Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag paying his last respects to former Army chief General KV Krishna Rao during his funeral ceremony. (Press Trust of India photo)
Former Army chief General KV Krishna Rao (Retd) was cremated with full military honours in New Delhi today.
General Rao, the 14th chief of Army staff and also governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura, passed away on Saturday in the Army Hospital (Research and Referral). He was 92.
Army chief General Dalbir Singh laid a floral wreath in tribute and expressed his deepest condolences to General Rao's family.
"General KV Krishna Rao was a soldier statesman who inspired a generation of soldiers and will continue to do so even after his demise," he said.
Wreaths were also laid on behalf of President Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs and former Army chief General VK Singh (Retd), and former Army chiefs VN Sharma, NC Vij, Deepak Kapoor and Bikram Singh.
Representatives of Navy chief Admiral RK Dhowan and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha were also present on the occasion as a mark of respect to the former Army chief.
Commissioned in the Indian Army on August 9, 1942 at the height of World War II, General Rao served in Burma, the North West Frontier and Baluchistan during the conflict.
During the extensive Punjab disturbances in 1947 following the partition of the sub-continent, he served in both the eastern and western parts of the state and also saw action in the 1947-48 war against Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.
He was a founder-instructor of the National Defence Academy during 1949-51.