P. P. Kumaramangalam Biography 
Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam was the 7th Chief of Staff of the Indian Army who served during the period (1967–1970). He was the last of the King's Commissioned Indian Officers trained at Sandhurst in the Indian Army. Indian government honoured him with Padma Vibhushan in the year 1970, for his military service. He was the second Indian Officer to be commissioned into the Regiment of Artilleryand was promoted to Lieutenant in 1935. He died in the year 2000 following a heart attack.
P. P. Kumaramangalam was born on July 1st 1913 at Kumaramangalam in a zamindar family, Madras Presidency, British India. His father, Dr. P. Subbarayan was a former Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, diplomat and freedom fighter. His brother, Paramasiva Subbarayan was an active politician, and communist theorist who has served as a member of Lok Sabha for Pondicherry from 1971 to 1972. He studied at Eton College and later graduated from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in England. He was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in 1933 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1935.
During World War II, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order as a Major for action in Libya on 27 May 1942. He was taken Prisoner of War in Italy in 1942. Though he tried to escape he was captured and he could return to India only in 1945, at the end of the war. In 1946, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire and became a Brigadier in 1948. In 1963, he took over as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command. He retired on 7 June 1969 after 36 years of service and was honoured with Padma vibhushan the following year.
Published: N/A
Updated: February 17, 2014
