Sundararajan Padmanabhan

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia

In this Indian name, the name Sundararajan is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Padmanabhan.
General

Sundararajan Padmanabhan

PVSM, AVSM, VSM
General Sundararajan Padmanabhan.jpg
Nickname(s)Paddy
Born (1940-12-05) 5 December 1940 (age 83)
Trivandrum, Travancore, British Raj
(now Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India)
Allegiance India
Service/branch Indian Army
Years of service1959-2002
RankGeneral of the Indian Army.svg General
Service numberIC-11859[1]
UnitRegiment of Artillery
Commands heldIA Southern Command.svg Southern Army
IA Northern Command.jpg Northern Army
XV Corps
AwardsParam Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svgParam Vishisht Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svgAti Vishisht Seva Medal
Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svgVishisht 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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Military awards[edit]

Template:Ribbon devices/alt Template:Ribbon devices/alt Template:Ribbon devices/alt
India General Service Medal 1947.svg IND Siachen Glacier Medal Ribbon.svg Template:Ribbon devices/alt IND Raksha Medal Ribbon.svg
Template:Ribbon devices/alt Template:Ribbon devices/alt Template:Ribbon devices/alt Template:Ribbon devices/alt
Template:Ribbon devices/alt Template:Ribbon devices/alt Template:Ribbon devices/alt Template:Ribbon devices/alt
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[edit]

Insignia Rank Component Date of rank
Second Lieutenant of the Indian Army.svg Second Lieutenant Indian Army 13 December 1959[1]
Lieutenant of the Indian Army.svg Lieutenant Indian Army 13 December 1961
Captain of the Indian Army.svg Captain Indian Army 13 December 1965[6]
Major of the Indian Army.svg Major Indian Army 13 December 1972[7]
Lieutenant Colonel of the Indian Army.svg Lieutenant-Colonel Indian Army 16 August 1978[8]
Colonel of the Indian Army.svg Colonel Indian Army 8 February 1985[9]
Brigadier of the Indian Army.svg Brigadier Indian Army 13 April 1986[10]
Major General of the Indian Army.svg Major General Indian Army 16 November 1991[11]
Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.svg Lieutenant-General Indian Army 1 November 1993[12]
General of the Indian Army.svg General
(COAS)		 Indian Army 1 October 2000

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 17 September 1960. p. 239.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "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.
Military offices
Preceded by
Sushil Kumar 		Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
30 December 2001 - 31 December 2002 		Succeeded by
Madhvendra Singh
Preceded by
Ved Prakash Malik 		Chief of Army Staff
2000–2002 		Succeeded by
Nirmal Chander Vij
Preceded by
H M Khanna 		General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command
1999–2000 		Succeeded by
Nirmal Chander Vij
Preceded by
 General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command
1996–1998 		Succeeded by
H M Khanna

Template:Chief of the Army Staff India

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