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{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2011}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific_prefix=[[Lieutenant General]]
|name = Kunhiraman Palat Candeth
|honorific_suffix=[[Param Vishisht Seva Medal|PVSM]]
|image= Kunhiraman Palath Candeth-.jpg
|office = [[List of Governors of Goa|Military Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu]]
|term_start = 19 December 1961
|term_end = 6 June 1962
|predecessor = ''Post Established''
|successor = T. Sivasankar (as [[List of Governors of Goa|Lieutenant Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu]])
|birth_date= 23 September 1916
|death_date= 19 May 2003
|birth_place=[[Ottapalam]], [[Malabar district]], [[India]].
(Presently in [[Palakkad]], [[Kerala]])
|death_place=
|placeofburial=
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flag|British India}} {{flag|India}}
|branch={{army|British India}} {{army|India}}
|serviceyears=1934–1973
|rank= [[File:Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.svg|14px]] [[Lieutenant General]]
|unit=[[Royal Indian Artillery]]
|commands=[[File:IA_Western_Command.svg|20px]] [[Western Command (India)|Western Army]] 8 Mountain Division 17 Infantry Division
|battles=[[World War II]] [[Indo-Pakistan War of 1947]] [[Operation Vijay (1961)|Operation Vijay]] [[Indo-Pakistan War of 1965]] [[Indo-Pakistan War of 1971]]
|awards= [[File:Padma Bhushan Ribbon.svg|23px]] [[Padma Bhushan]] [[File:Param Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]
|relations= [[C. Sankaran Nair|Sir C. Sankaran Nair]] (Maternal Grandfather) [[Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar]] (Paternal Grandfather)
|party = Bharatiya Janata Party
}}

[[Lieutenant General]] '''Kunhiraman Palat Candeth''', [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal|PVSM]] ([[Hindi]]: कुँहिरामन पलट कंडेथ; 23 October 1916 – 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.

==Early life==
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==
===Pre-independence===
Commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1936, Candeth saw action in West Asia during the Second World War. And, shortly before India's independence from colonial rule, he was deployed in the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North West Frontier Province]], bordering [[Afghanistan]], to quell local tribes. The mountainous terrain gave Candeth the experience for his later operations against [[Nagaland]] separatists in the North East. He attended the Military Services Staff College at [[Quetta]], capital of [[Baluchistan (Pakistan)|Baluchistan]] in 1945.

===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>

===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 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>

==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://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==
{|class="wikitable" style="background:white"
! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date of rank
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_OF-1a.svg|35px]] || [[Second lieutenant#United Kingdom & other Commonwealth countries|Second Lieutenant]] || [[British Indian Army]] || 15 July 1937 (seniority 30 August 1936)<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47">{{cite book|pages=226|title=Indian Army List (Special Edition) August 1947|publisher=Government of India Press|year=1947}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_OF-1b.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|Lieutenant]] || British Indian Army || 30 November 1938<ref>{{cite book|pages=221P|title=Indian Army List (April 1939)|publisher=Government of India Press|year=1939}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_OF-2.svg|35px]] || [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] || British Indian Army || 1940 (acting)<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47"/> 1 January 1941 (temporary)<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47"/> 30 August 1944 (substantive)<ref name="Indian_Army_List_47"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_OF-2.svg|35px]] || Captain || [[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 (heraldry)|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 || 1948 (acting)<ref name="insignia" group="note"/><ref name="insignia_designs"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-3.svg|35px]] || Major || Indian Army || 30 August 1949<ref name="major_subs">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=1520 |date=29 October 1949 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref><ref name="insignia" group="note"/><ref name="insignia_designs"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Major_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Major]] || 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|df=dmy-all}}</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:Lieutenant_Colonel_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant-Colonel]] || Indian Army || 1953
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Colonel_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Colonel]] || Indian Army || 30 August 1956<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=97 |date=20 April 1957 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Brigadier_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Brigadier]] || Indian Army || 30 August 1959<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=266 |date=31 October 1959 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Major_General_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Major general#India|Major General]] || Indian Army || 8 September 1959 (acting)<ref name="actg_maj_gen"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Lieutenant_General_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant-General]] || Indian Army || 7 May 1965 (acting)<ref name="DCOAS"/> 11 January 1966 (substantive)<ref name="lt_gen"/>
|-
|}

==See also==
*[[Operation Vijay (1961)|Operation Vijay]]
*[[World War II]]
*[[Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{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]

{{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}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1970–79}}
{{Padma Award winners of Kerala}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Candeth, K. P.}}
[[Category:1916 births|Candeth, K.P.]]
[[Category:2003 deaths|Candeth, K.P.]]
[[Category:Indian generals]]
[[Category:Generals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]
[[Category:People from Ottapalam]]
[[Category:History of Goa]]
[[Category:Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Kerala|Candeth, KP]]
[[Category:Rashtriya Indian Military College alumni]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]

Kunhiraman Palat Candeth - Revision history

Bot at 22:34, 5 December 2022