General

Sundararajan Padmanabhan

PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Nickname(s)Paddy
Born (1940-12-05) 5 December 1940
Trivandrum, Travancore, British Raj
(now Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India)
Allegiance India
Service/branch Indian Army
Years of service1959-2002
Rank General
Service numberIC-11859[1]
UnitRegiment of Artillery
Commands held Southern Army
Northern Army
XV Corps
AwardsParam Vishisht Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vishisht Seva Medal

General Sundararajan Padmanabhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM (born 5 December 1940 in Thiruvananthapuram, Travancore) is a former General Officer of the Indian Army. He served as the 17th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army.[2] Gen. Padmanabhan succeeded General V.P. Malik on 30 September 2000.[2] He also served as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.[3]

Early life and education

Padmanabhan was born in a Tamil Brahmin family.[4] He was schooled at the Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun. In 1956, Padmanabhan joined the National Defence Academy and then the Indian Military Academy, from where graduated in 1959.

Military career

Padmanabhan was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery on 13 December 1959.[2]

He attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington in 1973. Post this, he commanded an Independent Light Battery from 1975 to 1976. He then commanded the Gazala Mountain Regiment from 1977 to 1980. He also served as Instructor Gunnery at the School of Artillery, Deolali and two terms as an instructor at the Indian Military Academy.

AS a Brigadier, he attended the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi. He then commanded an Infantry Brigade from December 1988 to February 1991 at Ranchi, Bihar and Punjab and was then appointed as the General Officer Commanding an Infantry Division in Punjab from March 1991 to August 1992. He served as Chief of Staff, III Corps from September 1992 to June 1993. After his promotion to Lieutenant General, he took over as the General Officer Commanding XV Corps in the Kashmir valley from July 1993 to February 1995. It was during his tenure as the XV Corps Commander, that the Army made big gains over the militants in Kashmir and could even scale down its operations. He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for his services as the XV Corps Commander.

General Padmanabhan held the appointment of Director General Military Intelligence (DGMI) after the successful culmination of which, he took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command at Udhampur on 1 September 1996. Before being appointed as the Chief of Army Staff, he was the GOC-in-C of Southern Command.

He retired on 31 December 2002, after completing more than 43 years of distinguished military service. He has authored two books. He presently resides in Chennai.[5]

Author

Gen. Padmanabhan is also an author of Indian military fiction, including the 2004 novel Writing on the Wall, the plot of which involves India fighting a war simultaneously with Pakistan while improving relations with China.

Honours and awards

Military awards

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishist Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal
General Service Medal Siachen Glacier Medal Special Service Medal Raksha Medal
Sangram Medal Operation Vijay Medal Sainya Seva Medal 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
25th Anniversary of Independence Medal 30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

Dates of rank

InsigniaRankComponentDate of rank
Second LieutenantIndian Army13 December 1959[1]
LieutenantIndian Army13 December 1961
CaptainIndian Army13 December 1965[6]
MajorIndian Army13 December 1972[7]
Lieutenant-ColonelIndian Army16 August 1978[8]
ColonelIndian Army8 February 1985[9]
BrigadierIndian Army13 April 1986[10]
Major GeneralIndian Army16 November 1991[11]
Lieutenant-GeneralIndian Army1 November 1993[12]
General
(COAS)		Indian Army1 October 2000

References

  1. 1 2 "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 17 September 1960. p. 239.
  2. 1 2 3 "Lt. Gen. Padmanabhan, new Army Chief". The Hindu. 2 August 2000. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ↑ "Navy chief to head COSC - Times of India". articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Veil off finger on N-button - Musharraf fires shot at outgoing indian army chief". Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2002.
  5. ↑ "Bharat Rakshak :: Land Forces Site - General Sundararajan Padmanabhan". www.bharat-rakshak.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011.
  6. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 5 March 1966. p. 142.
  7. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 24 March 1973. p. 375.
  8. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 6 December 1980. p. 1380.
  9. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 28 February 1987. p. 305.
  10. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 7 November 1987. p. 1515.
  11. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 16 November 1991. p. 1770.
  12. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 27 August 1994. p. 1594.
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