field marshal

Field marshal (abbreviated as FM) is a five–star general officer rank and the highest attainable rank in the Indian Army. Field marshal ranks immediately above general, but is not in use in the army's current structure. Awarded only twice, field marshal is a rank bestowed on generals for ceremonial purposes or during times of war. Sam Manekshaw was the first field marshal of the Indian Army, and was promoted on 1 January 1973. The second was Kodandera M. Cariappa, who was promoted to the rank on 15 January 1986. Field marshal is equivalent to admiral of the fleet in the Indian Navy and Marshal of the Indian Air Force in the Indian Air Force. There has never been an admiral of the fleet in the Indian Navy, leaving Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh as the only officer to hold an equivalent rank to the Indian Army's two field marshals. History To date, only two Indian Army officers have been conferred the rank. It was first conferred to Sam Manekshaw in 1973, in recognition of his service and leadership in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Immediately after the war, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided to promote Manekshaw to Field Marshal and subsequently to appoint him as the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS). This appointment was dropped after several objections from the bureaucracy and the commanders of the Navy and the Air Force. On 3 January 1973, after his term as the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Manekshaw was promoted to field marshal at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. As it was the first use of the rank, some details such as the rank insignia, had not been set worked out. A few weeks before Manekshaw's appointment, the first Indian field marshal's badges of rank were made at the Army workshop in Delhi Cantonment. These were inspired by the rank insignia of a British field marshal.