Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Ian Cardozo

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...

SM is a former

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

officer. He was the first war-disabled officer of the Indian Army to command a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

and a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

. He is an

amputee Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indiv ...

due to a war injury.

Early life

Ian Cardozo was born to Vincent Cardozo and Diana (née de Souza) Cardozo in 1937 in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He studied at St. Xavier's High School, Fort and

St. Xavier's College, Mumbai St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic, autonomous higher education institution run by the Bombay Province of the Society of Jesus in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by the Jesuits on January 2, 1869. The college is aff ...

Military career

Cardozo graduated from the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

and then attended the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

, from where he joined the 5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) and he was commissioned & later commanded the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment of Gorkha RIfles aka "1/5GR(FF) or 1/ 5 Gorkha Rifles. He has also served with 4/ 5 Gorkha Rifles and has fought 2 wars alongside them-

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

and the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

. He is the first NDA cadet to receive both Gold and Silver medals. The gold medal is given to the cadet of the passing out course for best all round performance. The silver medal is given to the cadet who is first in order of merit. For the first time in the history of the National Defence Academy, the cadet who was awarded the gold medal was also first in order of merit. This has happened only one more time thereafter.(source :General himself and from his profile)

Pakistani-Bangladesh War of 1971

At the outbreak of the Pakistani-Bangladesh War of 1971, Cardozo was attending a course at the

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , pres ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. His battalion, 4/5 Gorkha Rifles, was already deployed in the eastern theatre of operations. The battalion's second-in-command was killed in action and Cardozo was ordered to replace him. He arrived at his battalion in time to accompany them on the Indian Army's first heliborne operation during the

battle of Sylhet The Battle of Sylhet ( bn, সিলেটের যুদ্ধ ''Silet-er Juddho'') was a major battle fought between the advancing Mitro Bahini and the Pakistani defences at Sylhet during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The battle took pla ...

. He was popularly named ''Cartoos

sahib Sahib or Saheb (; ) is an Arabic title meaning 'companion'. It was historically used for the first caliph Abu Bakr in the Quran. The title is still applied to the caliph by Sunni Muslims. As a loanword, ''Sahib'' has passed into several langua ...

'' by his Gorkha regiment as they found it difficult to pronounce his first name. Cartoos means a cartridge in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

. After the fall of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

, Cardozo stepped on a

land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

and his leg was critically injured. Due to non-availability of

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

pethidine Pethidine, also known as meperidine and sold under the brand name Demerol among others, is a synthetic opioid analgesic, pain medication of the phenylpiperidine class. Synthesized in 1938 as a potential anticholinergic agent by the German chemis ...

, and absence of medics, his leg could not be amputated surgically. He subsequently used his

khukri The kukri () or khukuri ( ne, खुकुरी, ) is a type of machete with a distinct recurve in its blade. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting tool throughout most of South Asia. The ''kukri'', ''khuk ...

to amputate his own leg. Afterwards, his unit captured a

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

surgeon, Maj. Mohammad Basheer, who operated on Cardozo.

Later career

After his amputation, Cardozo had a wooden leg. Despite this, he maintained his physical fitness levels and beat a number of able-bodied officers in battle physical fitness tests. He then put his case to the Chief of Army Staff at the time, Gen.

Tapishwar Narain Raina General Tapishwar Narain Raina (24 January 1921 – 19 May 1980), best known as T.N. Raina, was a senior army officer and a diplomat who served as the 9th Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army between 1975 and 1978. Upon retirement, ...

, who then asked Cardozo to accompany him to

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

. After observing that Cardozo could still walk in the mountains through snow and ice, Gen. Raina allowed him to command a battalion. A similar situation occurred when he was to take command of a brigade. He was promoted to Brigadier on 1 March 1984.

Military Awards and Decorations

Personal life

Cardozo is married t
Priscilla
and ha
three sons
He currently resides in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. He served as the Chairman of Rehabilitation Council of India from 2005 to 2011. He is also a marathon runner, and regularly takes part in the Mumbai marathon on his prosthetic limb.

Bibliography

He authored several books on military history of India:- * Bhartiya Sena Ka Gauravshali Itihas * India in World War I: An Illustrated Story * Lieutenant General Bilimoria: His Life & Times * Param Vir: Our Heroes in Battle * Paramvir Chakra : Manojpandey * Somnath Sharma: Hero of the Battle of Badgam in 1947 who Helped Prevent the Fall of Srinagar * Shaitan Singh: Incredible Heroism Displayed by a Small Group Against Hordes of Chinese in the Battle of Rezang La in 1962 * The Bravest of the Brave: The Extraordinary Story of Indian VCs of World War I * The Indian Army: A Brief History * The Sinking of INS Khukri: Survivor's Stories * 1971 - Stories of Grit and Glory from the Indo-Pak War

References

External links

Forty Years After: General Cardozo's incredible story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardozo, Ian Indian generals Indian amputees Indian military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Indian disability rights activists 1937 births Indian military historians Living people Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Indian Military Academy alumni