The Economic Times

Indian Army Day 2026: When Field Marshal Cariappa refused an offer from his former junior Ayub Khan to free his son captured in 1965 war

Indian Army Day 2026: During the 1965 war, Field Marshal K M Cariappa refused Pakistan's offer to release his son, a captured IAF officer, as a special gesture. He insisted his son be treated as any other prisoner of war, reinforcing the Indian Army's core values of equality and duty above personal ties.