Krishnaswamy Sundarji

Sundarji was born in a Tamil Hindu family in Chengelpet, Madras Presidency, British India on 28 April 1928.[1] 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 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 was given an emergency commission as a second lieutenant in the Mahar Regiment.[1] 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 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 the liberation of Bangladesh. As an acting brigadier, he was appointed Deputy Military Secretary, Army HQ, on 20 January 1973.[4]

Sundarji was promoted to major general on 26 July 1974.[5] 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 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.

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 was amongst the most far-sighted armoured corps commanders in the Indian Army.[8] 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 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 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 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 was published after his death.[9]

In January 1998, Sundarji was diagnosed with motor neuron disease, from which he died on 8 February 1999 at the age of 70.[10]

• Legacy of General Sundarji India Today, 15 May 1988.

• Sundarji, Krishnamswamy at The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction