had not served as long as Cariappa had; Nathu Singh had served two-and-a-half years less. But the Interim Government's Defence Minister Baldev Singh was not in favour of Cariappa. He contacted Shrinagesh and Nathu Singh asking for their opinion of being appointed as C-in-C. Since both declined the offer, Cariappa took over as the first native Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. The day Cariappa took over the reins of the Indian Army, 15 January 1949, was marked as official Army Day and celebrated annually. As the chief of the Army, Cariappa was instrumental in the formation of the Territorial Army in 1949. Though the National Cadet Corps had been already formed in 1948, it was Cariappa who extended support during its formative years. These two complementary branches of the Army later proved to be very helpful in the wars India fought in later years. Several measures taken by Cariappa, such as his refusal to induct former Indian National Army personnel into the Army, kept the organisation out of political affairs and maintained its autonomy despite being put under a lot of pressure by Nehru. Nehru only relented when he threatened to resign. 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. He also turned down the proposal to reserve vacancies in the Army for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as had been done in other government services. After four years of service as the C-in-C, Cariappa retired on 14 January 1953. Before he retired, he made a farewell visit to his parent regiment, the Rajput Regiment, at the Rajput Regimental Centre accompanied by his son and daughter. Rajendrasinhji Jadeja succeeded him as the C-in-C. Personal life 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. In September 1945, the couple separated without any formal divorce. Three years later Muthu died in an accident. Cariappa and Muthu had a son and a daughter. Their son, K.C. Cariappa, was born on 4 January 1938, and daughter Nalini on 23 February 1948. Their son, called "Nanda", joined the Indian Air Force and rose to the rank of Air Marshal. His sister Bollava's