Kunhiraman Palat Candeth

Lieutenant General Kunhiraman Palat Candeth PVSM
Military Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu
In office 19 December 1961 – 6 June 1962
Preceded by	Post Established
Succeeded by	T. Sivasankar (asLieutenant Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu)
Personal details
Born	(1916-09-23)23 September 1916 Ottapalam,Malabar District,Madras Presidency,British India
Died	19 May 2003(2003-05-19)(aged 86)
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Relations	Sir C. Sankaran Nair(Maternal Grandfather) Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar(Paternal Grandfather) Sir C. Madhavan Nair(Maternal Uncle)
Awards	Padma Bhushan Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Military service
Allegiance	British India Republic of India
Branch/service	Indian Army
Years of service	1934–1973
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Royal Indian Artillery
Commands	Western Army 8 Mountain Division 17 Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War II Indo-Pakistan War of 1947 Operation Vijay Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 Indo-Pakistan War of 1971

Lieutenant GeneralKunhirāman Pālātt Kandèt,PVSM(23 October 1916 – 19 May 2003) was a seniorofficerin theIndian Armywho played a commanding role in theLiberation of GoafromPortuguese controlin 1961, and briefly served as theMilitary Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu.

He later served as theDeputy Chief of Army Staffbased inGHQ in New Delhiduring thesecond warin 1965, and later effectively commanded theWestern Commandduring thethird warwith Pakistan in 1971.

Early life

He was born inOttapalam,Malabar District(nowKerala) inBritish India(nowIndia) to M. A. Candeth, the son of theNayanarlandlord and writerVengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar.His maternal grandfather wasSir C. Sankaran Nair,who was the President of theIndian National Congress.

Military career

Pre-independence

Commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1936, Candeth saw action in West Asia during the Second World War. Shortly before India's independence from colonial rule, he was deployed in theNorth West Frontier Province,borderingAfghanistan,to quell local tribal uprisings. The mountainous terrain gave Candeth the experience for his later operations againstNagalandseparatists in the North East. He attended the Military Services Staff College atQuetta,capital ofBaluchistanin 1945.

Kashmir 1947

After Independence, Candeth was commanding an artillery regiment that was deployed toJammu and KashmirafterPakistan-backed tribesmen attacked and captured a third of the province before being forced back by the Indian Army. Thereafter, Candeth held a series of senior appointments, including that of Director General of Artillery at Army Headquarters inDelhi,to which he was appointed on 8 September 1959, with the acting rank of major-general (substantive colonel).

Goa

Following Indian independence from British rule, certain parts of India were still under foreign rule. While the French left India in 1954, the Portuguese, however, refused to leave. After complex diplomatic pressure and negotiations had failed, on 18 December 1961Defence MinisterV.K. Krishna Menonordered the military to overrun Goa and oust the Portuguese.Candeth, whose father was close to Menon, all three of them being related as eliteNairs,was chosen by Menon to command inOperation Vijay—the Liberation ofGoa,Daman and Diu from Portuguese rule. In an obituary tribute to Candeth, The Independent of London however referred to him as "born into a middle-class Anglo-Indian family"while early scholarly references also referred to him as Kenneth P. Candeth.https://web.stanford.edu/group/tomzgroup/pmwiki/uploads/1074-1971-Rubinoff-a-BTS.pdfAs 17 Infantry Division commander, Candeth took the colony within a day and was immediately appointed Goa's first Indian administrator (acting as the Military Governor), a post he held till June 1962.Controversial as the military action was, Candeth inevitably received critical coverage in the western press, although the primary brunt of criticism was Menon, followed by Nehru.

North East

After relinquishing command as Goa's Military Governor in 1963, Candeth was appointed GOC, Nagaland on 23 August 1963.He took command of the newly raised 8 Mountain Division in the North-East on 15 November 1963,where he battled, although with little success, the highly organised Naga insurgents. The insurgency in the North East has not been quelled completely to this day. On 7 May 1965, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (DCOAS) with the acting rank of lieutenant-general.He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 17 January 1966,and was appointed GOC-in-C, Western Command on 27 September 1969.

Awards and later life

Lt. Gen. Kunhiraman Palat Candeth was awarded theParam Vishisht Seva Medaland also thePadma Bhushanby theGovernment of India.Retiring from the army on 21 October 1972,he joined theBharatiya Janata Party(BJP) in the 1990s and was appointed a member of the Party's Executive Committee.

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date of rank
	Second Lieutenant	British Indian Army	15 July 1937 (seniority 30 August 1936)
	Lieutenant	British Indian Army	30 November 1938
	Captain	British Indian Army	1940 (acting) 1 January 1941 (temporary) 30 August 1944 (substantive)
	Captain	Indian Army	15 August 1947
	Brigadier	Indian Army	1948 (acting)
	Major	Indian Army	30 August 1949
	Major	Indian Army	26 January 1950 (recommissioning and change in insignia)
	Lieutenant-Colonel	Indian Army	1953
	Colonel	Indian Army	30 August 1956
	Brigadier	Indian Army	30 August 1959
	Major General	Indian Army	8 September 1959 (acting)
	Lieutenant-General	Indian Army	7 May 1965 (acting) 11 January 1966 (substantive)

See also

• Operation Vijay
• World War II
• Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar

External links

• K.P. Candeth's obituary inThe Hindu^[usurped]
• https://web.archive.org/web/20060714020422/http:// goavidhansabha.gov.in/pastgov.php