General Krishnaswamy Sundararajan ,the scholar warrior was regarded as one of the most promising Generals of Independant India.It was one exciting life,a life full of challenges,but not one without controversies. He was Born on 28 April 1930 at Chengelpet in Tamil Nadu,in a brahmin family with a very modern outlook.His family played a very important role in shaping his values.He grew up to be a handsome man,who had imbibed in himself the "universally appreciated" qualities of Tamil Brahmins,but was not held back by narrow minded outlook,that was typical of his community.He was a dynamic man,always with new ideas.He joined the Madras Christian college only to leave it.Dr A.J. Boyd, who was then the highly distinguished principal of the college, was sorry to see him leave. He was looking forward to Sundarji later becoming a doctor though he reconciled himself to the country gaining a soldier.His education did not however end here.He went on to graduate from Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington.He also studied at the General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in the US, and the National Defence College in New Delhi.An exciting education indeed ,filled with fun and challenges.He held an M.A. degree in International Studies from Allahabad University and an M.Sc. degree in Defence Studies from Madras University.He later went on to marry Vani,who would be his soul mate till the end of his life. Even as a young soldier he proved himself to be a leader,a man full of foresight and wisdom.He was Commisioned initially into the Mahar regiment.He had to work in two of the most troublesome areas of South Asia-North west frontier province and then in Jammu and Kashmir.In Kargil,Kashmir he had to fight against the Pakistan supported raiders.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.In 1965 he was once again back in action in India ,to fight in the Indo-Pak war.The war was a complete misadventure by Pakistan.But it could have gone either way.This might have made Sundarji realize the crucial role,technology could play in winning wars,placed as he was in command of an Infantry battalion.He played an important role as Brigadier General Staff of corps in the Rangpur sector of Bangladesh,during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.This war lead to the liberation of Bangladesh.He became a Major General in 1974.He was later picked to be part of a team,involved in reorganizing the Indian army.The idea was to equip the army with better technology.In 1979,he became the Colonel of the mechanized Infantry regiment,which he had himself shaped.The regiment has a glorious history of heroes who have done the forces proud. There is a Victoria Cross recipient, three Param Vir Chakra winners and 12 Mahavir Chakra decorations. From a young soldier he had now grown,into a matured Colonel,who played a very important role in shaping the strategies of the Indian army.But life would never again be the same for the Colonel.It was about this time when India had tested its own Nuclear bomb.A move,which would change the thinking of both,Indian and Pakistan army.In 1984,he lead Operation Bluestar.The operation was intended to flush out Sikh millitants from the Golden temple in Amritsar.This was a turning point in India's history as well as Sundarji's own career.There was terrible violence ,following this,and Indian army was being used to control the civilian population.The sikhs would never again forget or forgive sundarji.He was to later say-"We went inside with humility in our hearts and prayers on our lips".His wife remarked that Sundarji was never again the same man .In 1986,he was appointed the chief of army staff.After taking over as the army chief,he wrote a letter to his soldiers warning them,about their deteriorating standards.He pointed out that sycophancy had grown deep into the ranks of Indian army.He also felt that the soldiers had become career oriented and patriotism had become fashionable. During his tenure as chief of army staff,the Indian army was involved in "Exercise Brasstacks","Operation falcon" and "Operation Pawan".It was the period when tension was increasing in Kashmir.Srilankan separtists had start creating trouble in India,and there was trouble brewing in India's north east as well.Pakistan was probably equipping itself with better technology and was also keenly developing its nuclear capability.It was no easy job for Sundarji,especially when the Government of India was making major blunders in its international policies.His crtics accused him to be a very hasty man. The mission in Srilanka was proving a big failure,and the Indian army had to be recalled back later. That was not all,he played a very important role in shaping India's nuclear policy.When India tested the Nuclear bomb during the 90s a bedridden Sunderji was elated. In the early 90s the Bofors controversy had shaken India.It probably changed the way ,Indians viewed the Nehru dynasty.When the Rajiv Gandhi Government struck the $ 1.3 billion defence deal with A B Bofors of Sweden in 1986, it was General Sundarji who, as he said, "gave professional advice to go in for a gun with an edge." But his recommendation to buy the Bofors howitzers quickly became the most controversial that any Indian army chief took when allegations of huge kickbacks began pouring in 1987. "I had nothing to do with the deal. I tried my best to scrap the deal when bribery charges came up. But politicians never listen to armymen," said Sundarji. When the Swiss authorities handed over secret bank papers connected to the Bofors kickbacks to the Indian government on January 21 1996, the Central Bureau of Investigation sent a letter to General Sundarji asking him to come over to Delhi to testify before the agency on his role in the deal. This episode might have been something that would have left him with complete distaste for politics. He had other sides to his personality.He had written many articles and even a few books.He wrote "Blind men of Hindoostan".In this he talks about nuclear war between India and Pakistan.He compares India's nuclear policy,with six blind men who misinterpret an Elephant by touching parts of it.He also left behind a partially completed autobiography titled ‘Of Some Consequence: A Soldier Remembers' He planned to write 105 episodes, but lived only to write 33. He was afflicted by an ailment of the nervous system and had been hospitalised during March 1998.He finally passed away on Febraury 08,1998.He left behind his son and wife.His son ,Vikram Sundarji is a well known writer. Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... A Brahmin (less often Brahman) is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. ... Wellington (Te Whanganui-a-Tara or Poneke) is the capital city of New Zealand and the countrys third-largest urban area. ... In 1827, Colonel Henry Leavenworth established a post on the bluffs overlooking the western bank of the Missouri River to protect the fur trade, safeguard commerce on the Santa Fe Trail and maintain the peace among the inhabitants. ... New Delhi ( नई दिल्ली ) is the capital of India, and is part of the National capital territory of Delhi. ... Allahabad University Logo Allahabad University is an institution of higher learning located in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. ... University of Madras is one of the three oldest universities in India (along with Bombay and Calcutta), it was incorporated in 1857. ... Map of South Asia. ... North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. ... The dark-brown region represents the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir is the northern-most province of the Republic of India, with Srinagar as its capital and Jammu as its winter-capital. ... Kargil was a part of Gilgit-Baltistan before 1947, but now is a town in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. ... Shown in green is the Kashmiri region under Pakistani control. ... This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic Secretary-General Kofi Annan (since 1997) Established October 24, 1945 Member states 191 Headquarters New York City, NY, USA Official site http://www. ... Katanga is the southern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, regional capital Lubumbashi (formerly Elizabethville). ... 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