Page 29 - Leadership in the Indian Army

was a well-educated and sociable girl. At that time, Cariappa was still a
captain. He was 37 years old and at 20, his wife was a little over half his
age. Muthu was a very beautiful woman, known as the Ava Gardner of

Coorg. Their first few years together were happy and resulted in two
children, a son and a daughter. Their son, K.C. Cariappa, affectionately
called Nanda, was born on 4 January 1938, followed by their daughter
Nalini, on 23 February 1943. Nanda later joined the Indian Air Force (IAF),
and rose to become an Air Marshal. Unfortunately, Cariappa and Muthu
were an ill-matched pair. Muthu was an extrovert, fond of parties and
dancing, while Cariappa had no time for such trivialities. Before long,

cracks began to appear in their marriage. Cariappa’s frequent transfers,
coupled with his total involvement with his profession, increased the rift
between them. Muthu began to feel neglected. She turned to drink to
assuage her resentment and pain. The alienation soon turned into bitterness,
and in September 1945 they separated. There was no formal divorce—
Muthu simply left the children with him and began living with a friend. She

did not live long, though. Three years later, she met with a fatal accident.
Cariappa never remarried, preferring to live alone with his children. In later
years, his sister, Bolu Chengappa, or her daughter, Sagari, often stayed with
him to act as his official hostess when he was the C-in-C in Delhi, and later
High Commissioner in Australia.
In 1939, in response to the demand of a large section of Indians, and
heated discussions in the Assembly as well as in the Council of States, the

government formed the Committee on the Indianisation of the Officer
Ranks of the Indian Army. The Skeen Committee, as it came to be known,
issued a long questionnaire to officers commissioned after 1919, asking for
their views on the progress of Indianisation. A large number of them were
called as witnesses to give evidence before the committee. One of them was
Major K.M. Cariappa, who was called in June 1939 as the 26th witness. He

was then a senior Indian officer with 19 years of service, and the committee
held detailed discussions with him over several days.
Cariappa was dissatisfied with the pace of Indianisation and he indicated
this in no uncertain terms. In the last 20 years, only 250 Indians had been
granted commissions, including the King’s Commissioned Indian Officers
(KCIOs) from Sandhurst and the Indian Commissioned Officers (ICOs)
from Dehradun. He felt that the ICOs made better regimental officers and

were better suited to the Indian Army than KCIOs. As to the type of entry,