General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam, (1 July 1913 – 13 March 2000) was the 6th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

from 1967 to 1969. He was one of the last British-trained King's Commissioned Indian Officer (KCIO) to serve in the

, and the last KCIO to lead the Indian Army.

Early life and education

Kumaramangalam was born to

P. Subbarayan Paramasiva Subbarayan (11 September 1889 – 6 October 1962) was an Indian politician, freedom fighter and diplomat and was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, India's ambassador to Indonesia and Union Minister of Transport and Communic ...

, who served as Chief Minister of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

between 1926 and 1930, and was a member of the zamindari family of

Kumaramangalam Kumaramangalam is a village in Namakkal district in Tamil Nadu state in India.

from

Thiruchengode Tiruchengode is a city and selection grade municipality located in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is famous for the ancient hilltop temple of Umaiorubagan (Arthanāreeshwara), dedicated to the unique combined male-female form of Lord S ...

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Namakkal District Namakkal District is one of the 38 districts (an administrative district) in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The district was bifurcated from Salem District with Namakkal town as headquarters on 25 July 1996 and started to function independentl ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. He was educated at the preparatory St Hugh's School (then in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

), and at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. He then studied at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of S ...

, and was commissioned into the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...

as an unattached

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

in 1933. He was appointed to the

on the 12th of November, 1934.

Military life

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) as a temporary major for action in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

on 27 May 1942 at Point 171, south of Bir Hakiem commanding the 7th Field Battery, 2nd Field Regiment, Indian Artillery. The citation recommending Kumaramangalam for a Distinguished Service Order runs as follows:

4 June 1942 Captain (Ty. Major) PARAMASIVA PRABHAKAR KUMARAMANGALAM (IA 1282), 2nd Indian Field Regiment,
3rd Indian Motor Brigade The 3rd Indian Motor Brigade was formed in 1940 by the Indian Army during World War II. In 1941, the brigade was surrounded at Mechili by Axis forces during Operation Sonnenblume and suffered many casualties breaking out of the encirclement. On ...
For great courage and devotion to duty. On 27 May 1942 during the action which took place 3 miles S.E. of BIR HACHEIM, Major Kumaramangalam showed great bravery in controlling the fire of his battery under heavy enemy fire. He continually encouraged the gun detachments, and by his cool demeanour in the face of machine gun and anti-tank fire from enemy tanks undoubtedly inspired his men with the confidence with which they withstood the final tank attack. When one of his troops was over run and captured, he acquired an armoured car left at the position and tried to drive the Italian tanks away which were encircling it. Subsequently he led a patrol back to the position and recovered three guns.

He was taken

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

(PoW) by the Italians later in 1942 and held in a PoW camp in Italy. With the Italian Armistice in September 1943 he escaped on 19 November; however, he was captured again in January 1944 and imprisoned, this time in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, where he was transferred to

Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III (german: Stammlager Luft III; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Allies of World ...

, a high security camp for PoWs. At the end of the war in 1945, he returned to India.

Postwar

On 18 April 1946, Kumaramangalam was appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE). He became an acting

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

in 1948, with the substantive rank of lieutenant-colonel, and was promoted to the substantive rank of colonel on 2 February 1951. As a brigadier, he was appointed to command a paratroop brigade on 14 February 1955, and was given command of an infantry division on 9 September 1956, with the acting rank of major-general. Kumaramangalam was promoted to substantive major-general on 1 August 1958, and appointed the

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , pres ...

on 25 February 1959. He was appointed Adjutant-General on 5 October 1959, with the acting rank of lieutenant-general. Promoted lieutenant-general on 8 May 1961, he took over as General Officer Commanding, Eastern Command on 1 May 1963, with appointment as GOC-in-C, Eastern Command on 4 April 1964. On 16 November 1964 he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, followed by appointment as Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 15 January 1965. General Kumaramangalam took over as the Chief of the Army Staff on 8 June 1966, the first Indian gunner officer and paratrooper to reach this coveted appointment. The tenure of General Kumaramangalam as Chief of the Army Staff was marked by an unpublicised but exhaustive re-organisation of the service, up-gradation of weapons, training and tactics based on the lessons learned from the

1965 War The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

. He served in the Indian Army with distinction for 36 years until his retirement on 7 June 1969. He received the

Padma Vibushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without d ...

in 1970.

Views on America

General Kumaramangalam trained at the artillery school in

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. From his letters it is evident he was not very impressed with the Americans. He saw them as suffering from an ''"aggressive

inferiority complex In psychology, an inferiority complex is an intense personal feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others. According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought a ...

"'' and cautioned a newly independent

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

against coming under American influence. The following is an excerpt from a letter written by him to

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

in 1947: : "''This country is not one that I will ever get fond of. I have not got a very high opinion of them. The people that I have to deal with are very kind, hospitable and have been very good to the two of us. But somehow I feel there is a trace of artificiality in that and also it is the result of trying to impress one. They I think are very jealous of the old world and its background and culture and this results in an aggressive inferiority complex. As for their state of morality, there is none. People seem to delight in trying to outwit each other by any means, mainly crooked. The politicians are racketeers and big business has a tight grip on everything in the country. The small country trader and the farmer I think have their hands securely tied by the big men. I do hope that our country proceeds with caution and doesn't get entirely under the influence of the States.''"

Other interests

He was also a

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small ha ...

player, horseman,

show jumper Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ...

, and

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. He was a member of the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influe ...

, a fellow of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

, and president of

Indian Polo Association The Indian Polo Association (IPA) is the governing body for polo in India. Most of the IPA's major activities are executed by the 61 Cavalry Unit of the Indian Army. The IPA's registered office is co-located with the 61 Cavalry's B Squadron. Hist ...

and Equestrian Federation of India. On retirement as army chief, he was elected President of the World Wildlife Fund - India (WWF-India) during its formative stages.

Death

He died following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on 13 March 2000.

Awards and decorations

Dates of rank

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumaramangalam, P P 1913 births 2000 deaths People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Chiefs of Army Staff (India) Vice Chiefs of Army Staff (India) Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in civil service Members of the Order of the British Empire Paramasiva Indian Army personnel of World War II Indian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Italy Indian escapees Escapees from Italian detention World War II prisoners of war held by Germany British Indian Army officers Indian generals Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society Indian Members of the Order of the British Empire Indian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order