Who was the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal?

Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw (1914-2008), popularly known as "Sam Bahadur", was the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal, on 1 January 1973.

About Sam Manekshaw:

• He was born in Amritsar into a Parsi family.
• He was part of the first batch of cadets at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, commissioned in 1934.
• During the Second World War, he was severely wounded in Burma (1942) and was awarded the Military Cross.
• He served as the 8th Chief of the Army Staff from 1969 to 1973.

He led the Indian Army to a decisive victory in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, which led to the creation of Bangladesh. About 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December 1971, which is celebrated as Vijay Diwas.

He was awarded the Padma Bhushan (1968) and the Padma Vibhushan (1972).

His life was depicted in the film "Sam Bahadur" (2023).

The rank of Field Marshal:

It is a five-star rank, the highest in the Indian Army. It is largely ceremonial, and an officer holding it never retires; they remain on the active list for life.

Only two Indian Army officers have held it:

• Sam Manekshaw (1973).
• M. Cariappa (1986), who had been the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army (1949). 15 January, the day he took over, is celebrated as Army Day.

The equivalent five-star rank in the Indian Air Force is "Marshal of the Indian Air Force", held only by Arjan Singh (2002). The Indian Navy's equivalent, "Admiral of the Fleet", has never been awarded.

Why not the other options?

• ✗M. Cariappa was the second Field Marshal (1986).
• ✗Arjan Singh was the only Marshal of the Indian Air Force.
• ✗S. Thimayya was Chief of the Army Staff (1957-1961) but did not become a Field Marshal.