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Lionel Protip Sen

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Lieutenant-General Lionel Protip "Bogey" Sen, DSO (20 October 1910 – 17 September 1981) was a decorated Indian Army general. He served as the Chief of the General Staff during 1959–1961 and commanded the Eastern Command during 1961–1963. He was the general responsible for countering the Chinese invasion of NEFA during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Sen is also the author of Slender was the Thread, a military history of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948.

Lieutenant-General

Lionel Protip Sen

DSO
Nickname(s)Bogey
Born(1910-10-20)20 October 1910[1]
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
(now Kolkata, West Bengal, India)[2]
Died17 September 1981(1981-09-17) (aged 70)
Allegiance British India (1931-1947)
 India (1947-1965)
Service / branch British Indian Army
 Indian Army
Years of service1931–1965
Rank Lieutenant-General
Service numberAI-77
Unit16/10 Baluch Regiment
8th Gorkha Rifles
CommandsGOC-in-C, Southern Command
GOC-in-C, Eastern Command
161st Indian Infantry Brigade
Battles / wars
AwardsDistinguished Service Order
Other workauthored Slender was the Thread

Career

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Early career

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A King's Commissioned Indian Officer (KCIO), Sen attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the British Indian Army on 27 August 1931.[3] As was customary, he was attached to a battalion of a regular British Army regiment, the 1st battalion of the Cheshire Regiment, for a period of one year prior to his official appointment to the Indian Army.[4] He was formally appointed to the Indian Army as an officer with the 10th Baluch Regiment on 26 October 1932 (seniority from 29 January 1931).[5] He was promoted lieutenant on 29 April 1933,[6] and to captain on 29 January 1939.[7]

Second world war

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During the Second World War, Sen fought in the Burma Campaign with the 16th Battalion of 10 Baluch. In early 1945, his battalion took a prominent role in the Battle of Hill 170, during which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).[8] The citation recommending Sen for the DSO (which was not published) noted:[2]

...In spite of the greatest difficulties Lt-Col Sen held firmly on to his precarious positions, and the final success of the whole operation was in no small measure due to his dashing assault and tenacious defence. Throughout, he has proved himself a gallant leader of a gallant Battalion and an inspiration to every officer and man under his command.

Post-Independence

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As the Baluch Regiment, Sen's parent regiment, was among those regiments allotted to Pakistan following Indian independence, Sen transferred to the 8th Gorkha Rifles.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, he was promoted to acting brigadier and commanded the 161st Indian Infantry Brigade, and ordered to take over the defence of Srinagar and the Kashmir Valley, for which he received a mention in dispatches.[9][10]

On 23 December 1949, he became Colonel of the 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment).[11]

On 16 March 1955, Sen was promoted acting major-general and appointed Director of Military Training (DMT).[12] He was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) on 8 May 1957,[13] and was further appointed Colonel-Commandant of the Army Physical Training Corps on 26 September.[14]

Sen was promoted to acting lieutenant-general on 1 August 1958,[15] and to the substantive rank on 29 January 1959.[16] On 8 May 1961, he was appointed GOC-in-C, Eastern Command,[17] in which capacity he served during the Sino-Indian War the following year. After the conflict, Sen was appointed GOC-in-C, Southern Command, on 10 May 1963.[18] He retired from this posting on 8 May 1965, after nearly 34 years of service.[19]

Personal life

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In 1939, he married Kalyani Gupta.[20] Their first daughter, Radha, was born in 1941,[21] and Mala in 1947.[22][23] The marriage ended in divorce in 1953.[22][23]

Sen died in 1981.[24]

Awards and decorations

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General Service Medal 1947 Indian Independence Medal
Distinguished Service Order 1939–1945 Star Burma Star War Medal 1939–1945

Dates of rank

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Insignia Rank Component Date of rank
  Second Lieutenant British Indian Army 27 August 1931 (seniority from 29 January 1931)
  Lieutenant British Indian Army 29 April 1933[6]
  Captain British Indian Army 29 January 1939[7]
  Major British Indian Army 25 August 1940 (acting)[1]
25 November 1940 (temporary)[1]
1 July 1946 (substantive)[25]
  Lieutenant-Colonel British Indian Army 22 November 1944 (acting)[1]
  Major Indian Army 15 August 1947[note 1][26]
  Lieutenant-Colonel Indian Army 1947 (temporary)[note 1][27]
  Brigadier Indian Army 1947 (acting)[note 1][27]
  Colonel Indian Army 1947 (temporary)
1 January 1950 (substantive, with seniority from 29 January 1949)[note 1][27]
  Colonel Indian Army 26 January 1950 (recommissioning and change in insignia)[26]
  Brigadier Indian Army 29 January 1952 (substantive)
  Major General Indian Army 16 March 1955 (acting)[12]
29 January 1956 (substantive)[28]
  Lieutenant-General Indian Army 1 August 1958 (acting)[15]
29 January 1959 (substantive)[16]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Upon independence in 1947, India became a Dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations. As a result, the rank insignia of the British Army, incorporating the Tudor Crown and four-pointed Bath Star ("pip"), was retained, as George VI remained Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces. After 26 January 1950, when India became a republic, the President of India became Commander-in-Chief, and the Ashoka Lion replaced the crown, with a five-pointed star being substituted for the "pip."

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Indian Army List for October 1945 (Part I). Government of India Press. 1945. pp. 167–168.
  2. ^ a b "Recommendation for Award for Sen, Lionel Protip. Rank: Sub Captain, Temporary Major, Acting Lieutenant Colonel". The National Archives (UK). UK Government. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  3. ^ "No. 33748". The London Gazette. 28 August 1931. p. 5624.
  4. ^ Indian Army List: October 1932. New Delhi: Government of India. 1932.
  5. ^ "No. 33924". The London Gazette. 24 March 1933. p. 2043.
  6. ^ a b "No. 33948". The London Gazette. 9 June 1933. p. 3877.
  7. ^ a b "No. 34610". The London Gazette. 24 March 1939. p. 2013.
  8. ^ "No. 37349". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 November 1945. p. 5574.
  9. ^ "In 1947, Gandhi told Lt Gen Sen that wars were inhuman, but to fight for Kashmir with all means". The Print. 11 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Defence-Press Note" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 9 April 1948. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  11. ^ "The Gazette of India" (PDF). egazette.nic.in. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 30 April 1955. p. 86.
  13. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 25 May 1957. p. 129.
  14. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 9 November 1957. p. 280.
  15. ^ a b "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 13 December 1958. p. 278.
  16. ^ a b "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 16 May 1959. p. 115.
  17. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 20 May 1961. p. 128.
  18. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 22 June 1963. p. 209.
  19. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 12 June 1965. p. 306.
  20. ^ "Allied army chiefs in France". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 2 November 1939. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. ^ "Inwards Passenger Lists.; Class". UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960. 1949 – via ancestry.co.uk.
  22. ^ a b Roy, Amit (27 May 2011). "The woman who tamed a bandit". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Mala Sen: Writer and race equality activist". East End Women's Museum. 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  24. ^ "Indian Army - List of Family Pensioners (AI, EC, RC, TC)". Indian Army. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  25. ^ "No. 38069". The London Gazette. 12 September 1947. p. 4286.
  26. ^ a b "New Designs of Crests and Badges in the Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2017.
  27. ^ a b c "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 24 June 1950. p. 70.
  28. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 25 February 1956. p. 36.
Military offices
Preceded by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command
1963–1965 		Succeeded by
Moti Sagar
Preceded by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command
1961–1963 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
S. D. Verma
 Chief of the General Staff
February 1959–8 May 1961 		Succeeded by
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