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{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2011}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific_prefix=[[Lieutenant General]]
|honorific_prefix=[[Lieutenant General]]
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|birth_date= 23 September 1916
|birth_date= 23 September 1916
|death_date= 19 May 2003
|death_date= 19 May 2003
|birth_place=[[Ottapalam]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[India]]
|birth_place=[[Ottapalam]], [[Malabar district]], [[India]].
(Presently in [[Palakkad]], [[Kerala]])
|death_place=  
|death_place=  
|placeofburial=
|placeofburial=
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|commands=[[File:IA_Western_Command.svg|20px]] [[Western Command (India)|Western Army]]<br/> 8 Mountain Division<br/>17 Infantry Division
|commands=[[File:IA_Western_Command.svg|20px]] [[Western Command (India)|Western Army]]<br/> 8 Mountain Division<br/>17 Infantry Division
|battles=[[World War II]]<br />[[Indo-Pakistan War of 1947]]<br />[[Operation Vijay (1961)|Operation Vijay]]<br />[[Indo-Pakistan War of 1965]]<br />[[Indo-Pakistan War of 1971]]
|battles=[[World War II]]<br />[[Indo-Pakistan War of 1947]]<br />[[Operation Vijay (1961)|Operation Vijay]]<br />[[Indo-Pakistan War of 1965]]<br />[[Indo-Pakistan War of 1971]]
|awards= [[File:IND Padma Bhushan BAR.png|23px]] [[Padma Bhushan]]<br />[[File:Param Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]  
|awards= [[File:Padma Bhushan Ribbon.svg|23px]] [[Padma Bhushan]]<br />[[File:Param Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]  
|relations= [[C. Sankaran Nair|Sir C. Sankaran Nair]] (Maternal Grandfather) <br/> [[Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar]] (Paternal Grandfather)
|relations= [[C. Sankaran Nair|Sir C. Sankaran Nair]] (Maternal Grandfather) <br/> [[Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar]] (Paternal Grandfather)
|party = Bharatiya Janata Party
|party = Bharatiya Janata Party
}}
}}


[[Lieutenant General]] '''Kunhiraman Palat Candeth''', [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal|PVSM]] ([[Hindi]]: के पी कंडेथ; 23 October 1916&nbsp;– 19 May 2003) was a senior [[Army ranks and insignia of India|army officer]] in the [[Indian Army]] who played a commanding role in [[Indian annexation of Goa|Liberation of Goa]] from [[Portuguese India|Portuguese control]] in 1961, and briefly tenured as the [[List of Governors of Goa|Military Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu]].
[[Lieutenant General]] '''Kunhiraman Palat Candeth''', [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal|PVSM]] ([[Hindi]]: कुँहिरामन पलट कंडेथ; 23 October 1916&nbsp;– 19 May 2003) was a senior [[Army ranks and insignia of India|army officer]] in the [[Indian Army]] who played a commanding role in [[Indian annexation of Goa|Liberation of Goa]] from [[Portuguese India|Portuguese control]] in 1961, and briefly tenured as the [[List of Governors of Goa|Military Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu]].


He later served as the [[Vice Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Deputy Chief of Army Staff]] based on [[GHQ India|GHQ in New Delhi]] at the midst of the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|second war]] in 1965, and later effectively commanded the [[Western Command (India)|Western Command]] during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|third war]] with Pakistan in 1971.
He later served as the [[Vice Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Deputy Chief of Army Staff]] based on [[GHQ India|GHQ in New Delhi]] at the midst of the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|second war]] in 1965, and later effectively commanded the [[Western Command (India)|Western Command]] during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|third war]] with Pakistan in 1971.


==Early life==
==Early life==
He was born in [[Ottapalam]], [[Madras Presidency]] (now [[Kerala]]) in [[British Raj|British India]] (now [[India]]) to MA Candeth, being the grandson of the landlord and writer [[Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar]]. His maternal grandfather was [[Sir C. Sankaran Nair]], who was the President of the [[Indian National Congress]].<ref>C. Sankaran Nair By Kumara Padmanabha Sivasankara Menon p.138</ref><ref>BJP today, Volume 12. Page:20, Column:3</ref> He had done his training at the [[Rashtriya Indian Military College|Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College]], [[Dehradun]], where he was highly rated in the classroom and on the playing field. Candeth was commissioned in the [[British Indian Army]] on 30 August 1936 in 28 Field Brigade of the [[Royal Indian Artillery]].
He was born in [[Ottapalam]], [[Malabar District]] (now [[Kerala]]) in [[British Raj|British India]] (now [[India]]) to MA Candeth, being the grandson of the landlord and writer [[Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar]]. His maternal grandfather was [[Sir C. Sankaran Nair]], who was the President of the [[Indian National Congress]].<ref>C. Sankaran Nair By Kumara Padmanabha Sivasankara Menon p.138</ref><ref>BJP today, Volume 12. Page:20, Column:3</ref>


