Madras (now Chennai), Cariappa received military training during World War I (1914–18) but did not serve any active duty. As the war ended, Indian politicians demanded that the British should start incorporating Indian officers into their military. In 1919, Cariappa became the part of the first group of Indian candidates to be selected. After completing his training at Indore, he was commissioned into the Carnatic Infantry at Bombay.
Under the British regime, Cariappa was promoted to Lieutenant in 1923, Captain in 1927, Major in 1938, Lieutenant Colonel by 1942, and then Brigadier in 1946. He also got the opportunity to serve in a variety of posts, including the Middle East (1941–42) and Burma (now Myanmar) from 1943 to 1944.
Cariappa also earned the distinction of being the first Indian officer to be given command of a unit in 1942. Ahead of the end of World War II, he was inducted into the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his service.
When the Indian subcontinent was partitioned in 1947, Cariappa also oversaw the difficult task of dividing the Indian military establishment between Pakistan and India.
In view of his contribution to the Indian Army, the then Army Chief General Bipin Rawat in 2017 said that it is time to recommend late Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa for Bharat Ratna. General Rawat made this recommendation while unveiling the statues of Field Marshal KM Cariappa, at Cauvery College in Karnataka`s Kodagu district.
"If others can get it (Bharat Ratna), I see no reason why he (Field Marshal KM Cariappa) shouldn`t be a deserving personality for the same," General Bipin Rawat, who is now the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of Indian armed forces, had added.
