K.A.S. Raja
Kottimukula Alagaraja Singaparaja Raja, known as K.A.S. Raja, was an Indian military officer.
Early life
K.A.S. Raja was born to a politically prominent family from
Military career
On 17 June 1940 Raja enlisted in the ranks of the 11th (Madras) battalion, Indian Territorial Force then on 28 July 1940 was granted a viceroy's commission in the rank of Jemadar in the same unit.[2] The battalion was converted to a regular battalion of the British Indian Army on 15 September 1941 titled the 1st Battalion, 3rd Madras Regiment.[3] On 21 December 1941 Raja received an emergency commission as a second lieutenant in the 3rd Madras Regiment in the British Indian Army.[4]
Raja fought in the
In the spring of 1961 Raja led a 4,500 strong contingent,[1] the Indian Independent Brigade Group, to the Republic of the Congo to serve as a peacekeeping force in the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC).[7] On 5 August 1961 ONUC created an independent Katanga Command under Raja headquartered in Élisabethville.[8] On 28 August he led ONUC forces in conducting Operation Rum Punch, and action to detain and deport mercenaries and foreign military personnel serving in the Katangese Gendarmerie.[9] He returned to India with his brigade in April 1962.[10]
Legacy
In the 2016 film
References
- ^ a b c d "U.N. Military Chief K.A.S. Raja". The New York Times. 7 December 1961. p. A2.
- ^ January 1941 Indian Army List. Defence Department, Government of India, 1941
- ^ October 1941 Indian Army List. Defence Department, Government of India, 1941
- ^ July 1942 and April 1943 Indian Army List. Defence Department, Government of India, 1942 & 1943
- ^ October 1946 Indian Army List. Page 269c. Defence Department, Government of India, 1946
- ^ "Jammu and Kashmir War". Official Indian Army Web Portal. Indian Army. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "UN Missions". Official Indian Army Web Portal. Indian Army. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Mockaitis 1999, p. 27.
- ^ Colvin 1968, p. 73.
- ^ "Jawans come home from Congo". Forum: The Indian Monthly Magazine. 1962. p. 17.
- ^ Nayudu, Swapna Kona (28 April 2021). "India's under-appreciated role as sword arm of the UN". Mint. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
Works cited
- Colvin, Ian Goodhope (1968). The rise and fall of Moise Tshombe: a biography. London: Ferwin. OCLC 752436625.
- Mockaitis, Thomas R. (1999). Peace Operations and Intrastate Conflict: The Sword Or the Olive Branch? (illustrated ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275961732.