->Billjones94 at 12:37, 8 September 2021

2021-09-08T12:37:25Z

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{{short description|Indian general}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Major general|Major-General]]
| name = Vikram Ramji Khanolkar
| honorific_suffix =
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1905|06|28}}
| birth_place = [[Quetta]], [[Baluchistan (Chief Commissioner's Province)|Baluchistan Province]], [[British Raj]] (now in [[Pakistan]])
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1952|08|29|1905|06|28}}
| death_place = Between [[Ranchi]] and [[Kolkata]] (in train), [[India]]
| serviceyears = 1927–1952
| nickname =
| allegiance = {{flag|British India}} {{flag|India}}
| spouse = {{marriage |[[Savitri Khanolkar]]|1932}}
| branch = {{army|British Raj}} {{army|India}}
| rank = [[File:Major_General of the Indian Army.svg|15px]] [[Major general|Major-General]]
| servicenumber = IA-421
| unit = [[Sikh Regiment]] [[11th Sikh Regiment]] [[The Grenadiers|4th Bombay Grenadiers]]
| commands = GOC, 20 Infantry Division GOC, Delhi Area 6th Battalion, 11th Sikhs Commandant, Travancore State Forces 2nd Nayar Infantry
|battles = {{tree list}}
*[[World War II]]
**[[North African campaign]]
***[[Western Desert campaign]]
**[[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]]
***[[Gothic Line]]
*[[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948]]
| awards =
}}

[[Major general|Major-General]] '''Vikram Ramji Khanolkar''' (28 June 1905 – 29 August 1952) was an [[Indian Army]] general.

==Early life and career==
Khanolkar was from a noted family in [[Sawantwadi State]]. Born in [[Quetta]], he received his early education in the city before further studies at [[Wilson College, Mumbai]]. In 1927, he enlisted as a ''sepoy'' in the 1st Battalion of the [[The Grenadiers|4th Bombay Grenadiers]] and received a [[Viceroy's Commissioned Officer|Viceroy's Commission]] the following year. He served in [[Zhob]] during this time.<ref name="khanolkar">{{cite web|title=Defence-Press Note: V. R. Khanolkar|url=http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1952-JULY-DEC-MIN-OF-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1952-08-29_219.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India - Archive|date=29 August 1952|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>

In 1929, he was selected for a King's Commission as a [[King's Commissioned Indian Officer]] (KCIO).<ref name="khanolkar"/> He passed out from the [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]] on 29 January 1931 (seniority from 2 November 1927),<ref name="commission">{{London Gazette|issue=33685|supp=|page=677|date=30 January 1931}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33716|supp=|page=3145|date=15 May 1931}}</ref> and as was customary was posted to a [[British Army]] regiment, the [[East Lancashire Regiment]], for a period of one year before receiving his [[British Indian Army]] appointment.<ref name="khanolkar"/>

He was promoted lieutenant in the Indian Army on 1 April 1932 (seniority from 2 February 1930),<ref name="lt">{{London Gazette|issue=33848|supp=|page=4798|date=22 July 1932}}</ref> and was posted to the 5th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own) of the [[11th Sikh Regiment]].<ref name="khanolkar"/> On 3 May 1935, he was appointed battalion quartermaster,<ref>{{cite book|pages=505|title=Indian Army List for October 1935|publisher=Government of India Press|year=1935}}</ref> taking eight months leave from April through December 1936.<ref>{{cite book|pages=505|title=Indian Army List for October 1936|publisher=Government of India Press|year=1936}}</ref> He was promoted captain on 8 March 1937 and was appointed a company commander in the 10th Battalion of the 11th Sikhs from 1 January 1938.<ref name="capt">{{London Gazette|issue=34416|supp=|page=4420|date=9 July 1937}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|pages=506|title=Indian Army List for April 1938|publisher=Government of India Press|year=1938}}</ref>

==Wartime service==
From 3 December 1940, Khanolkar was seconded to the [[Travancore State]] Forces, in which he was appointed commander of the 2nd Nayar Infantry, serving in this capacity until December 1941.<ref>{{cite book|pages=1260|title=Indian Army List for July 1941 (Part I)|publisher=Government of India Press|year=1941}}</ref> with a subsequent appointment as overall Commandant of the State Forces in the acting rank of major.<ref name="khanolkar"/><ref name="1945_list">{{cite book|pages=152|title=Indian Army List for October 1945 (Part I)|publisher=Government of India Press|year=1945}}</ref>

Following his service in Travancore, Khanolkar returned to his regiment and helped raise the 14/11 Sikhs. He was promoted temporary major on 1 May 1942 and was appointed second-in-command of the 5/11 Sikhs the following year, seeing service with them in North Africa and Italy.<ref name="1945_list"/> He was promoted substantive major on 2 November 1944.<ref name="maj_subs">{{London Gazette|issue=36921|supp=|page=706|date=2 February 1945}}</ref> He then returned to India with a promotion to acting lieutenant-colonel and commanded the 6/11 Sikhs in Waziristan.<ref name="khanolkar"/>

