Krishnaswamy Sundarji - Sundarji As A Thinker

Sundarji As A Thinker

Sundarji was amongst the most far-sighted armoured corps commanders in the Indian Army. Despite being commissioned in the Infantry he was a keen student and admirer of tank warfare. He pioneered various operational guidelines, challenged his commanders to push the machines and men to the limits. In various exercises he is known to have ordered tanks full speed up sand dunes in the Thar desert at 70 degrees. Amongst other things he designed the flamboyant all black uniform of the Armoured corps.

Post his transformation of the armoured corps Sundarji went on to create the Mechanised Infantry. With emphasis on speed, technology and mobile weaponry it is now an integral part of the Indian Strike corps.

Sundarji was amongst the core team that created Indian nuclear policy. As a senior general in the Army along with Admiral Tahiliani, Sundarji wrote the Indian Nuclear doctrine. Post retirement, he was unhappy with the lack of response among politicians regarding nuclear security, and wrote the book Blind Men of Hindustan in 1993.

Sundarji can also be credited for shaping modern Indian army thinking. In his stint as the commandant of the College of combat at Mhow, he practically rewrote the war manual with emphasis on speed, decisive action, technology and his abiding love - armour.

Sundarji was one of the few to predict the total rout of the (soviet trained) Iraqi forces in the first gulf war. Writing for a major Indian magazine - India Today, he was amongst the few who clearly saw what superior air power and technology would do.