Other Goan-origin Major Generals
Valmiki Faleiro
Other Goan-origin Major Generals
Major General Krishnarao Satrojirao Rane (Veteran) of Sanquelim was with the Madhya Bharat State Forces of Gwalior. He was among the first Indian Officers to be admitted into the fighting arms of the Indian Army when the Gwalior State forces were absorbed in the Indian Army. He was King's Commission Indian Officer No. 0007 – the seventh Indian officer to be so appointed. He participated in World War II. (Photo and profile details awaited.) He was father of Air Marshal Yeshwantrao K Rane (Veteran), former AOC-in-C, Southern Air Command.
Major General Sydney Alexander Gustavo Pinto, AVSM, VSM (Veteran) of St. Cruz/ Kalapur passed the Indian Civil Service exam in 1940. With ICS recruitments halted during World War II, he opted to join the Indian Army. Commissioned in 1942 into the Corps of Engineers (Bombay Sappers), he built the Leh airfield – at 11,540 feet, the highest in the world – and later the road to Nepal (Tribhuvan Raj Path). He commanded an infantry brigade facing the Chinese at the High Altitude Pass of Jelep La during the 1965 Indo-Pak war. He later commanded the 2 Mountain Division. He took premature retirement and settled in France. He was older brother of “The Legend,” Maj Gen (later Lieutenant General and Army Commander) Walter Gustavo Pinto, the 1971 mastermind of the Battle of Basantar.
Major General Antonio (“Tony” / "Horseman") Caetano D'Silva, PVSM (Veteran) from Benaulim was commissioned in 1952 into the Artillery, whose mountain regiments use horses for transportation of guns. From there grew his life-long passion with horses. He was Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade deployed on the China border at the Natu La mountain pass. He participated in the 1965 war. As a Lt Col, he led the 59 Mountain Artillery Regiment in the 1971 war and worked with 311 Mountain Brigade, part of the 57 Mountain Division commanded by his senior fellow-Banaulikar Maj Gen Ben Gonsalves. As a Major General, he was GOC 10 Infantry Division on the Indo-Pak LOC in Akhnur. He retired in 1986 when Director General-Organisation at Army HQ, after 36 years service. He lived in Goa and later in Bangalore (Bengaluru), where he passed away in 2001.
Major General Ivan Francis D'Cunha, AVSM (Veteran) from Curtorim was commissioned in 1959 into the Artillery. He took part in the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars. Very diligent and known for astuteness, he was deputed to Directorate General of Quality Assurance and eventually absorbed in the DGQA. He traveled to several countries for providing quality assurance and pre-shipment inspection of complex and sophisticated defence equipment. He retired in 1995 as Additional Director General, Quality Assurance. His wife Gemma was a Professor at the Institute of Communications at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Both sons, Major General Sumer D'Cunha and naval Commodore Sanjay D'Cunha, are serving officers. Maj Gen D’Cunha passed away in Panjim in 2019.
Major General Eustace William Fernandez (“Ferdie”), AVSM, SM (Died in Service) from Anjuna was in the reckoning to be a future chief of the Indian Army. Age and merit were on his side. Had fate not intervened, he may have been chief of the Indian Army.
Born in Pune in 1938, he was educated at St. Paul's High School and at Lingaraj College, both in Belgaum. He was commissioned in 1960 into the artillery. He participated in the 1965 war. As a Major during the 1971 war, he improvised a raft to move guns, ammunition and vehicles across a major river bereft of a bridge or ferry and took a gun position within the longer range of enemy guns in the Jaintipur-Sylhet sector. In the face of enemy automatic and mortar fire, he personally directed artillery fire on an enemy stronghold at Balipara, scoring a direct hit at enemy bunkers. The enemy fled. He was awarded the Sena Medal for courage and devotion to duty.
As a Major General, he was at Fort Williams, Calcutta (Eastern Command), when he was cleared for promotion to Lieutenant General and posted as Director General of Military Intelligence at Army HQ (his DGMI order was already issued) but the Ides of March willed otherwise.
Having nothing to do in Delhi over the next four days after which he was to assume charge as DGMI on 1 April 1994 (and thereafter return to Calcutta to join the family for Easter), he went on an inspection tour to J&K. On 29 March 1994, on the last leg of the tour, he was inspecting a Field Ordnance Depot inside the Army's Badambagh Cantonment in Srinagar – a three-tiered security site protected by the BSF, defence security and the Indian Army. The Depot, containing about 4,000 weapons, a few lakh rounds of assorted ammunition and an undisclosed number of IEDs, suddenly exploded at 1030 IST, instantaneously killing him and 14 officers besides other ranks and demolishing all nearby army buildings.
The Defence Ministry ruled out sabotage. The Jamiat-ul-Mujahiddin claimed planting a timer device in the depot. Maj Gen Fernandez was the highest-ranking Indian Army officer to die in such circumstances in J&K. His older brother, Major Edward (“Eddie”) Fernandez, Bombay Engineer Group, had died 4 Nov 1963 in an army helicopter crash in NEFA.
Initially dumbstruck, Maj Gen Fernandez’ widow in Calcutta only muttered, “It is the will of God”. She told a Catholic officer, Col Rajan Sah, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh.” Calcutta Archbishop Henry D'Souza condoled the demise.