==Military career==
==Military career==
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===Kashmir 1947===
===Kashmir 1947===
After Independence, Candeth was commanding an artillery regiment that was deployed to [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] after [[Pakistan]]-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 in [[Delhi]], to which he was appointed on 8 September 1959, with the acting rank of major-general (substantive colonel).<ref name="actg_maj_gen">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=260  |date=24 October 1959 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
After Independence, Candeth was commanding an artillery regiment that was deployed to [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] after [[Pakistan]]-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 in [[Delhi]], to which he was appointed on 8 September 1959, with the acting rank of major-general (substantive colonel).<ref name="actg_maj_gen">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=260  |date=24 October 1959 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
===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, finally on 18 December 1961 the Indian prime minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]'s patience ran out and he sanctioned military action.
Kunhiraman Candeth earned his name in [[Operation Vijay (1961)|Operation Vijay]]—the Liberation of [[Goa]], Daman and Diu from Portuguese rule. As 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.


===North East===
===North East===
After relinquishing charge as Goa's Military Governor in 1963, Candeth was appointed GOC, Nagaland on 23 August 1963.<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=339  |date=5 October 1963 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> He took command of the newly raised 8 Mountain Division in the North-East on 15 November 1963,<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=9  |date=11 January 1964 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> 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.<ref name="DCOAS">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=211  |date=2 April 1966 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> He was promoted lieutenant-general on 17 January 1966,<ref name="lt_gen">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=211  |date=2 April 1966 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> and was appointed GOC-in-C, Western Command on 27 September 1969.<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=1072  |date=1 November 1969 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
After relinquishing charge as Goa's Military Governor in 1963, Candeth was appointed GOC, Nagaland on 23 August 1963.<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=339  |date=5 October 1963 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> He took command of the newly raised 8 Mountain Division in the North-East on 15 November 1963,<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=9  |date=11 January 1964 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> 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.<ref name="DCOAS">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=211  |date=2 April 1966 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 17 January 1966,<ref name="lt_gen">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=211  |date=2 April 1966 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> and was appointed GOC-in-C, Western Command on 27 September 1969.<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=1072  |date=1 November 1969 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
 
==Indo-Pakistani War of 1971==
During the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]] that led to [[East Pakistan]] breaking away to become [[Bangladesh]], Candeth (at that stage a lieutenant-general), was the Western Army commander responsible for planning and overseeing operations in the strategically crucial regions of [[Kashmir]], [[Punjab region|Punjab]] and [[Rajasthan]] where the fiercest fighting took place.


==Awards and later life==
==Awards and later life==
Lt. Gen. Kunhiraman Palat Candeth was awarded the [[PVSM|Param Vishisht Seva Medal]] and also the [[Padma Bhushan]] by the [[Government of India]].<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6U68ulwpb?url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2014 }}</ref> Retiring from the army on 21 October 1972,<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=105  |date=27 January 1973|publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> he joined the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) in the 1990s and was appointed a member of the Party's Executive Committee.<ref>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/Liberator-of-Goa-Candeth-dead/articleshow/46887325.cms Liberator of Goa Candeth dead]</ref> He remained a bachelor till the end.
Lt. Gen. Kunhiraman Palat Candeth was awarded the [[PVSM|Param Vishisht Seva Medal]] and also the [[Padma Bhushan]] by the [[Government of India]].<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref> Retiring from the army on 21 October 1972,<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=105  |date=27 January 1973|publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> he joined the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) in the 1990s and was appointed a member of the Party's Executive Committee.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |last3= |first3= |title='Liberator of Goa' Candeth dead |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/liberator-of-goa-candeth-dead/articleshow/46887325.cms |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref>


==Dates of rank==
==Dates of rank==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070427113529/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/05/20/stories/2003052002461300.htm K.P. Candeth's obituary in ''The Hindu'']
*{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20070427113529/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/05/20/stories/2003052002461300.htm K.P. Candeth's obituary in ''The Hindu'']}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060714020422/http://www.goavidhansabha.gov.in/pastgov.php https://web.archive.org/web/20060714020422/http://www.goavidhansabha.gov.in/pastgov.php]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060714020422/http://www.goavidhansabha.gov.in/pastgov.php https://web.archive.org/web/20060714020422/http://www.goavidhansabha.gov.in/pastgov.php]
{{S-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Harbaksh Singh]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command]]|years=1969-1972}}
{{s-aft|after=M. L. Thapan}}
{{S-end}}
{{Indo-Pakistani War of 1971}}
{{Indo-Pakistani War of 1971}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1970–79}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1970–79}}
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[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]