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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

John Parashuram Dalvi (3 July 1920 – October 1974) was an Indian Army officer. During the

Sino-Indian War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

of 1962, he was the commander of the Indian 7th Brigade, which was destroyed, leading Dalvi to be captured by the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

on 22 October 1962.

Early life

Dalvi was born on 3 July 1920 in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

where his father was serving with the British administration. He returned to India in 1923 and studied at St. Mary's High School,

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. He graduated and joined to study under the Jesuits at St. Xavier's College, Bombay. In 1940 with the outbreak of World War II he joined 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 ...

British Indian Army

Dalvi was commissioned into the 10th Baluch Regiment on 22 February 1942, was promoted war-substantive lieutenant on 1 October, and was promoted substantive lieutenant on 22 August 1943. To the end of World War II he served with the regiment's 5th Battalion. He took part in Field Marshal Sir William Slim's pursuit of Japanese Army. From October 1944 to March 1945 he saw fighting with 19th Indian Division notably at the Crossing of the Irrawaddy. For his services he was mentioned in despatches for gallant and distinguished service. In 1945 he was selected to join the staff of General Sir Montagu Stopford, GOC XXXIII Corps and later GOC-in-C of 12th Army

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. He ended the war a temporary captain.

Post-Independence

In 1947 he was posted as instructor to

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 ...

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

. He was then moved to 5 Gorkha Rifles as 2nd in command. In 1949 Dalvi was attached with

Brigade of the Guards The Brigade of The Guards is a mechanised infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised as the first "all India", "all class" infantry unit of the Army where troops from all parts of India serve together, as opposed to other regiments that ...

. In 1950, he was selected for Staff College, which he graduated in 1951. He then commanded the 4th Battalion, Brigade of the Guards and later 2nd Guards. Dalvi was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 13 October 1957. On 2 October 1960 he was promoted acting Brigadier, and appointed Brigadier Administration to XV Corps. In January 1962, he was given the Command of 7th Infantry Brigade in NEFA, with promotion to colonel on 15 March.

Sino-Indian War and prisoner of war

Dalvi fought in the

, and was taken

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person 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 war for a ...

on 22 October 1962; held captive by the Chinese for seven months, he was repatriated in May 1963. Left embittered by the failings of the Indian political and military leadership, he described his return to India as follows:

We landed in Dum Dum airport in Calcutta on May 4, 1963. We were received cordially, appropriately. But the silence there was disquieting. I realized later. We had to prove we weren't brainwashed by Chinese ideology. We had to prove we were still loyal to India. My own army maintained a suspicious distance. The irony cannot be harsher: this treatment from a country, which for more than a decade had brainwashed itself into holding the Chinese baton wherever it went.

Subsequent career

Two months after his repatriation, on 9 July 1963 Dalvi was appointed Commander, Poona Sub-Area. He was promoted substantive brigadier on 13 October 1964, with appointment as Commander, Bihar and Orissa Independent Sub-Area on 4 May 1965. With the outbreak of war with

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

later that year, he was given command of a brigade on 12 September. On 29 September 1966, Dalvi was posted to Army HQ as Deputy Director of Staff Duties (DDSD). He took voluntary retirement from the Army on 3 March 1967.

''The Himalayan Blunder''

In 1968, Dalvi authored a book about the 1962 war, entitled '' The Himalayan Blunder: The curtain raiser to the Sino-Indian War of 1962''. His book directly contradicted that authored by his erstwhile commanding officer, Brij Mohan Kaul.Lt. Gen. B.M. Kaul, "The untold story" aica Publishing House, New Delhi, 1967/ref>

Later life

Dalvi died of cancer in October 1974.

Bibliography

* Dalvi, Brig. J.P., "Himalayan blunder – the curtain raiser to the Sino-Indian war of 1962" ombay, 1969, Rep. Natraj, Dehradun 1997* Kaul, Lt. Gen. B.M., "The untold story" aica Publishing House, New Delhi, 1967* Maxwell, Neville, "India's China War" ombay 1970, Rep. Natraj Dehradun, 1997

References

External links

''Himalayan Blunder'' by John Dalvi
(free, digitised version) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalvi, John 1920 births 1974 deaths Indian Army officers Indian memoirists People of the Sino-Indian War British Indian Army officers Indian Army personnel of World War II Indian prisoners of war 20th-century memoirists Expatriates in Iraq Indian people imprisoned abroad 10th Baluch Regiment officers