The body was flown to Pune in a special IAF flight next day and the funeral was held at St Patrick's Cathedral. Lt Gen Moti Dar GOC-in-C Southern Command and Lt Gen RN Batra GOC-in-C Eastern Command led a large assemblage of civil and military dignitaries at the funeral. Bishop Valerian D'Souza concelebrated the Mass before the body was laid to rest with full military honours at Hadapsar cemetery. The Indian Army, and the nation, lost a meritorious military leader.
Major General Anil Ramesh Raikar, VSM (Veteran) from Siolim was born in Pune, studied at St Xavier’s High School in Bombay, where his father was a journalist with the Times of India. He joined the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (now the Rashtriya Indian Military College) in Dehradun. He was commissioned from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun into the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment in August 1964 and posted to 6 Sikh LI, then located near Akhnoor in J&K. During the 1965 Indo-Pak War, the unit was awarded the battle honour of 'Kalidhar' in the Sunderbani Sector. He served as ADC to Lieutenant General PS Bhagat, VC, during the 1971 war. He raised and led the new 14 Battalion of Sikh LI in 1980. He was Colonel General Staff of a Mountain Division on the China border in the late 1980s during Op Falcon. He commanded a Brigade along the Indo-Pak LOC in J&K, during which tenure he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal for meritorious service of a very high order. He was GOC of a Mountain Division in Sikkim/North Bengal and later Commandant, Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) in Bhutan. He was GOC Bengal Area during Op Parakram (Dec-2001). He retired from the Army on 31 December 2002 after serving over 36 years. He was Commandant of the Sikh LI Regiment. Maj Gen Raikar lives in Pune and often visits Goa.
Major General Dinesh Purshottam Merchant (Pai Raikar), AVSM (Veteran) from Savoiverem grew up at Altinho Road in Panjim in the 1950s. Portuguese military officer families were fond of the charming child and he was frequently taken as a Sunday guest at their Altinho Officers Mess. After schooling at Peoples High School in Panjim, he completed B.Sc. from Ruparel College, Mumbai in 1966. He joined the Officers Training Academy, Madras and was commissioned in April 1967 in the Madras Regiment. During the 1971 war, 18 Madras was in the Rajasthan sector where he met Major Cezar Lobo of Aldona, whose artillery battery was in support of his unit, deep inside enemy territory. Later at Jamnagar, he was a regular fish-curry, Konkani-speaking guest of then Major (later Colonel) Apollo Ferrao, also from Aldona. During a UN Mission in Somalia 1993-95, he was in transit in Nairobi. It was late and the hotel restaurant had closed. Only eggs and bread was available. He told the obsequious staff that he was from Goa and pined for fish-curry. He was asked to sit down and shortly, a sleepy-eyed man emerged and first asked, Tum Goincho? (are you from Goa). Both Officer and Chef were happy to interact in Konkani, while the chef prepared a modified dry fish curry – with apologies that he did not have ingredients like solam (dried rind of Kokum, a distinctly flavoured souring agent). He retired in July-2004 as Major General-ADM of an Army Command. He lived in Margao some years and is now in Belgaum.
Major General Christopher ("Chris") Fernandes, AVSM, SM, VSM (Veteran) from Badem, Salvador do Mundo, was born 1960 in Wellington, where his father – the celebrated Gnats expert, Group Captain Emanuel Fernandes (“Fighter Fernandes”), AVSM – was attending a course at the Defence Services Staff College. After schooling at St. Vincent's School-Pune, he attended the NDA-Pune and was commissioned in the Infantry in June 1981. He served in all operational areas of the country: east facing China, west facing Pakistan, north at Siachen and south in the Andamans. He was awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry when at the Siachen Northern Glacier (altitude 21,000 feet). He commanded an Infantry Battalion on the LOC in J&K and later a Mountain Brigade in counter insurgency in Assam and at the LAC on the China border in Arunachal Pradesh. He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal when GOC of an Infantry Division in the west. He was Chief of Staff of the Andaman and Nicobar Tri-Services Command. He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal when ADG-Manpower Planning at Army HQ. He was Chief of Staff Mumbai Area when he retired after serving 37 years in the Army in September 2018. He settled in Goa.
Major General Sumer Ivan D’Cunha (Serving) from Curtorim graduated in engineering from Pune University and was commissioned into the regiment of Army Air Defence in 1988. He attended courses in Tank Technology, the TSO course at the Institute of Armament Technology, Pune and the Long Gunnery course at the Army Air Defence College at Gopalpur-on-Sea. He also did an International Peace Keeping Course with the Israeli Defence Forces. Besides commanding an Air Defence Missile Regiment (Self Propelled), he was Deputy Quarter Master General (DQ) and Assistant Quarter Master General (AQ) of a Rashtriya Rifles sector HQ in J&K and Colonel Q of the Uttar Bharat Area in Bareilly. He was Army Attaché at the Indian Embassy in the Islamic Republic of Iran. He was promoted to Major General in 2021. He is son of Major General Ivan D’Cunha (Veteran), son-in-law of Major General Eustace Fernandez (Died in Service) and brother of Commodore Sanjay D’Cunha (Serving).
(This first appeared in the Marathi language in Goa’s daily, Gomantak, 2 October 2022, and is excerpted from revised text of the book, Patriotism In Action: Goans in India’s Defence Services by Valmiki Faleiro, first published in 2010 by ‘Goa,1556,’ ISBN: 978-93-80739-06-9. Revised edition awaits publication.)
