Field Marshal : KM Cariappa
Contents: 1. Acknowledgements. 2. Aine Mane. 3. Childhood. 4. Beginnings in the army. 5. With the army: 1946-1953. 6. The Commander-in-chief. 7. Kashmir. 8. High Commissioner down under. 9. The years that followed. 10. Life in Roshanara. 11. Travels abroad. 12. As Field Marshal. 13. His soul goes marching on. 14. Postscript. Epilogue: a daughter remembers.
"In Field Marshal KM Cariappa, Air Marshal KC Cariappa (retd), the airman-son presents the lesser-known face of a disciplinarian, yet loving father who tried to ensure that his son and daughter grew up well despite the absence of a mother; who wished his son to follow in his footsteps, before conceding that 'The Air Force needs a few good chaps too!" He allowed his daughter to drive his Plymouth that no one else was permitted to touch, and insisted she learn typing and shorthand, among other things, to ride out a rainy day. To help him meet the demands made of him by his profession, he counted on his siblings and nieces. Fond of reading, sports and music, he was a great success with children and had deep admiration for the apostle of non-violence--Mahatma Gandhi.
During Field Marshal KM Cariappa's illustrious career in the Army spanning over three decades (1918-1953), he had a series of firsts to his credit: the first Kodava to join the first batch of Indian Cadets at the Daly College, Indore, from where he was commissioned; the first Indian officer to enter Staff College, Quetta; the first Indian Brigadier; among the first Indians to enter the imperial Defence College, UK; the first Indian Major General in 1947; the first Indian Commander-in-Chief.
After retiring from the Indian Army in 1953, he served as High Commissioner to Australia and New Zealand till 1956.
His love for the Jawan and his patriotism were legendary and won him the respect and admiration of his countrymen from all walks of life.
In 1986, the Government of India conferred the rank of Field Marshal on this outstanding son of the soil.
Field Marshal Cariappa passed away seven years later, on 15 May 1993.
With a strong visual narrative comprising archival matter sourced from private and sate-owned archives, Field Marshal KM Cariappa is a moving tribute from a son who regrets he was unable to spend more time with his father--the father of the Indian army." (jacket)
