K. P. Candeth Biography 
Lieutenant General Kunhiraman Palat Candeth, shortly known as K. P. Candeth was a Major General in the Indian army who led the operation to annex Goa from the Portuguese colonial rule. He has also served briefly as the Lieutenant Governor of the state. Soon after this operation, he became Lieutenant General of Indian Army. He is the grandson of C. Sankaran Nair, the President of the Indian National Congress in 1897 held at Amraoti, the only Keralite to hold the post. He was the Deputy Chief of Army Staff at the time of the 1965 war and commanded the Western Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
He was born in Ottapalam, Malabar (North Kerala) on September 23, 1916. He is the grandson of the renowned barrister and author Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar. Sir C. Sankaran Nair was his maternal grandfather. He did his military training at the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College, Dehradun. He was commissioned in the British Indian Army on 30 August 1936 in 28 Field Brigade of the Royal Indian Artillery. Very soon, Candeth saw action in West Asia during the Second World War. He was deployed at North West Frontier Province, bordering Afghanistan, just before Indian Independence to quell local tribes. He attended the Military Services Staff College at Quetta in 1945.
He was deployed to Jammu and Kashmir soon after Indian independence. In free India, he has held several designated posts including Director General of Artillery at Army Headquarters in Delhi. Though British left India in 1947, Portuguese owned Goa colony. Candeth earned his name in Operation Vijay—the Liberation of Goa, Daman and Diu from Portuguese rule. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 the force that led to East Pakistan, he was the Western Army commander. For his miliraty services Indian government has honoured him with PVSM and Padma Bhushan. He joined BJP in the 1990’s and was not married.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 21, 2014
