Field Marshal KM Cariappa: His Life and Times

by C.B. Khanduri

Field Marshal K. M. His Life and Times narrates, for the first time, the full story of the life and times of India’s first Commander-in-Chief, a soldier and a diplomat and above all. a patriot. Coming immediately after his death at the age of 93, this assiduously researched biography gives a total insight into his life and deeds that have immortalised him.Cariappa’s life has been a fascinating compound of character, luck and circumstances. His meteoric rise from 1947 to the pinnacle enabled him to frame the Indian Army - and other services - into his mould of tenacity and resilience.The book, devotes itself adequately to episodes of his one-man-crusade to let the Armed Forces remain undivided for the duration of the Partition in 1947, when everyone was bent on doing so. Aspersion was cast freely on his political ambition at that time. As C-in-C his skirmish with the politically supported bureaucracy to safeguard the dignity of his office had repercussions on civilmilitary relations but he steadfastly stuck to his position. Hearing Nehru say that “the Chinese will safeguard the northern border and that, he as C-in-C should worry about J&K and Pakistan,” shook him and he could see how removed the leader was from strategic reality.Here then is a book on the life and times of Cariappa in which there is a balanced blend of biography and history which is punctuated by human episodes, anecdotes and reminiscences.

590 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2012

Reviews

[Last · Rating 5 out of 5]

After watching 'Sam Bahadur', I realized that I had no working knowledge of the early years of the Army. This quest for knowledge brought me to this biography, which is a wonderful read.

Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa is the founding father of the Indian Army, and he was a marvelous human being (author knew him personally).

In this book, all the challenges and learnings of the Field Marshal are proffered to the reader, in order to have a better understanding of the tumultuous time when Field Marshal was in charge, and the steps he took to ensure that the Army remained apolitical.

[Manraj Sohi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gives a good insights into the significant contribution of our first c in c. He did a stellar job in keeping army apolitical, other significant contribution include institutes like NDA, CDM. He has many firsts under his belt. IST batch trained at Daly College, first KICO to command a unit, then Bde. First Indian to do DQ. Later he became our first Indian CinC on 15 Jan 49. A true officer & gentleman

[Mrityunjay Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent insight in the life of the Field Marshal.

[Prateek Rath · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Indians must read this book. It is unfortunate that FM Cariappa is not read about as widely as FM Manekshaw. FM Cariappa played a critical role in the perception of the Army just after independence. His views on the first Pak war and his predictions re our neighbour were spot on. He seemed to have a tense relationship with Nehru. Who probably did not trust him because he considered him to be a British soldier. 9/10