Field Marshal Kodandera "Kipper" Madappa Cariappa OBE (Kodava Kannad) (28 January 1899 - 15 May 1993) was the first Indian Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army and led the Indian forces on the Western Front during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947.
For more info : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_of_Army_Staff_of_the_Indian_Army