Krishnaswamy Sundarji

General Krishnaswamy "Sundarji" Sundararajan, (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 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 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 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.

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.

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 a senior aide, "Please make alternate arrangements if you think you are not getting adequate professional advice."

The confrontation petered out.

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.

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 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 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 the Indian Air Force's new airlift capability to land a brigade in Zimithang, north of Tawang.

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.