Major General Ian Cardozo was commissioned into the 5th Gorkha Rifles (FF) and has taken part in the Sino-Indian war of 1962 and the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971. He is the first officer of the Indian Army to be awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry on a patrol on the Sino-Indian border in 1960. Wounded in the 1971 war, at Sylhet in Bangladesh, he overcame the handicap of an amputated limb and became the first disabled officer of the Indian Army to command an infantry battalion, a brigade and a division stationed in border areas.
After retirement, he worked with disabled persons and was appointed Chairman of the Rehabilitation Council of India by the Government, an appointment which he held for nine years.
His books 'Param Vir – Our Heroes in Battle' and 'The Sinking of INS Khukri' and his graphic novels chronicling the exploits of war heroes have been well-received and widely-acclaimed.