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34-736: General Krishnaswamy "Sundarji" Sundararajan , PVSM (28 April 1928 – 8 February 1999) was the Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1986 to 1988. He was the last former British Indian Army officer to command the Indian Army. During his army career, he had commanded the Operation Blue Star under orders from Indira Gandhi to clear the Golden Temple shrine. Widely respected as

68-399: A changed man after this operation. In 1986, he was promoted to general and appointed Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). After taking over as COAS, he wrote a letter to his soldiers warning of deteriorating standards, and the evil of sycophancy . His operation at Sumdorong Chu in 1986, known as Operation Falcon , was widely praised. The Chinese had occupied Sumdorong Chu, and Sundarji used

102-627: A general are: Appointments to the office of CDS and COAS are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), which is chaired by the Prime Minister of India . The term length of the Chief of Defence Staff is three years or until the age of 65 of the holder, whichever is earlier. The Chief of the Army Staff reaches superannuation upon three years in the office or at the age of 62, whichever

136-548: A planned 105. Sundarji married Padma Sundarji when he was a major. They had two children, Pria and Vikram. In 1978, when he was serving as general officer commanding XXXIII Corps in the Eastern Command, she died of cancer at the Army Hospital, Delhi Cantonment . Later, he married for the second time. His second wife, Vani, wrote the introductory chapter of Sundarji's memoirs Of some consequence – A soldier remembers , which

170-960: A rapid expansion in the 1980s. Mechanised infantry battalions numbered 15 to 26 have been raised on all-India mixed class composition, unlike the older units, which were single class ones. The only exception was 20 Rajput, which joined the regiment as the 24th battalion in April 1992. The Mechanised Infantry Regiment has been involved in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, Operation Rakshak in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir and Operation Vijay in Jammu & Kashmir. It also took part in UN Peacekeeping Operations in Somalia , Congo , Angola and Sierra Leone .The Regiment

204-514: A scholar warrior, he was regarded as one of the most promising generals of Independent India . He introduced a number of technology initiatives to the Indian Army. He was also questioned for his role in recommending the Bofors howitzer in the Bofors scandal . As the Chief of the Army Staff, he planned and executed Operation Brasstacks , a major military exercise, along the Rajasthan border. Sundarji

238-622: A senior aide, "Please make alternate arrangements if you think you are not getting adequate professional advice." The confrontation petered out. He was also involved in Operation Brasstacks , a large-scale mechanised artillery and war gaming effort in July 1986 near the Pakistan border, which led to similar Pakistani buildup. The situation was defused through diplomatic talks in February 1987. In 1987,

272-596: A single cap badge as the Mechanised Infantry Regiment, which was raised with fourteen battalions on 2 April 1979 and the affairs of the regiment were transferred from Directorate General of Infantry to Armoured Corps Directorate, which was renamed the Directorate General Mechanised Forces in 1986. Gen K Sundarji was appointed the first Colonel of the Mechanised Infantry Regiment, the post he held till his retirement. The regiment saw

306-634: A small team for reorganising the Indian Army, especially with regard to technology. He raised the Mechanised Infantry Regiment by amalgamating various battalions from the army's premier infantry regiments. He was promoted to lieutenant general on 5 February 1979. In 1984, he led Operation Blue Star , intended to evict extremists who had occupied the Golden Temple in Amritsar . He later said "We went inside with humility in our hearts and prayers on our lips". According to his wife, Sundarji emerged

340-614: Is affiliated to the Indian Naval Ship Gharial . The Mechanised Infantry Regimental Centre (MIRC) was established on 2 April 1979 at Ahmednagar and it is spread over 2179 acres. It trains approximately 950 recruits annually. It has three training battalions: Infantry Training Battalion, Composite Training Battalion and Driving and Maintenance Battalion. It was renamed as the Mechanised Infantry Centre and School (MIC&S) on 17 September 2021. In addition to

374-647: Is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army , comprising 27 battalions (including 3 tracked and 2 wheeled reconnaissance and support battalions) dispersed under various armoured formations throughout India. Together with the 23 battalions of Brigade of the Guards , they form part of the Mechanised Infantry arm, which along with the Armoured Corps form the Mechanised Forces. The Mechanised Infantry Regiment

