Satyawant Mallanna Shrinagesh (English: Satyawant Mallanna Shrinagesh, born- May 11, 1903; death- October 27, 1977) who is mainly known as S. M. Shrinagesh, was the third Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. He held this post from May 14, 1955 to May 7, 1957. He was then appointed as the Principal of the Indian Administrative College, Hyderabad from 1957 to 1962. After retirement S. M. Srinagesh held the office of Governor of Assam from October 14, 1959 to November 12, 1960 and again from January 13, 1961 to September 7, 1962. He was the Governor of Andhra Pradesh from 8 September 1962 to 4 May 1964 and later the Governor of Mysore from 4 May 1964 to 2 April 1965.
On May 11, 1903, S. M. Srinagesh was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. His father, Dr. Shrinagesh Mallah, was the personal physician to the Nizam of Hyderabad. He was sent to England in his childhood. General S. M. Srinagesh received his education in a public school in England. Later he received education from Cambridge University. He was also a student at Sandhurst Military Academy in Britain. He was commissioned into the British Indian Army at the age of 20.
S. M. Srinagesh was commissioned into the North Stafford Shire Regiment, but was soon sent to Burma (present-day Myanmar) and posted to the 2/1st Madras Pioneers. His next appointment was to the 4/19th Hyderabad Regiment. S. M. Srinagesh worked as an adjutant in Singapore. In 1939, he was given the post of instructor at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. In 1939, he commanded the 6/19th Hyderabad Regiment in the battle of Assam and Burma.
General S. M. Srinagesh also commanded the 64th Indian Infantry Brigade of the 19th Indian Division in Burma. In 1945 he was appointed as Deputy Chief of the Indian Military Mission in Germany. After returning from Germany S. M. Srinagesh commanded the 268th Indian Infantry Brigade in Japan. On promotion to Major General, he took over as GOC of Madras Area. In 1948, he was appointed as Adjutant General at the Army Headquarters in New Delhi. During the war against Pakistan in 1947, he held the post of overall commander of all troops in Jammu and Kashmir. General S. M. Srinagesh was appointed as GOC-in-C Western Command in 1949. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1950 and was later appointed as GOC-in-C Southern Command. He was promoted to the post of Chief of the Army Staff of India on May 14, 1955. He retired in 1957 after completing 34 years of dedicated service to the nation.
General S. M. Srinagesh died on 27 October 1977 in New Delhi.
