Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri



Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri, usually J. N. Chaudhuri (10 June 1908 – 6 April 1983) was Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1962 to 1966 and the Military Governor of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1949.

Biography
Born in a Bengali family ,on 10 June 1908, studied at St. Xavier's College,Calcutta of the University of Calcutta in the city of Kolkata, Highgate School in London, and Royal Military College, Sandhurst. At Sandhurst, he got his nickname "Muchhu" (owing to his rich mustachios).

Commissioned from Sandhurst onto the Unattached List, Indian Army 2 February 1928. Returning to India he was attached to the 1st battalion North Staffordshire Regiment from 19 March 1928. He was accepted for the Indian Army and joined the 7th Light Cavalry on the 19th March 1929. He was promoted Lieutenant 2 May 1930. In 1934 he attended the course at the Equitation School, Saugor. Promoted Captain 2 February 1937. He attend Quetta Staff College from December 1939 to June 1940.

In 1940, he went overseas on the staff of the 5th Indian Division and saw service in Sudan, Eritrea, Abyssinia and the western deserts of Africa. For his services he was Mentioned in Dispatches (London Gazette 26/12/41 distinguished services in the Middle East Feb to July 1941 (Captain, Indian Armoured Corps) and was awarded the Order of the British Empire (London Gazette 18/2/43 for gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East May to Oct 1942 -  Lieutenant  Colonel, Indian Armoured Corps). Recalled to India, he was appointed as the Senior Instructor at the Quetta Staff College as a G.S.O.1 in 1943.

In August 1944 he transfers to the 16th Light Cavalry. Commanded it September 1944 - October 1945 in Burma for which he was twice more Mentioned in Dispatches, London Gazette 9/5/46 for gallant and distinguished services in Burma (Temporary Lt-Col 16th Light Cavalry) and London Gazette  17/9/46 for gallant and distinguished services in Burma (Temporary Lt-Col, Indian Armoured Corps). At the end of the Burma campaign, he saw service in French Indo-China with his regiment in Java, Indonesia. Promoted substantive Major 2 February 1945

In 1946, he was promoted Brigadier in Charge of Administration in Malaya and in the same year was selected to command the Indian Victory Contingent to London. Following a course at the Imperial Defence College at England in 1947, he returned to India and was appointed Director of Military Operations & Intelligence at Army Headquarters in New Delhi in November 1947. Chaudhuri worked with Major General Mohite to complete military evacuation from Pakistan. He had to organise the Kashmir war effort up to May 1948, when he was succeeded by SHFJ Maneckshaw as DMO and Chand Narayan Das as Director of Military Intelligence. In February 1948 promoted Major General and became the officiating Chief of the General Staff. In May 1948, he took over command of the 1st Armoured Division which played a major role in the 1948 Hyderabad Operations. Following Operation Polo in 1948, he was appointed as the Military Governor of Hyderabad. In the years following, he occupied important military posts and led an Indian Military Delegation to China. In 1949, he was appointed as the first Colonel Commandant of the Electrical & Mechanical Engineers. In January 1952, he was appointed as the Adjutant General, Army HQ and in January 1953, he again took over as the Chief of the General Staff. On 19 November 1962, he was promoted General and took over as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). He retired on 7 June 1966, after completing 38 years of military service. For his services to the nation, he was presented with the Padma Vibhushan - India's second highest civilian honour — by the President of India.

Family background
Chaudhuri hailed from a distinguished Bengali family that has produced many renowned lawyers and writers. His grandfather was a landlord of Chatmohar Upazila of Pabna district of present day Bangladesh. Noted writer Pramatha Chaudhuri, who married a niece of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, was his uncle. His mother Pramila was the daughter of Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, who was the first president of the Indian National Congress. He wrote two books on military matters and served as a literary reviewer for a leading Indian daily The Statesman. He was the first Indian army chief to write an autobiography in 1979. He loved Western music and founded and was first president of the Delhi Symphony Society, an organization that promoted Western music. He retired in 1966 after 38 years of military service. Subsequently, he served as the Indian High Commissioner to Canada. Chaudhuri was married and had two children. He died on 6 April 1983.