A Gunner At the Helm: General PP Kumaramangalam – His Life and Times

General PP Kumaramangalam, Padma Vibhushan. OBE. MBE remains an iconic figure for the Gunners. I am indeed grateful to Lt Col CR Sundar (Retd), an officer of The MADRAS Regiment, who took on this project with his own effort and expenditure, as a tribute to the late General. He worked tirelessly, using published material from open sources, interviews of family members of the General, and historical evidence from Indian and foreign libraries. He travelled extensively as part of his research effort. This was a difficult task well done.

— Lt Gen PK Srivastava, AVSM, VSM, Director General Artillery & Senior Colonel Commandant, Regiment of Artillery.

This well laid out biography of a former Chief of the Army Staff is to be read by a wide spectrum of readers both in the military as well as the civil walks of life, and across age barriers, with an open mind about life in the Army and understanding as to how wholesome it is.

Thank you Colonel CR Sundar. It has been a pleasure to put pen to paper to write the foreword, after reading and absorbing the narrative in one sitting.

— Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, Former Vice Chief of the Army Staff.

Boy what a book!

This is an engrossing saga of the Military Officer who developed our combat potential. During his service General Kumaramangalam had built, without much fanfare, the strongest army of South Asia, an army which no nation in our neighborhood should have dared to challenge. Pakistan took that foolish step and came to grief.

So sure was the Government of India of the army created by Kumaramangalam that in 1970, even before this army could be tested in war, awarded him the Padma Vibushan.

— KT John, Australia

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This is the story of General P.P. Kumaramangalam — a first-generation Thamizh officer, son of the Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency, alumnus of Eton and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, one of the earliest King's Commissioned Indian Officers, and the first Artillery Officer to rise as Chief of the Indian Army.

A man of intellect, grit, and unwavering integrity, his career was marked by action, leadership, and reform. He was decorated for service, admired for his clarity of purpose, and respected across ranks.

In a time of upheaval, he transformed a divided post-Partition Army into a modern force. As Adjutant General, he oversaw its fastest expansion. As Deputy and Vice Chief, he revamped military doctrine, rewrote outdated manuals, and realigned training to India's diverse terrain.

Amid the aftermath of the 1962 debacle and the 1965 Indo-Pak war, he helped build the capacity, morale, and structure that enabled India's resounding victory in 1971. A quiet architect of triumph, he ensured the Army was equipped, trained, and ready—always.