General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam was born on 1st July 1913.He belongs to a well to do family. His father name was P. Subbarayan.He received his early education from Eton College. After that he did his graduation from Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in England. General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam joined into the Regiment of Artillery in 1933. He was the last of the King`s Commissioned Indian Officers trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the Indian Army.During the World War II General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam was posted in Libya as a major general. For his exceptional performances he was decorated with Distinguished Service Order (DSO) at that time. In 1942 he was taken the Prisoner of War (POW) in Italy but somehow he managed to flee from the prison. General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam was again arrested and subsequently incarcerated in Germany. After the war he came back to India and was appointed as a Brigadier in 1948.Before being appointed as the Chief of Army Staff on 07 June 1966 he was given several important posts in the Indian Army. Including- the GOC-in-C Eastern Command, the Adjutant General and the Commandant of DSSC Wellington.He retired on 07 June 1969 after 36 years of dedicated to the nation. In 1970 General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam was awarded the Padma Vibhushan - India`s second highest civilian honor.

Apart from military service General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam had a keen interest in sports. He was also a good polo player and cricketer.After his retirement he was a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club and he was also appointed as President of the World Wildlife Fund - India (WWF-India) during its formative stages.The film "The Great Escape" was made based on his life. General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam passed away following a heart attack on 13 March 2000 at the age of 87.