Ian Cardozo

{{Short description|Former Indian Army officer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Use Indian English|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = Major General | name = Ian Cardozo | honorific_suffix = AVSM SM | image = Ian Cardozo.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = | other_name = | nickname = Cartoos Sahib | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1937|8|7}}<ref name="bio">{{cite web|last1=Singh|first1=Aarti|title=10 Indian Soldiers Whose Courageous And Patriotic Stories Need To Be Retold|url=http://www.polkacafe.com/patriotic-stories-of-indian-soldiers-3069.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818144801/http://www.polkacafe.com/patriotic-stories-of-indian-soldiers-3069.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=18 August 2016|website=Polkacafe.com|date=12 Aug 2016}}</ref> | birth_place = Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India | death_date =  | death_place = | burial_label = | burial_place = | burial_coordinates =  | allegiance = India | branch = Indian Army | service_years = 1954–1993 | service_years_label = | rank = Major General | rank_label = | service_number = IC-10407<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=1814 |date=22 November 1986 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> | unit = 1/5 Gorkha Rifles(FF)<br> 4/5 Gorkha Rifles(FF) | commands = 1/5 Gorkha Rifles(FF) | battles_label = | battles = {{tree list}} * Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 ** Battle of Sylhet {{tree list/end}} | awards = Ati Vishisht Seva Medal<br>Sena Medal<ref name="adapt">{{cite news|last1=Pisharoty|first1=Sangeeta Barooah|title=Unknown soldier... to you I bow|url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/02/13/stories/2003021300110300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031104175131/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/02/13/stories/2003021300110300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 November 2003|work=The Hindu|date=13 Feb 2003}}</ref> | memorials = | spouse = Priscilla Cardozo | relations = | children = 3 | other_work = {{plainlist| * Former Chairman – Rehabilitation Council of India * Trustee – National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People<ref>{{cite web|title=Trustees – NCPEDP|url=http://www.ncpedp.org/Trustees|publisher=NCPEDP|access-date=17 May 2017}}</ref>

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Major General '''Ian Cardozo''' AVSM SM is a former Indian Army officer. He was the first war-disabled officer of the Indian Army to command a battalion and a brigade.<ref name="interview">{{cite news|last1=Claude|first1=Arpi|title=1971, A War Hero Remembers|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-a-war-hero-remembers/20111207.htm|work=Rediff.com|date=8 Dec 2011}}</ref> He is an amputee due to a war injury.<ref name="bio" />

==Early life== Ian Cardozo was born to Vincent Cardozo and Diana Cardozo (née de Souza) in 1937 in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India. He studied at St. Xavier's High School, Fort and St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.<ref>{{cite book|title=Param Vir: Our Heroes in Battle|last1=Cardozo|first1=Ian|date=2003|publisher=Roli Books|isbn=9351940292|pages=228}}</ref>

==Military career== Cardozo graduated from the National Defence Academy and then attended the Indian Military Academy, from where he was commissioned into & later commanded the 1st Battalion of 5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) or 1/5 GR (FF) He has also served with 4/ 5 Gorkha Rifles and has fought two wars alongside them-Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.<ref name="adapt" /> 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)

===Indo-Pakistani War of 1971=== At the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Cardozo was attending a course at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. 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.<ref name="selfampute" /> He was popularly named ''Cartoos sahib'' by his Gorkha regiment as they found it difficult to pronounce his first name.<ref name="sdfbook">{{cite book |last1=Bisht Rawat |first1=Rachna |title=Shoot, Dive, Fly : Stories of Grit and Adventure from The Indian Army |date=15 Oct 2017 |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |isbn=978-9386651693 |pages=208}}</ref> Cartoos means a cartridge in Hindi.

