AFVOA Newletters of Year 2003

Page 77 of 170 Lt Gen Sundara Rao was born on 29 th August 1922, as the fifth and youngest of five sons to a leading barrister of the then Madras Presidency - Shri Chaganti Sambasiva Rao. The family had migrated from Berhampur to Madras. Gen Rao passed his matriculation from PS High School, Mylapore in 1937, even before he completed his 15 th year. The next two years were spent at Presidency College, and then he joined the famed College of Engineering, Guindy in 1939. During the final year in College, due to the prevailing World War II, he was selected to join the Officers’ Training School, Mhow, where he underwent military training followed by technical training before being commissioned. At the time of commissioning on 15 th August 1943, he was not even 20 years of age! As the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) was about to be formed, he commissioned into the 13 th Frontier Force Rifles (13 FFR), which was based at Kohat in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). On completion of technical training, he was posted in March 1944 to No 3 IEME Raising and Training Centre, Sargodha (Punjab). He was soon transferred to IEME on 1 st May 1944, when the Corps was formed. In 1946, he volunteered for service with the Airborne Division and accordingly underwent as a paratrooper. In 1947, he appeared before the Selection Committee and was granted regular commission. Early in 1948, he was nominated to attend the First Interim Staff College Course at Wellington. Two officers who did the same course were Maj T N Raina and Sqn Ldr H Moolgavkar, who later became Chiefs of Army and Air Force respectively. On completion of the Staff course he was posted not to a staff appointment, but to a unit as OC 2 Para Workshop Company in J and K. A year later, based on his application, he was posted to a staff appointment at Army Headquarters. Initially he was not granted ante date of seniority to all engineering graduates, but obtained the same after due representation. On 29 th March 1950, he married Rajalakshmi (Rajam) of Madurai. Thereafter he moved to Jullundar, and moved in quick succession to Pathankot and back to Delhi. While at Jullundar, he purchased a second hand car, which had often to be pushed before it started. Due to this behaviour of the car, the peons in the office who normally had to help out to start the car, used to disappear just when he was to leave the office. Towards the end of 1954, he was posted as Chief Mechanical Engineer at the India Stores Department (ISD), High Commission of India, London. By then he was the father of two sons – Sridhar and Chitti. In August 1958, he returned to India. While at UK, he visited almost all the countries in Europe. He also took back an imported car which he had used during his stay in UK. The intrepid fighter that he is, his claims for transportation of the car and the renewal outfit allowance was sanctioned after ‘considerable and acrimonious correspondence’. On return from abroad, he was posted to HQ 15 Corps in J and K. In mid 1959, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel as Commandant 512 Army Base Workshop, Kirkee. At Kirkee, he also was the Station Commander and Chairman of the Cantonment Board. In 1962, he returned on promotion as Brigadier to Army Headquarters in the appointment of Deputy DEME. Soon after were the infamous incursions by the Chinese which resulted in expansion of the Army as well large scale reorganisations. During the next 18 months he was busy in organising the raising of three additional training centres and moving a part of the EME School to Baroda. Towards the end of 1965, he was selected to attend the prestigious National Defence College course. At the end of this course, he was posted as Deputy Commander and Chief Production Engineer at Headquarters Technical Croup, EME, (TG EME), Delhi Cantt. His youngest son Sanjay was born at Delhi on 19 Jan 1967. In October 1967, he was promoted to the rank of Major General and appointed Commander TG EME. During March 1970, he was introduced to a palmist Shri Desai, who predicted that he would hear of his next promotion by 01 July that year. As there was at that time only one post of a lieutenant general in the Corps, he was highly sceptical of the prediction. Gen Rao berated his dear wife for wasting his time with such ignorant astrologers. In early June 1970,