Kodandera Madappa Cariappa

Kodandera Madappa Cariappa (born January 28, 1899, Shanivarsanthe, Coorg district, Mysore [now Kodagu district, Karnataka state], India—died May 15, 1993, Bangalore) was an Indian military officer and the first chief of staff of the Indian army after India became independent of Great Britain.

Cariappa was born and raised in a hilly region of what is now southwestern Karnataka state and was one of six children of an official in the British colonial administration of India. He was educated in Indian schools and at the Presidency College in Madras (now Chennai) and was described as being an active student who was interested in tennis and field hockey. Cariappa received military training during World War I (1914–18) but did not serve any active duty. After the end of the war, Indian politicians began demanding that the British start incorporating Indian officers into the British military in India. In 1919 Cariappa was in the first group of Indian candidates to be selected, and he was sent to Indore for training. From there he was commissioned into the Carnatic Infantry at Bombay (now Mumbai).

Cariappa was promoted to lieutenant in 1923, captain in 1927, major in 1938, lieutenant colonel by 1942, and then brigadier in 1946. Under the British, he served in a variety of posts, including the Middle East (1941–42) and Burma (now Myanmar; 1943–44). In 1942 he became the first Indian officer to be given command of a unit. Near the end of World War II, in recognition of his service there, he was inducted into the Order of the British Empire. During partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, just prior to independence, Cariappa oversaw the difficult task of dividing the Indian military establishment between Pakistan and India.

After India’s independence, Cariappa was appointed the deputy chief of general staff with the rank of major general. On promotion to the rank of lieutenant general, he became commander of the Eastern Army in November 1947. The following January he was named the army commander of the Delhi and East Punjab Command (now the Western Command).

In January 1949 Cariappa was named the first Indian commander in chief of the Indian army, replacing the British commanding general, Sir Roy Bucher. As army chief, Cariappa had a mandate to transform the army left by the British into a national military force. In the process of accomplishing that task, he established two new units—the Guards Brigade (1949; since 1958 Brigade of the Guards) and the Parachute Regiment (1952)—which were notable for being the first to recruit members from all castes and classes. In 1949 the U.S. military award of Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit was given to him by Pres. Harry S. Truman.

Cariappa retired from active military service in 1953, after which he served until 1956 as India’s high commissioner to Australia and New Zealand. He continued to be involved in the affairs of the Indian military, making visits to forces to boost morale during the wars India fought with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. He was a strong advocate of building up India’s industrial capacity in order to support the country’s military. He also emphasized the need for the military to remain apolitical and subservient to the civilian government. In 1986 the Indian government promoted Cariappa to the honorary rank of field marshal in recognition of his exemplary services to the country.