Brij Mohan Kaul
|
Brij Mohan Kaul
|
|
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Bijji |
| Born | May 1, 1912 |
| Died | April 18, 1972 |
| Allegiance |  British India India |
| Service/ |
Indian Army |
| Years of service | 1932-1962 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Unit | Rajputana Rifles |
| Commands held | IV Corps, NEFA |
| Awards | Param Vishisht Seva Medal |
| Relations | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Other work | The Untold Story, Confrontation with Pakistan |
Brij Mohan Kaul was a Lt General & the Chief of General Staff (CoGS) in the Indian Army.[1] He resigned in the aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian War. He was responsible for raising and expanding Jammu and Kashmir militia which later entered Indian Army as Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, and was awareded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 1960.
Contents
Personal life
He was born in 1912 on Buddha Jayanti to Jag Mohan and krishna in Lahore. He had 2 brothers- Kishen Kumar Kaul and Shyam Kumar Kaul and 2 sisters-Manorama and Dulhari. He was married to Dhanraj Kishori and had two daughters Anuradha and Chitralekha.
Career
After graduating from Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1932, Brij Mohan Kaul joined the Army service corps[1] of the 5th Battalion of 6th Rajputana Rifles. After serving as platoon and company commander, he was promoted a Major in 1943 and a Colonel in 1947. He was swiftly promoted to Brigadier in 1950. In October–December 1946, he was the secretary to "Armed forces nationalisation committee" constituted by Viceroy. Coincidentally, it was led by N Gopalawami Ayengar, later defense minister, with members including future Chief of Army Staff General Thimayya, future Pakistan Army chief Muhammad Musa and future Indian MP H.N. Kunzru. The General Officer was well known[by whom?] to be a "personal favourite" of Jawaharlal Nehru since his junior officer days. He reportedly received a number of undue professional favours throughout his career due to this personal connection and he made full use of this opportunity with utter disregard to the Army organisation.[2] He managed to keep himself away from hardship and learning the nuances of a military commander as a junior officer and later in service, managed to grab important Army senior command appointments due to his "pull". His involvement with Jawaharlal Nehru later turned out to be a major reason for shameful loss and massacre of Indian troops at the hands of the Chinese.[3]
In 1947, Kaul was a defence attache in Washington. He returned to India in the aftermath of Indian Pakistan hostilities over Kashmir.[4] In 1962, Indian army Lt General B.M. Kaul was appointed as the commander of IV Corps in the north eastern region of India.[5]
Operation leghorn
In 1962, the then Chief of General Staff (CGS) of Indian Army, Lt General B.M. Kaul was appointed as the General officer Commanding (GOC) the North east, replacing Lt General Umrao Singh. Kaul was to head the newly appointed IV Corps at Tezpur, however no new troops were sent to the corps with only the new headquarter staff being deployed there. The entire NEFA (North East Frontier Agency), now Arunachal Pradesh was made Kaul's domain.
On his first day of assignment, Kaul flew to Lumpu & then trekked to Namkachu valley. He was the first General officer to visit the valley. Under his leadership, the Indian patrol occupied Tse Jong, a hillock north-west of the Chinese settlement. Kaul reportedly fell ill during the assignment and was deported to New Delhi. The Indian patrol occupying Tse Jong was wiped out when an 800 strong enemy force raided the post subsequently.[6]
The battle with China in 1962, in the NEFA, is also known as the Battle of Namkachu.[1]
Param Vishisht Seva Medal
He was also the first ever recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal instituted by the Indian government in 1960.
His citation reads : For successfully completing the project 'Amar' which entailed the construction of 1,450 quarters for troops in Ambala. This was the first project of its kind and was completed through hot weather and the monsoons in the face of numerous problems. Lt.-Gen. Kaul overcame these difficulties by dint of hard work and initiative of the highest order. He displayed organising ability, drive, and resourcefulness. It was by his determination, leadership and personal example that the task was completed by due date.[7]
Books Authored
He wrote his side of the story about operation leghorn in the book The Untold Story and, in another book, Confrontation with Pakistan, where he predicted the 1971 war with Pakistan. He was working on a third book, when he died of a heart attack on 18 April 1972 in New Delhi.
References
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- ↑ The Himalayan Blunder - Brig JP Dalvi
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- ↑ [1] Archived August 28, 2006 at the Wayback Machine