After the fall of Dhaka, Cardozo stepped on a land mine and his leg was critically injured. Due to non-availability of morphine or pethidine, and absence of medics, his leg could not be amputated surgically. He subsequently used his khukri to amputate his own leg. Afterwards, his unit captured a Pakistan Army surgeon, Maj. Mohammad Basheer, who operated on Cardozo.<ref name="selfampute">{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-ian-cardozo-i-cut-my-leg-off-and-ordered-go-and-bury-it/20111208.htm|title='I cut my leg off and ordered: 'Go and bury it'|last1=Arpi|first1=Claude|date=8 Dec 2011|work=Rediff.com}}</ref> However, the veracity of the account has been questioned by Brigadier (Retd) Rattan Kaul stating that Cardozo stepped on a mine set up by his own forces, hence was a battle accident casualty and was brought to battalion medical post and Captain DK Sengupta, Regimental Medical Officer was the one who cut the hanging ligament. Later, a Pakistani surgeon amputated his ankle in a Pakistani hospital in Sylhet. According to Rattan Kaul, there were several witnesses to the event.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-16 |title=Gorkha is Cardozo's fabricated war glory - Pioneer Edge {{!}} Uttarakhand News in English {{!}} Dehradun News Today{{!}} News Uttarakhand {{!}} Uttarakhand latest news |url=https://www.pioneeredge.in/gorkha-is-cardozos-fabricated-war-glory/ |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=www.pioneeredge.in |language=en-US}}</ref> Rattan Kaul's version was also produced at the instance of Press Council of India in newspaper, The Hindu on August 2, 2023.

===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, who then asked Cardozo to accompany him to Ladakh. 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.<ref name="selfampute" /> He was promoted to Brigadier on 1 March 1984.<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=338 |date=7 March 1987 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>

=== Military awards and decorations ===

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{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |- |colspan="2"|Ati Vishisht Seva Medal |colspan="2"|Sena Medal |- |colspan="1"|Wound Medal |colspan="2"|General Service Medal |colspan="1"|Samar Seva Medal |- |Poorvi Star |Raksha Medal |Sangram Medal |Sainya Seva Medal |- |25th Anniversary of Independence Medal |30 Years Long Service Medal |20 Years Long Service Medal |9 Years Long Service Medal |- |}

== Personal life == Cardozo is married to Priscilla and has three sons.<ref name="interview" /> He currently resides in New Delhi.<ref name="adapt" />

He served as the Chairman of Rehabilitation Council of India from 2005 to 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rehabcouncil.nic.in/forms/Sublink1.aspx?lid=823|title=RCI – Annual Reports|publisher=Rehabilitation Council of India|access-date=16 May 2017}}</ref> He is also a marathon runner, and regularly takes part in the Mumbai marathon on his prosthetic limb.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/220118/running-for-causes.html|title=Running for causes|last1=Das|first1=Sucharita|date=22 Jan 2018|work=Deccan Chronicle}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.asianage.com/life/more-features/220118/mumbai-runs-with-all-its-heart.html|title=Mumbai runs, with all its heart|last1=Salvi|first1=Pooja|date=22 Jan 2018|work=The Asian Age}}</ref>

==Bibliography== He authored several books on military history of India:-

* Bhartiya Sena Ka Gauravshali Itihas {{ISBN|8173155372}} * India in World War I: An Illustrated Story {{ISBN|9789384898502}} * Lieutenant General Bilimoria: His Life & Times<ref>{{cite news|last1=Filmer|first1=Antonia|title='In the Army, work and play are synonymous'|url=http://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/5863-army-work-and-play-are-synonymous|work=The Sunday Guardian|date=30 Jul 2016|archive-date=6 December 2021|access-date=16 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206190025/https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/5863-army-work-and-play-are-synonymous|url-status=dead}}</ref> * Param Vir: Our Heroes in Battle {{ISBN|9351940292}} * Paramvir Chakra : Manojpandey {{ISBN|8174369007}} * Somnath Sharma: Hero of the Battle of Badgam in 1947 who Helped Prevent the Fall of Srinagar {{ISBN|8174369236}} * Shaitan Singh: Incredible Heroism Displayed by a Small Group Against Hordes of Chinese in the Battle of Rezang La in 1962 {{ISBN|8174369155}} * The Bravest of the Brave: The Extraordinary Story of Indian VCs of World War I {{ISBN|9789386141767}} * The Indian Army: A Brief History {{ISBN|8190209701}} * The Sinking of INS Khukri: Survivor's Stories {{ISBN|9351940993}} * 1971 - Stories of Grit and Glory from the Indo-Pak War {{ISBN|9780143454557}}<ref>{{cite book |title=1971-Stories of Grit and Glory from the Indo-Pak War |date=June 2021 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9780143454557 |url=https://penguin.co.in/book/1971-2/ |access-date=12 June 2021}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==

Category:Indian amputees Category:Indian military personnel of the India–Pakistan war of 1971 Category:Indian disability rights activists Category:1937 births Category:Indian military historians Category:Living people Category:Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Category:Indian Military Academy alumni Category:Indian activists with disabilities Category:Indian generals