Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Apparanda Chengappa Aiyappa, (2 September 1913 – 1983), better known as A. C. Iyappa was an Indian Army officer and decorated

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran. He was the first Indian Signal officer in chief (Head of the

Indian Army Corps of Signals Indian Army Corps of Signals is a corps and a combat support arm of the Indian Army, which handles its military communications. It was formed on 15 February 1911 as a separate entity under Lieutenant Colonel S H Powell and went on to make import ...

). Iyappa was also the first chief of the

Bharat Electronics Limited Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector aerospace and Military, defence Electronics, electronics company, headquartered in Bangalore. It primarily manufactures advanced electronic products ...

(BEL).

Early years of Iyappa

Iyappa was born on 2 September 1913 during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, into the wealthy and influential Apparanda family which belonged to the Kodava community of

Kodagu Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative List of districts of Karnataka, district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged ...

. He studied at

Bishop Cotton Boys' School Bishop Cotton Boys' School is an all-boys school for boarders and day scholars in Bengaluru, India, founded in the memory of Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton, Bishop of Calcutta. The school is bordered by Residency Road, St Mark's Road, L ...

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, and later at

Stamford School Stamford School is a co-educational independent school (UK), independent school in Stamford, Lincolnshire in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition. Founded in 1532, it has been a member of the Headmasters' and Hea ...

, Lincolnshire in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. After college, he went on to join the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

, and from there got an Admission into the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

Brief history of Signals in India

When the post World War I re-organization of the Indian Army was carried out, the Indian Signals Corps was formed as a separate corps on 17 April 1920.

Military career

On 7 July 1935 he was commissioned from

on to the Indian Land Forces, Special List and on 12 August 1935 he was attached to the 1st battalion 7th Rajput Regiment and the Indian Signal Corps. He was promoted Lieutenant, Indian Land Forces, Special List on 2 December 1936. He was appointed to the Indian Army 23 November 1937. In early 1939 he was permanently appointed to the Indian Signal Corps.

Bharat Electronics Limited

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was set up at Bangalore, by the Government of India under the Ministry of Defence in 1954 to meet the specialised electronic needs of the Indian Defence Services. Over the years, it has grown into a multi-product, multi-technology, multi-unit company serving the needs of customers in diverse fields in India and abroad. BEL is among an elite group of public sector undertakings which have been conferred the Navratna status by the Government of India. When it was first set up, the Government of India made Iyappa its first chairman; he remained in this position for 18 years.

Death and legacy

Iyappa was married to Sita Achaya. Iyappa died from cancer in 1983, and his wife died in 1993. Today there is a park named after him (General Iyappa Park), near BEL circle in Bangalore.Google map
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiyappa, Apparanda 1913 births 1983 deaths British Indian Army officers Kodava people People from Kodagu district Indian Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Members of the Order of the British Empire Bishop Cotton Boys' School alumni People educated at Stamford School