World War II He received an emergency commission as a second lieutenant in the 2nd battalion of the
Mahar Regiment on 9 August 1942. As a young officer, he served in
Burma,
North West Frontier and
Baluchistan during the
Second World War. During the extensive Punjab disturbances in 1947, he served both in
East and
West Punjab.
Post-Independence He participated in the first war against Pakistan in
Jammu and Kashmir in 1947–48. He was a founder instructor of the
National Defence Academy during 1949–51. In May 1951, he was selected to attend the
Defence Services Staff College (DSSC),
Wellington. After graduating from DSSC, he was appointed general staff officer grade 2 (GSO2) in the army headquarters, where he served till 1955. Selected for the command of a battalion, he commanded the 3rd Battalion The Mahar Regiment in
Jammu and Kashmir during 1956–59. Thereafter, he served as a general staff officer grade-1 (GSO1) of a division in the Jammu Region during 1960–63. He was a member of the faculty of the
Defence Services Staff College during 1963–65. On 15 March 1965, by then a lieutenant-colonel, he was promoted to acting
brigadier and given command of the 114 Infantry Brigade in the forward area of
Ladakh during 1965–66, serving through 1968–69. On 29 June 1969, he was promoted to the acting rank of
major general and commanded the 26 Infantry Division in the Jammu Region during 1969–70, with promotion to substantive major-general on 4 August 1970. Thereafter, he commanded the 8 Mountain Division engaged in counterinsurgency operations in
Nagaland and
Manipur during 1970–72. During this period, his division also participated in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. His division captured the
Sylhet Area and liberated North East Bangladesh. He was awarded the
Param Vishist Seva Medal (the award for distinguished services of the most exceptional order) for displaying outstanding leadership, courage, determination and drive during this War. Gen Rao then moved to Western Sector upon his appointment on 1 June 1972 as chief of staff,
Western Command. He served in this role from 1972 to 1974, during which period disengagement with Pakistani troops was carried out and fresh plans were made against likely adventures by Pakistan. On 2 August 1974, Krishna Rao was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant general and took over command of the largest corps (
XVI Corps) in the Jammu Region. In addition, during 1975–76, he was also the chairman of the expert committee constituted by the government on re-organisation and modernisation for future defence of the country. Later, he served as deputy chief of army staff at army headquarters during 1978–79. Subsequently, he was promoted army commander and served as general officer commanding-in-chief
Western Command, then based in
Shimla during 1979–81.
Chief of army staff General Krishna Rao was appointed as chief of army staff on 1 June 1981, and served in that capacity till July 1983. He was also chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, the highest appointment in the services, during March 1982 – July 1983. His services and leadership were warmly appreciated by the prime minister and the government. During his service, General Krishna Rao also held numerous other responsibilities. He was colonel of the
Mahar Regiment during 1968–83. As chief of army staff, he was also colonel of
61 Cavalry, honorary colonel of the
Mechanised Infantry Regiment and the
Brigade of the Guards and colonel-in-chief of the
National Cadet Corps. After relinquishing colonelcy of the Mahar Regiment, he was appointed as honorary colonel of the regiment. He was made honorary general of the
Royal Nepalese Army (Now Nepalese Army). He was principal honorary army
ADC to the president. He was president of
Equestrian Federation of India and deputy chairman of the special organising committee of the
1982 Asian Games. He was patron of the Indian Ex-Services League, United Service Institution of India and National Adventure Foundation. Gen Krishna Rao retired from service on 31 July 1983. == Gubernatorial assignments ==