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Malay Kumar Lahiri

Malay Kumar Lahiri (also Moloy Lahiri and fondly called Mike Lahiri in Army circles;[1] born 20 September 1934) is a former Indian association football player.[2] He was part of the Indian teams that competed in the Asia Cup, 1959 Merdeka Tournament, 1959 pre Olympic tournament, and 1960 Summer Olympics.[2][3]

Lt Gen MK "Mike" Lahiri, PVSM
Born(1934-09-20)September 20, 1934
Mymensingh (now in Bangladesh)
DiedFebruary 16, 1996(1996-02-16) (aged 61)
New Delhi, India
CitizenshipIndian
Alma materNational Defence Academy
Occupation(s)Sportsman and Soldier
Years active1954-1992
EmployerGovernment of India
OrganizationIndian Army
Known forA footballer who played for India between 1954 and 1961. Post retirement from sports, he excelled in the Indian Army and retired as a Lieutenant General after 38 years of service.
SpouseKrishna Lahiri (1961)
Children2
AwardsParam Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM)

Childhood and early life

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Malay Lahiri was born in Mymensingh (now in Bangladesh), the fourth child of Ashwini Kumar Lahiri and Narmada Lahiri. Ashwini Lahiri was the Principal of Ananda Mohan College, Mymensingh and stayed on after partition before moving to Calcutta, West Bengal after his children had already moved. Malay Lahiri's early schooling was in Mymensingh after which he followed his elder brother to Calcutta. His immediate elder sibling was in the NDA and Malay followed him there and became a Gentleman Cadet in what was then called the Joint Services Wing. Incidentally, his youngest brother became a doctor and joined the Army Medical Corps (AMC) and retired as a Lieutenant General also, as Director General Armed Forces Medical Services, with both brothers being serving Lieutenant Generals at the same time.

Army Career

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Lt Gen Mike Lahiri was an officer in the Indian Army[4] and played for Gorkha Brigade and Services in the Durand Tournament and Santosh Trophy.[1][5]

He was commissioned to the Third Battalion of the 3 Gorkha Rifles on December 4, 1954 and was awarded the Silver Medal. The Gold Medal in his Course was awarded to GC Bipin Chandra Joshi, later Chief of Army Staff. This 14th Course was a very distinguished one with a lot of officers going on to the rank of Lieutenant General.

 
Gentleman Cadet Malay Kumar Lahiri at NDA
 
 
Lt Gen MK Lahiri, DG NCC

After the Sino-Indian War of 1962, he was selected to go to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to undergo training and then graduated from the US Army Special Warfare School. After successfully completing the Course in Psychological Operations, Counter Insurgency and Special Forces Operations, he came back to India to design and set-up the Commando Wing for the Indian Army at Infantry School, Mhow which was then relocated to Belgaum.

His major assignments in his 38-year career in the Indian Army were:

He was also the President, Gorkha Brigade of the Indian Army and Colonel of the Regiment of 3rd Gorkha Rifles. He was awarded the highest peacetime military award the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) by the President of India in the Republic Day honours of 1992. He retired from Service on September 30, 1992 and died of cancer on February 16, 1996.

Notable achievements and awards

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Silver Medal of the XIVth Course Indian Military Academy
Durand Cup runner-up: 1953 representing NDA
Durand Cup runner-up: 1958 representing Gorkha Brigade
 
Asia Cup in Ernakulum representing India
Merdeka Tournament runner-up: 1959[6]
 
Pre-Olympic tournament in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1959 representing India
Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) in 1992 for distinguished service in the Indian Army
 

Dates of rank

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Insignia Rank Date of Rank
 
 2nd Lieutenant December 04, 1954
 
 Lieutenant
 
 Captain
 
 Major
 
 Lieutenant Colonel
 
 Brigadier
 
 Major General
 
 Lieutenant General

Medals

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Param Vishisht Seva Medal Samanya Seva Medal 1965 Raksha Medal 1965 Sangram Medal Sanya Seva Medal 25th Independence Anniversary Medal 30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

Post retirement

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Post his retirement, Mike Lahiri did not wish to take up any assignment. However, he accepted the offer of becoming a member of the monitoring committee overseeing preparations for the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, in addition to other international games till the Atlanta Olympics. During this assignment he was diagnosed with cancer and unfortunately passed away a short while later on February 16, 1996.

References
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  1. ^ a b Kapadia, Novy (24 April 1983). "Puran Bahadur Thapa: India's first hat-trick man". Sportskeeda.
  2. ^ a b "Malay Kumar Lahiri". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  3. ^ "7 times India punched above their weight". Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  4. ^ Basu, Jaydeep (26 February 2020). "No Country for Strikers: The Forgotten Goal Poachers of Indian Football". newsclick.in. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  5. ^ Kapadia, Novy (27 May 2012). "Memorable moments in the Santosh Trophy". www.sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  6. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava. "The Indian Senior Team at the 1959 Merdeka Cup". Indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018.
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