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408-721: Is earlier. A general ranks at No. 12 on the Indian order of precedence , along with the CDS and the Chiefs of Staff of the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force (the CNS and the CAS ). A general is at pay level 18, equivalent to Cabinet Secretary of India (at No. 11 on the warrant of precedence), with a monthly pay of ₹250,000 (US$ 3,500). Mechanised Infantry Regiment The Mechanised Infantry Regiment

442-510: Is one of the youngest regiments in the army and was the mastermind of General K Sundarji , who had the foresight to cater to the needs of a modern army. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 , a need was felt to give infantry battalions greater mobility, especially when operating with armoured formations. In 1969, 1st Madras became the first infantry unit to be equipped with the armoured personnel carrier (APC) TOPAS . In 1970, nine more of

476-827: The Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in the US, and the National Defence College in New Delhi . He held a Master of Arts in international studies from the University of Allahabad and an MSc in defence studies from Madras University . Sundarji joined the British Indian Army in 1945 during the Second World War , though the war ended before he could see any active service. On 28 April 1946, he

510-635: The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Until 1 January 2020, when the post of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) was established, the COAS was the only officer to hold the rank of full general. Upon the creation of the post and the appointment of General Bipin Rawat as the first CDS, there were two serving full generals for the first time in Independent India. The rank insignia of a general are: The gorget patches of

544-544: The Indian Air Force is air chief marshal . As of 2024, there are two serving full generals in the Indian Armed Forces , General Anil Chauhan , the Chief of Defence Staff and Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee , and General Upendra Dwiwedi , the Chief of the Army Staff . The first Indian to hold the rank of full general was K. M. Cariappa . He was promoted to the acting rank of General when he took over as

578-644: The Indian Air Force 's new airlift capability to land a brigade in Zimithang , north of Tawang . Indian forces took up positions on the Hathung La ridge, across the Namka Chu river, where India had faced a humiliating defeat in 1962. The Chinese responded with a counter-build-up and adopted a belligerent tone. Western diplomats predicted war, and some of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi 's advisers blamed Sundarji's recklessness. But Sundarji stood by his steps, at one point telling

612-604: The UN mission in the Congo , where he was chief of staff of the Katanga command and was mentioned in dispatches for his gallantry. Sundarji served as the commanding officer of an infantry battalion during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 . He played an important role as brigadier general staff of a corps in the Rangpur sector of Bangladesh , during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 . This war led to

646-400: The liberation of Bangladesh . As an acting brigadier, he was appointed Deputy Military Secretary, Army HQ, on 20 January 1973. Sundarji was promoted to major general on 26 July 1974. For the first time in the history of the Indian Army, an infantry officer became the general officer commanding of the elite 1st Armoured Division . He was chosen by General K. V. Krishna Rao to be part of

680-596: The Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army on 15 January 1949. All the chiefs of the Indian Army after him, have been full generals. Since 1950, it has been a tradition for the President of India to award the chief of the Nepalese Army with the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army. The rank is held by the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), the professional head of the Indian Army , and may also be held by

714-735: The Indian Navy Special Commando Force. The Indian Peace Keeping Force force was withdrawn in 1990. Sundarji was amongst the core team that created Indian nuclear policy. As a senior army general, he wrote the Indian Nuclear Doctrine along with Admiral R.H. Tahiliani . Post retirement, he was unhappy with the lack of response among politicians regarding nuclear security, and wrote the book Blind Men of Hindustan in 1993, which discussed nuclear strategy for India and compared India's nuclear policy to six blind men who misinterpret an elephant by touching parts of it. Sundarji

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748-728: The Indian government forced Sri Lankan president to accept a ceasefire agreement with LTTE and the Indian Peace Keeping Force was sent to Jaffna to disarm the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). However, the Indian Army had no experience in unconventional jungle warfare and took heavy casualties. Among the few successes was the bombing of the LTTE controlled jetties by the Indian Navy Marine Commandos, then known as

782-451: The all black uniform of the Armoured Corps . He then went on to create the Mechanised Infantry Regiment. With emphasis on speed, technology and mobile weaponry, it is now an integral part of the Indian strike corps. Sundarji can also be credited for shaping modern Indian Army thinking. In his stint as the commandant of the College of Combat (now Army War College, Mhow ), he practically rewrote

