Kodandera Subayya Thimayya
Satyawant Shrinagesh | |
---|---|
Succeeded by | Pran Nath Thapar |
Personal details | |
Born | Coorg, Mysore, British India | 31 March 1906
Died | 18 December 1965[3][4] Cyprus | (aged 59)
Military career | |
Allegiance | British India India |
Service/ | British Indian Army Indian Army |
Years of service | 1926 – 1961 |
Rank | |
Awards | Padma Bhushan Distinguished Service Order |
Early life and education
Kodandera Subayya Thimayya was born in
On his father's side, Thimayya belonged to the Kodendera clan to which India's first commander-in-chief
Early career
After completing his training, he was commissioned into the
In January 1935, Thimayya married Nina Cariappa (no relation to K M Cariappa). On 20 March 1936, they had a daughter, Mireille. The same April, Thimayya was posted as an Adjutant at the University Training Corps in
Second World War
After this tenure, Thimayya was posted to his battalion in
His infantry division was conducting jungle warfare training and was preparing to go into
Thimayya represented the country during the surrender of the Japanese in Singapore, followed by the surrender of the Japanese in the Philippines. At the ceremony of Japanese surrender in Singapore, he signed on behalf of India. He was awarded the 'Keys to Manila' when he was sent to the Philippines. His innate talents of professional soldiering and leadership were soon recognized by
As an independent brigade, the 268th had done excellent work in the Burma Campaign and was detailed as part of BRINDIV led by
As Indian Independence approached, he was recalled to India by then Commander-in-chief of British India, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck.
Role in independent India
He returned to India in 1947, during the
Thereafter, Thimayya served as the
Chief of Army Staff
General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya assumed charge of the Indian Army, as the 3rd Chief of the Army Staff, on 7 May 1957. He briefly resigned his post in 1959 over a dispute with V. K. Krishna Menon, the then Minister of Defence (India). Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru refused to accept his resignation and persuaded him into withdrawing it. However, little action was taken on Thimayya's recommendations and he continued as the Army Chief till his retirement on 7 May 1961, completing 35 years of distinguished military service. Hence retired from the army in 1961, almost 15 months before the Chinese invasion of India in November 1962.[15]
After retirement
After retirement from the Indian Army, the United Nations sought his services yet once again when he was appointed as the Commander of UN Forces in
The street perpendicular to East Street (a road parallel to MG road in Pune), Richmond Road in Bangalore, and the main road through Larnaca/Cyprus (East to West) were renamed as Gen Thimmayya Road in his memory. The road perpendicular to Hunsur Road in Mysore is also named as General Thimmayya Road. The Republic of Cyprus, also honored him by issuing a commemorative stamp in his memory in 1966.[16] The General K.S. Thimayya Memorial Trust, a Trust instituted by some Old Boys of Bishop Cotton Boys' School, annually hold the General K S Thimayya Memorial Lecture Series in his memory.[17] General Thimayya enjoys an unmatched legacy in the Indian Army. Of all the eulogies for him, the late Lieutenant General Premindra Singh Bhagat, VC (Retd.) summed it up best, "A General Thimayya is not born in every generation. The likes of him there will seldom be a soldier. The General is a man's man, the Army his soul and his soul the Army."[18] General Thimayya's house "Sunny Side" in Madikeri has been converted into a museum and a war memorial.[19] It was inaugurated in February 2021 in the presence of the President and Chief of Defence Staff.[20]
Awards and decorations
Padma Bhushan | General Service Medal 1947 | Indian Independence Medal | |
Distinguished Service Order | 1939–1945 Star | Burma Star | War Medal 1939–1945 |
Dates of rank
Insignia | Rank | Component | Date of rank |
---|---|---|---|
Second Lieutenant | British Indian Army | 4 February 1926[9] | |
Lieutenant | British Indian Army | 4 May 1928[21] | |
Captain | British Indian Army | 4 February 1935[22] | |
Major | British Indian Army | 1941 (acting) 1 April 1942 (temporary)[11] 4 February 1943 (substantive)[23] | |
Lieutenant-Colonel | British Indian Army | 19 May 1944 (acting) 19 August 1944 (temporary) 1 October 1946 (war-substantive)[11] | |
Colonel | British Indian Army | 1 April 1945 (temporary)[24] | |
Brigadier | British Indian Army | 1 April 1945 (acting)[25] 1 October 1946 (temporary)[11] | |
Major | Indian Army | 15 August 1947[note 1][26] | |
Major-General | Indian Army | September 1947 (acting) 1 January 1950 (substantive; seniority from 4 February 1949)[5][note 1] | |
Major-General |
Indian Army | 26 January 1950 (recommissioning and change in insignia)[26][27] | |
Lieutenant-General |
Indian Army | January 1953 | |
General (COAS) |
Indian Army | 8 May 1957[28] |
References
- Footnotes
- ^ Ashoka Lionreplaced the crown, with a five-pointed star being substituted for the "pip."
- Citations
- ^ a b "Home of General Thimmayya dedicated to nation in Kodagu". United News of India. UNI. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ a b K A, Adithya (31 March 2019). "General Thimmayya's 113th birth anniversary today". Deccan Herald. No. 31 March 2019. Deccan Herald News Service. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ "Biography of General Thimmayya". Karnataka.com. Karnataka. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ "General Thimmayya". Frontline The Hindu. Frontline The Hindu. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ a b c "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 24 June 1950. p. 70.
- ISBN 978-81-7436-840-9.
- ^ Singh 2005, p. 417.
- ^ Singh 2005, p. 87.
- ^ a b "No. 33130". The London Gazette. 5 February 1926. p. 888.
- ^ "No. 33300". The London Gazette. 25 August 1927. p. 5109.
- ^ a b c d Indian Army List Special Edition for August 1947. Government of India Press. 1947. pp. 146–147.
- ^ "Page 5574 | Supplement 37349, 13 November 1945 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ISBN 81-87966-36-X. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 13 October 1951. p. 195.
- ^ a b "When an Army Chief almost quit". The Sunday Tribune – Spectrum. 16 April 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Cyprus Stamp Issue: General Thimmayya". Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ^ "General K S Thimayya Memorial Lecture Series". Old Boys of Cottons. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya". General Thimayya Memorial Trust.
- ^ "When General Thimayya's Grandson Comes Calling At 'Sunny Side'". Star of Mysore. 18 April 2019.
- ^ "President inaugurates museum dedicated to pride of Kodagu General Thimayya in Madikeri". The New Indian Express. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "No. 33396". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 June 1928. p. 4268.
- ^ "No. 34142". The London Gazette. 15 March 1935. p. 1810.
- ^ "No. 36042". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1943. p. 2579.
- ^ The Quarterly Army List: December 1946 (Part I). HM Stationery Office. 1946. pp. 220q–r.
- ^ The Quarterly Army List: December 1946 (Part I). HM Stationery Office. 1946. pp. 2511a–c.
- ^ a b "New Designs of Crests and Badges in the Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2017.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 11 February 1950. p. 227.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 18 May 1957. p. 124.
- Bibliography
- "1962: The War That Wasn’t" by Shiv Kunal Verma, Publisher: Aleph Book Company
- ISBN 978-0-7619-3322-9
- Sharma, Satinder (2007), Services Chiefs of India, Northern Book Centre, ISBN 978-81-7211-162-5
External links
- How Nehru, Menon conspired against army chief Thimayya
- "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.