Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri , usually J . N . Chaudhuri ( 10 June 1908 – 6 April 1983 ) was Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1962 to 1966 and the Military Governor of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1949 . Biography . Born in a Bengali family , on 10 June 1908 , studied at St . Xavier ' s College , Calcutta of the University of Calcutta in the city of Kolkata , Highgate School in London , and Royal Military College , Sandhurst . At Sandhurst , he got his nickname " Muchhu " ( owing to his rich mustachios ) . Commissioned from Sandhurst onto the Unattached List , Indian Army 2 February 1928 . Returning to India he was attached to the 1st battalion North Staffordshire Regiment from 19 March 1928 . He was accepted for the Indian Army and joined the 7th Light Cavalry on the 19th March 1929 . He was promoted Lieutenant 2 May 1930 . In 1934 he attended the course at the Equitation School , Saugor . Promoted Captain 2 February 1937 . He attend Quetta Staff College from December 1939 to June 1940 . In 1940 , he went overseas on the staff of the 5th Indian Division and saw service in Sudan , Eritrea , Abyssinia and the western deserts of Africa . For his services he was Mentioned in Dispatches ( London Gazette 26 / 12 / 41 distinguished services in the Middle East Feb to July 1941 ( Captain , Indian Armoured Corps ) and was awarded the Order of the British Empire ( London Gazette 18 / 2 / 43 for gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East May to Oct 1942 - Lieutenant Colonel , Indian Armoured Corps ) . Recalled to India , he was appointed as the Senior Instructor at the Quetta Staff College as a G . S . O . 1 in 1943 . In August 1944 he transfers to the 16th Light Cavalry . Commanded it September 1944 - October 1945 in Burma for which he was twice more Mentioned in Dispatches , London Gazette 9 / 5 / 46 for gallant and distinguished services in Burma ( Temporary Lt - Col 16th Light Cavalry ) and London Gazette 17 / 9 / 46 for gallant and distinguished services in Burma ( Temporary Lt - Col , Indian Armoured Corps ) . At the end of the Burma campaign , he saw service in French Indo - China with his regiment in Java , Indonesia . Promoted substantive Major 2 February 1945 In 1946 , he was promoted Brigadier in Charge of Administration in Malaya and in the same year was selected to command the Indian Victory Contingent to London . Following a course at the Imperial Defence College at England in 1947 , he returned to India and was appointed Director of Military Operations & Intelligence at Army Headquarters in New Delhi in November 1947 . Chaudhuri worked with Major General Mohite to complete military evacuation from Pakistan . He had to organise the Kashmir war effort up to May 1948 , when he was succeeded by SHFJ Maneckshaw as DMO and Chand Narayan Das as Director of Military Intelligence . In February 1948 promoted Major General and became the officiating Chief of the General Staff . In May 1948 , he took over command of the 1st Armoured Division which played a major role in the 1948 Hyderabad Operations . Following Operation Polo in 1948 , he was appointed as the Military Governor of Hyderabad . In the years following , he occupied important military posts and led an Indian Military Delegation to China . In 1949 , he was appointed as the first Colonel Commandant of the Electrical & Mechanical Engineers . In January 1952 , he was appointed as the Adjutant General , Army HQ and in January 1953 , he again took over as the Chief of the General Staff . On 19 November 1962 , he was promoted General and took over as the Chief of Army Staff ( COAS ) . He retired on 7 June 1966 , after completing 38 years of military service . For his services to the nation , he was presented with the Padma Vibhushan - India ' s second highest civilian honour — by the President of India . Family background . Chaudhuri hailed from a distinguished Bengali family that has produced many renowned lawyers and writers . His grandfather was a landlord of Chatmohar Upazila of Pabna district of present day Bangladesh . Noted writer Pramatha Chaudhuri , who married a niece of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore , was his uncle . His mother Pramila was the daughter of Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee , who was the first president of the Indian National Congress . He wrote two books on military matters and served as a literary reviewer for a leading Indian daily " The Statesman " . He was the first Indian army chief to write an autobiography in 1979 . He loved Western music and founded and was first president of the Delhi Symphony Society , an organization that promoted Western music . He retired in 1966 after 38 years of military service . Subsequently , he served as the Indian High Commissioner to Canada . Chaudhuri was married and had two children . He died on 6 April 1983 .