Brij Mohan Kaul was the controversial General who resigned in the aftermath of the Indian military debacle against the Chinese in the 1962 Sino-Indian War. He was a distant kinsman of Jawaharlal Nehru.He was the person responsible for raising and expanding Jammu and Kashmir militia which later entered Indian Army as J&K Light Infantry.He was born in 1912 on Buddha Jayanti to an ethnic Kashmiri family living in East Punjab.His father was a teacher. His mother died when he was five and was raised by his step mother.
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He was a King's Commissioned Indian Officer from Sandhurst (1933), who was an Infantry officer with the Rajputana Rifles (5th Battalion 'Napiers')(he did his British army attachment with the East Surrey Regiment), who later switched to the Army Supply Corps during the end of Second World War, because ASC was a higher paying job and he needed the money for treatment of his ailing stepmother.In October 1946, he became secretary to "Armed forces nationalisation committee"constituted by Viceroy.(Co-incidentally, it was led by N Gopalawami Ayengar, later defense minister, with members including future COAS Thimayya ,Muhammad Musa(future Pak Army chief) and future Indian MP H N Kunjru).In 1947, he was part of delegation sent to UN to raise Kashmir issue along with Sheikh Abdullah,N Goplaswami Ayengar and M C Setalwad. In 1953, he was deputed to arrest Sheikh Abdullah.His promotion to Lt. General attracted questions in parliament as it is believed to have triggered off the resignation of then army chief , Thimayya.(Kaul in his book "The Untold Story" has written that Thimayya himself told him that it is not true). He served as the divisional commander of 4th Infantry Division, Chief of General Staff and finally as the commander of IV Corps during the 1962 War.In aftermath of 1962 war,he resigned and was relieved in May 1963.His "special" relationship with and direct access to Nehru, his great personal courage,his project management abilities coupled with ability to rub people the wrong way made him rise superfast and then his eventual downfall.He remains a tragic figure in annals of independent india's history.From being mentioned as possible army chief,he died in 1972.
He was also the first ever recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal instituted by the 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.[1]
He wrote his side of the story in the book The Untold Story and wrote 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.
1.The Untold Story by B M Kaul