Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam

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General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam PV, DSO was the 7th Chief of Staff of the Indian Army in the period (1967 - 1970). He was the last of the King's Commissioned Indian Officers trained at Sandhurst in the Indian Army.

1 Early life and Education
2 Military life
- 2.1 World War II
3 Positions held
4 Other Interests
5 Family
6 Death
7 See Also
8 External Links

[edit] Early life and Education

P.P. Kumaramangalam was born on 1st July 1913 to P. Subbarayan in a large landowning family in Tamil Nadu. He had his early education at Eton College and graduated from the Royal Military Academy - Woolwich in England. He was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in 1933.

[edit] Military life

[edit] World War II

During World War II, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) as a Major for action in Libya on 27 May 1942. He was taken Prisoner of War in Italy in 1942. He escaped; however his luck ran out and was caught again and imprisoned, this time in Germany. His story was the theme behind the movie "The Great Escape". At the end of the war in 1945, he returned to India and become a Brigadier in 1948.

[edit] Positions held

General P.P. Kumaramangalam held several positions, including the Vice Chief of Army Staff, the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, GOC-in-C Eastern Command, Adjutant General and Commandant, DSSC Wellington, before becoming the 7th Chief of Staff on 7th June 1966. He served in the Indian Army with distinction for 36 years till his retirement on 7th June 1969. He recieved the Padma Vibushan in 1970.

[edit] Other Interests

He was also a polo player and cricketer. He was a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club. On retirement as army chief, he was elected President of the World Wildlife Fund - India (WWF-India) during its formative stages.

[edit] Family

His father was P. Subbarayan who was Premier of the Madras Presidency. His brothers were Mohan Kumaramangalam who was a cabinet minister in Indira Gandhi's cabinet and Gopal Kumaramangalam who headed several PSU's.