816-407: The first time. The APCs were replaced with BMP-1 Infantry Combat Vehicles between 1977 and 1978. The need for something more concrete and viable was felt, along with a need to develop a common battle and training philosophy with regards to the type of tactics. This necessitated the raising a totally new arm in the Indian Army, resulting in the various mechanised battalions being brought together under

850-458: The oldest battalions from various infantry regiments were equipped with APCs, these included TOPAS, SKOT and BTR-60 . These battalions remained affiliated with their erstwhile Infantry Regiments and Regimental Centres and did not form a separate regiment. Eventually, fourteen old infantry battalions were mechanised. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 , some of these battalions saw action as part of combat groupings with armoured units for

884-691: The troops from the Mechanised Infantry, those from the Brigade of the Guards undergo their 'mechanised' training at the MIC&;S. MIC&S offers eight diploma courses and four post graduate diploma courses under the Savitribai Phule Pune University . The Quarter Guard of the MIRC was created on 9 August 1979 during the first biennial conference. After the sanction of KLP, the present Quarter Guard

918-513: The war manual with emphasis on speed, decisive action, technology and armour. Sundarji was also one of the few to predict the total rout of the Iraqi forces in the Gulf War . Writing for India Today , he saw what superior air power and technology could do. He also left behind a partially completed autobiography titled Of Some Consequence: A Soldier Remembers , of which he had completed 33 episodes out of

952-501: Was amongst the most far-sighted armoured corps commanders in the Indian Army. Despite being commissioned in the infantry, he was a keen student and admirer of tank warfare . He pioneered various operational guidelines and challenged his commanders to push the machines and men to the limits. In various exercises, he is known to have ordered tanks full speed up sand dunes in the Thar Desert in 70 degree heat. Amongst other things, he designed

986-625: Was born in a Tamil Hindu Brahmin family in Chengelpet , Madras Presidency , British India on 28 April 1928. His official name was Krishnaswamy Sundararajan, but he was popularly known by the informal name of Sundarji. He studied at the Madras Christian College only to leave it before receiving a degree. Later in his career, he graduated from the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington, Tamil Nadu . He also studied at

1020-417: Was conceptualised in half circular area with front wide platform. The new Quarter Guard was completed in 1986. The Quarter Guard has 18 internal rooms as well as an armour shop and a guard room. To the right and left side of the guard are two guns and two cannons that symbolise the strength of soldiers. The MIRC Band is based at Ahmednagar and serves all regimental duties related to musical support. The band

1054-534: Was formed during April 1982 under the auspices of Brigadier Tilak Raj. The band has held the honour of performing at national events such as the Beating Retreat , Army and Republic Day Parades , as well as events at the Rashtrapati Bhavan . It also has performed at the 2007 Military World Games , the 2010 Commonwealth Games , and the 2001 Mumbai International Fleet Review among others. The MIRC Museum

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1088-627: Was founded and inaugurated on 9 February 2000 by Lieutenant General Pankaj Joshi, the then Colonel of the regiment. The museum is currently housed at the ground floor of Mechanised Bhavan. The museum houses the regimental colour, as well as the history if the MIRC and mementos from Colonels of the regiment. The Mechanised Infantry Regiment consists of units designated as battalions . Each battalion consists of four companies - Headquarter Company and three Mechanised Companies. In addition, there are platoons - Reconnaissance (recce), Signals , Adm Medium and Light Repair Workshop . The sanctioned strength of

1122-628: Was given an emergency commission as a second lieutenant in the Mahar Regiment . His early career as an army officer involved operating in the troublesome areas of the North-West Frontier Province and then in Jammu and Kashmir . In the period following India's independence , he saw action in Kargil district , Jammu and Kashmir, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 . In 1963, he served in

1156-416: Was published after his death. In January 1998, Sundarji was diagnosed with motor neuron disease , from which he died on 8 February 1999 at the age of 70. General (India) A general may be referred to as a full general or four-star general to distinguish them from lower general officer ranks like lieutenant general and major general . The equivalent rank in the Indian Navy is admiral and in

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