Born in Madikeri, Kodagu, Cariappa joined the British Indian Army shortly after the end of World War I, and was commissioned as a temporary first lieutenant into the 2/88 Carnatic Infantry.

Cariappa was born on 28 January 1899, in Shanivarsanthe, Coorg Province (present day Kodagu district), Karnataka to a family of farmers belonging to the Kodava clan.

This was done to make Cariappa's rank junior to the officers who passed out (graduated) from Royal Military College, Sandhurst, on 16 July 1920.

He was given the nickname "Kipper" by a British officer's wife, who found his name difficult to pronounce, while he was serving in Fatehgarh.

[11] Cariappa was appointed as the deputy assistant quarter master general (DAQMG) at HQ Peshawar District in 1931.

[13] In 1938, Cariappa was promoted to major[14] and was appointed the deputy assistant adjutant and quarter master general (DAA & QMG).

[13] In 1939, the Skeen Committee was set up to examine the options for the Indianisation of the Indian Army's officer ranks.

Back in India in March 1942, he was posted as second-in-command of the newly raised 7th Rajput Machine Gun Battalion at Fatehgarh.

On 15 April 1942, he was promoted to acting lieutenant colonel and was appointed commanding officer of the same battalion, receiving an advancement to temporary lieutenant-colonel on 15 July.

[18] Cariappa was successful in stabilising the newly raised battalion in terms of administration, training, and the handling of arms.

In August 1943, when the South East Asia Command was formed, and the Fourteenth Army was placed under it, Cariappa volunteered for active service in the war.

Though Cariappa was not happy with the appointment initially, and protested to the Military Secretary, the experience proved to helpful when he took over as the C-in-C four years later.

Unlike previous commanders who tried to keep the local tribes under control by force, Cariappa adopted an alternate approach by extending friendly relations to them- which proved a far more effective tactic.

When Head of the Interim Government, Jawaharlal Nehru, visited Bannu he found it extremely peaceful and settled, compared to Razmak where another brigade was stationed.

These included Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal, Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon and Shah Nawaz Khan.

[24] In 1947, Cariappa was the first of two Indians selected to undergo training at the Imperial Defence College at Camberley in the United Kingdom, in order to attend the higher command courses.

In January 1948, owing to the worsening situation in Kashmir, Cariappa was called back to the capital and appointed as the GOC-in-C Delhi and East Punjab Command.

[27] He launched three subsequent attacks—Operations Kipper, Easy and Bison—to capture the Naushera, Jhangar, Poonch, Zoji La, Dras, and Kargil areas.

Plans were laid to drive out the Pakistani forces from Kashmir completely, but they were stopped by the intervention of the United States.

On 6 July 1948, the Army HQ issued strict instructions against conducting any major operations without its permission.

Cariappa protested against this, stating that this policy would threaten Leh, Kargil, and ultimately the Kashmir Valley, which would put the country's security at stake.

He disobeyed orders and launched strikes in the Ladakh area allowing India to assert control over the region.

However INA's slogan Jai Hind which means "Victory to India", was adopted by Cariappa and later it became a formal phrase between personnel to greet each other.

Rajendrasinhji Jadeja succeeded him as the C-in-C.[32] Cariappa was married in March 1937, in Secunderabad, to Muthu Machia, a forest officer's daughter.

Though their married life was happy initially, later, due to an age gap of almost 17 years, ideological differences, and Cariappa's professional commitments, their marriage broke down.

[33] His sister Bollava's son, Lieutenant general Biddanda Chengappa Nanda also had a distinguished career in the Indian Army and retired as GOC-in-Chief Northern Command.

[34] Cariappa's alliance with the Indian Army was spread over a period of around three decades, during which he had broad experience of staff and command work.

Erroneous claims about him contesting against Krishna Menon appear in some books but they are not supported by any evidence on any Indian govt site.

[32] After he was the C-in-C, he wanted Major (later Lieutenant General) Srinivas Kumar Sinha to be his military assistant (MA).

On realizing the identity of the wounded soldier at Kargil, Radio Pakistan immediately announced the capture of the younger Cariappa.