Sundararajan Padmanabhan

General
Sundararajan Padmanabhan
PVSM, AVSM, VSM
General Sundararajan Padmanabhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM
19th Chief of the Army Staff
	In office; 1 October 2000 – 31 December 2002
President	K. R. Narayanan; A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	Ved Prakash Malik
Succeeded by	Nirmal Chander Vij
Personal details
Born	5 December 1940; Trivandrum, Travancore, India; (now Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India)
Died	18 August 2024 (aged 83); Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal; Ati Vishisht Seva Medal; Vishisht Seva Medal
Nickname	Paddy
Military service
Allegiance	India
Branch/service	Indian Army
Years of service	13 December 1959 – 31 December 2002
Rank	General
Unit	Regiment of Artillery
Commands	Southern Army; Northern Army; XV Corps

General Sundararajan Padmanabhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM (5 December 1940 – 18 August 2024)^[1] was a General Officer of the Indian Army. He served as the 19th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army.^[2] General 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 he 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 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 the Chief of Army Staff, he was the GOC-in-C of Southern Command.

Padmanabhan retired on 31 December 2002, after completing more than 43 years of distinguished military service. He resided in Chennai after retirement.^[5] Padmanabhan authored two books. He died in Chennai on 18 August 2024, at the age of 83.^[6]

Books

Gen. Padmanabhan was 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

Rank	Component	Date of rank
Second Lieutenant	Indian Army	13 December 1959^[7]
Lieutenant	Indian Army	13 December 1961
Captain	Indian Army	13 December 1965^[8]
Major	Indian Army	13 December 1972^[9]
Lieutenant-Colonel	Indian Army	16 August 1978^[10]
Colonel	Indian Army	8 February 1985^[11]
Brigadier	Indian Army	13 April 1986^[12]
Major General	Indian Army	16 November 1991^[13]
Lieutenant-General	Indian Army	1 November 1993^[14]
General (COAS)	Indian Army	1 October 2000

References

^ "General Sundararajan Padmanabhan passes away at 83". Hindustan Times. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Lt. Gen. Padmanabhan, new Army Chief". The Hindu. 2 August 2000. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
^ "Navy chief to head COSC - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
^ "Veil off finger on N-button - Musharraf fires shot at outgoing indian army chief". Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2002.
^ "Bharat Rakshak :: Land Forces Site - General Sundararajan Padmanabhan". www.bharat-rakshak.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011.
^ Sivapriyan, E. T. B. "Former Army chief, General S Padmanabhan passes away at 83". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 17 September 1960. p. 239.
^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 5 March 1966. p. 142.
^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 24 March 1973. p. 375.
^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 6 December 1980. p. 1380.
^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 28 February 1987. p. 305.
^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 7 November 1987. p. 1515.
^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 16 November 1991. p. 1770.
^ "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

[1] "General Sundararajan Padmanabhan passes away at 83". Hindustan Times. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.

[newchief-2] "Lt. Gen. Padmanabhan, new Army Chief". The Hindu. 2 August 2000. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2009.

[3] "Navy chief to head COSC - Times of India". The Times of India. 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] Sivapriyan, E. T. B. "Former Army chief, General S Padmanabhan passes away at 83". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 19 August 2024.

[commission-7] "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 17 September 1960. p. 239.

[8] "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 5 March 1966. p. 142.

[9] "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 24 March 1973. p. 375.

[10] "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 6 December 1980. p. 1380.

[11] "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 28 February 1987. p. 305.

[12] "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 7 November 1987. p. 1515.

[13] "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 16 November 1991. p. 1770.

[14] "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 27 August 1994. p. 1594.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

v t e Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces
Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (1947–2019)	Sir Rob Lockhart Sir Thomas Elmhirst Sir Edward Parry K. M. Cariappa Sir Charles Pizey Subroto Mukerjee Kodandera Subayya Thimayya Ram Dass Katari Aspy Engineer Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri Arjan Singh Adhar Kumar Chatterji Sam Manekshaw Gopal Gurunath Bewoor Om Prakash Mehra Sourendra Nath Kohli Tapishwar Narain Raina Hrushikesh Moolgavkar Jal Cursetji Om Prakash Malhotra Idris Hasan Latif Ronald Lynsdale Pereira K. V. Krishna Rao Dilbagh Singh Oscar Stanley Dawson Arun Shridhar Vaidya Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani Denis La Fontaine Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni Surinder Mehra Sunith Francis Rodrigues Laxminarayan Ramdas Bipin Chandra Joshi S. K. Kaul Vijai Singh Shekhawat Shankar Roychowdhury Satish Sareen Ved Prakash Malik Sushil Kumar Sundararajan Padmanabhan Madhvendra Singh Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy Nirmal Chander Vij Arun Prakash Shashindra Pal Tyagi Joginder Jaswant Singh Sureesh Mehta Deepak Kapoor Pradeep Vasant Naik Nirmal Kumar Verma Norman Anil Kumar Browne Bikram Singh Arup Raha Sunil Lanba Birender Singh Dhanoa Bipin Rawat
Chief of Defence Staff and Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (2020–2021)	Bipin Rawat
Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (2021–2022)	M. M. Naravane (acting)
Chief of Defence Staff and Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (2022–)	Anil Chauhan
(**Seconded from the British Armed Forces)

v t e Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army
Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army (1947–1948)	Sir Rob Lockhart Sir Roy Butcher
Chief of the Army Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army (1948–1955)	Sir Roy Butcher** Kodandera M. Cariappa Rajendrasinhji Jadeja
Chief of the Army Staff (1955–present)	Rajendrasinhji Jadeja S. M. Shrinagesh Kodandera Subayya Thimayya Pran Nath Thapar Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam Sam Manekshaw Gopal Gurunath Bewoor Tapishwar Narain Raina Om Prakash Malhotra K. V. Krishna Rao Arun Shridhar Vaidya Krishnaswamy Sundarji Vishwa Nath Sharma Sunith Francis Rodrigues Bipin Chandra Joshi Shankar Roychowdhury Ved Prakash Malik Sundararajan Padmanabhan Nirmal Chander Vij Joginder Jaswant Singh Deepak Kapoor Vijay Kumar Singh Bikram Singh Dalbir Singh Bipin Rawat Manoj Mukund Naravane Manoj Pande Upendra Dwivedi (incumbent)
(**Seconded from the British Army)

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat
National	Germany United States
Other	IdRef