JOHN AGUIAR
Brigadier Ian St. John da Costa belonged to a generation that witnessed India’s transformation from a young nation into a confident republic. A soldier, writer, administrator, and community leader, he lived a life defined by duty — first to his country in uniform and later to society in civilian life.
Born on September 26, 1940, in Nagpur into a Goan family with a proud military tradition, discipline and patriotism shaped his upbringing. Alongside these, his lifelong love for sports and music balanced the rigours of military service with deep cultural refinement.
His calling led him to the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. On December 17, 1961, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Kumaon Regiment, which became his extended family.
Serving with the 14th Kumaon in Jammu and Kashmir during the turbulent 1960s, he developed leadership forged in harsh terrain and operational uncertainty. During the 1965 Indo–Pakistani War, as a young company commander leading Alpha Company, he participated in the assault on O.P. Hill in the Naushera sector. The decisive attack remains a cherished Battle Honour Day for the Regiment.
By the 1971 war, da Costa had helped raise the 1st Naga Regiment. Serving as Second-in-Command during the Battle of Dharamshala, he brilliantly integrated Mukti Bahini fighters,
Border Security Force personnel, regular soldiers, and former Naga militants into a cohesive fighting force, earning another Battle Honour.
His distinguished career included commanding an Infantry Battalion along the Line of Control, leading an Infantry Brigade in the Thar Desert, and serving as Brigade Major on the sensitive Chinese border.
A dedicated mentor, he instructed at the Officers’ Training School in Madras and twice at the College of Combat in Mhow. In 1987, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) for outstanding leadership in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.
He retired on September 26, 1994, as Commandant of the Kumaon Regimental Centre at Ranikhet. Returning to his ancestral home in Goa, retirement marked merely a change of uniform.
Appointed managing director of the Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (1995–1997) by former Chief Minister Pratap Singh Rane, he brought organisational discipline to public transport before later overseeing a prominent firm’s entry into the software sector.
Restoring his ancestral home in Saligao in 1998, he threw himself into civic life.
He served multiple terms as President of the Saligao Institute, led the Saligao Civic and Consumer Cell, and headed the historic Comunidade of Saligao. Furthermore, he led the Catholic Association of Goa and actively
supported veterans through the Ex-Servicemen Association.
A prolific columnist for O
Heraldo and Goa Today, he authored his memoir, Diary of an
Infantryman, in 2013, capturing the Army’s post-independence evolution.
Costa passed away on March 25, 2022. Whether in combat, civil administration, village governance, or through his writing, his life remained anchored in a steadfast conviction: honour lies in responsibility faithfully discharged.