==Later career and death==
In 1946, Khanolkar was promoted temporary lieutenant-colonel and was appointed president of a Permanent Commission Selection Board for the Army, which travelled across SE Asia including to Japan, Burma and Singapore.<ref>{{cite book|pages=1547|title=Indian Army List for April 1946 (Part II)|publisher=Government of India Press|year=1946}}</ref> He was promoted acting colonel (war-substantive lieutenant-colonel) on 14 July 1946.<ref name="Quarterly_Army_List">{{cite book|pages=2512a|title=The Quarterly Army List: December 1946 (Part II)|publisher=HM Stationery Office|year=1946}}</ref> After Independence and Partition, he was appointed commandant of a refugee camp at Kurukshetra, with responsibility for nearly 3,70,000 refugees. He then briefly commanded [[Jalandhar]] Sub-Area and a brigade in Jammu before being promoted acting major-general and taking charge as GOC Delhi Area on 5 August 1949,<ref name="maj_gen_actg">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=1349 |date=17 September 1949 |url=http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/1949/O-2356-1949-0000-109443.pdf |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> in which capacity he was known as a strict disciplinarian and skilled administrator.<ref name="khanolkar"/>

In January 1952, Khanolkar assumed command of the 20th Infantry Division at Calcutta. He went on tour in the Ranchi area in August. While returning to Calcutta by train along with his wife, he died of heart failure on the morning of 29 August.<ref name="khanolkar"/> He was posthumously promoted to the substantive rank of major-general with effect from 1 March 1952.<ref name="maj_gen_posth">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=285 |date=20 December 1952 |url=http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/1952/O-2278-1952-0051-105761.pdf |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In 1932, Khanolkar married Swiss-born Eve Yvonne Maday de Maros, an artist and designer of Hungarian-Russian descent who subsequently converted to Hinduism and changed her name to [[Savitri Khanolkar]]. The couple had two daughters and a son.<ref name="khanolkar"/>

==Dates of rank==
{|class="wikitable" style="background:white"
! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date of rank
|-
|align="center" | - || ''[[Private (rank)|Sepoy]]'' || [[British Indian Army]] || 1927
|-
|align="center" | || ''[[Jemadar]]'' || [[British Indian Army]] || 1928
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-1a.svg|35px]] || [[Second lieutenant#United Kingdom & other Commonwealth countries|Second Lieutenant]] || [[British Indian Army]] || 29 January 1931 (seniority from 2 November 1927)<ref name="commission"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-1b.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|Lieutenant]] || British Indian Army || 1 April 1932 (seniority from 2 February 1930)<ref name="lt"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-2.svg|35px]] || [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] || British Indian Army || 8 March 1937<ref name="capt"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-3.svg|35px]] || [[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]] ||British Indian Army || 1941 (acting)<ref name="1945_list"/> 1 May 1942 (temporary)<ref name="1945_list"/> 2 November 1944 (substantive)<ref name="maj_subs"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-4.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] || British Indian Army || 1945 (temporary) 14 July 1946 (war-substantive)<ref name="Quarterly_Army_List"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-5.svg|35px]] || [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|Colonel]] || British Indian Army || 14 July 1946 (acting)<ref name="Quarterly_Army_List"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-3.svg|35px]] || Major || [[Indian Army]] || 15 August 1947<ref name="insignia" group="note">Upon independence in 1947, India became a [[Dominion of India|Dominion]] within the British [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. As a result, the rank insignia of the [[British Army]], incorporating the [[Tudor Crown]] and four-pointed [[Order of the Bath|Bath Star]] ("pip"), was retained, as [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]] remained Commander-in-Chief of the [[Indian Armed Forces]]. After 26 January 1950, when India became a [[Republic of India|republic]], the [[President of India]] became Commander-in-Chief, and the [[Lion Capital of Asoka|Ashoka Lion]] replaced the crown, with a five-pointed star being substituted for the "pip."</ref><ref name="insignia_designs"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British Army (1928-1953) OF-6.svg|35px]] || [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] ||Indian Army || 1947 (acting) 2 November 1948 (temporary) 1 January 1950 (substantive)<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=70 |date=24 June 1950 |url=http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/1950/O-2343-1950-0013-108724.pdf |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref><ref name="insignia" group="note"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-7.svg|35px]] || [[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] || Indian Army || 5 August 1949 (acting)<ref name="maj_gen_actg"/><ref name="insignia" group="note"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Brigadier_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || Brigadier || Indian Army || 26 January 1950 (recommissioning and change in insignia)<ref name="insignia_designs">{{cite web|title=New Designs of Crests and Badges in the Services|url=http://pib.nic.in/archive/docs/DVD_38/ACC%20NO%20807-BR/HOM-1950-01-06_484.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India – Archive|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808193914/http://pib.nic.in/archive/docs/DVD_38/ACC%20NO%20807-BR/HOM-1950-01-06_484.pdf|archive-date=8 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=227 |date=11 February 1950 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Major_General_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Major general#India|Major General]] || Indian Army || posthumous, with effect from 1 March 1952<ref name="maj_gen_posth"/>
|-
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khanolkar, Vikram Ramji}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1952 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian generals]]
[[Category:Indian military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:People of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947]]
[[Category:People of the 1947 Kashmir conflict]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]]

Vikram Ramji Khanolkar - Revision history

->Billjones94 at 12:37, 8 September 2021