General Padmanabhan was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for his services as the 15 Corps Commander.
Published Aug 19, 2024 | 12:51 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 19, 2024 | 7:40 PM
Ex-Army Chief general Sundararajan Padmanabhan. (X)
Ex-Army Chief General Sundararajan Padmanabhan passed away at his residence in Chennai, on Monday, 19 August.
Aged 83 years, Padmanabhan retired from the army in 2002, after serving for 43 years. Many Indian Army officials have condoled his death.
Sunararajan Padmanabhan was born in Thiruvananthapuram in 1940, and the Indian Army in 1959.
He commanded an Independent Artillery Brigade and a Mountain Brigade before attending the prestigious NDC course at Delhi.
General Padmanabhan was also awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for his services as the 15 Corps Commander.
After holding various positions, in the year 2000, he rose to the rank of the Chief of the Indian Army. After holding this position for two years, he retired in 2002 and settled in Chennai. He has written two books about the army and the various challenges he faced during his 43-year army career.
He served as the Chief of Army Staff from 30 September, 2000, to 31 December, 2002.
On Monday, due to ill health, and age-related issues, the ex-Army Chief breathed his last. Indian Army officials and relatives are paying tribute to his body at his residence in Adyar, Chennai. The last rites will be held on Tuesday, 20 August, evening.
A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington in 1973 and the National Defence College (NDC) at New Delhi, he commanded an Independent Light Battery from August 1975 to July 1976 and later on commanded the Gazala Mountain Regiment from September 1977 to March 1980.
This mountain regiment is one of the oldest artillery regiments of the Indian Army and has participated in several wars.
He served as Instructor Gunnery at the School of Artillery in Deolali, been a Brigade Major of an infantry brigade on its raising and served as Colonel General Staff of a Mountain Division from January 1983 to May 1985, where he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM). General Padmanabhan has also spent two tenures as an instructor at the IMA.
He commanded an Infantry Brigade from December 1988 to February 1991 at Ranchi, Bihar and Punjab and was then appointed as the General Officer Commanding of an Infantry Division in Punjab from March 1991 to August 1992.
He served as Chief of Staff, 3 Corps from September 1992 to June 1993. After his promotion to Lieutenant General, he was commander of the 15 Corps in the Kashmir valley from July 1993 to February 1995.
In his illustrious career, the period between 1993 to 1995 was the most prestigious, when he held the position of General Officer of XV Corps in Kashmir Valley. It was during his tenure as the 15 Corps Commander, that the Army made big gains over the militants in Kashmir and could even scale down its operations.
Pravin Swahney, an ex-Army official took to X, to share his fond memories with the general.
Calling him a secular and honest officer, Swahney wrote, “Gen Padmanabhan was a secular, intellectually honest & principled leader. Being from Artillery, I was able to strike an interactive relationship with him. He told me that he had advised his successor Gen NC Vij to not erect the fence on the Line of Control as it would instill a defensive mindset in troops; given the inclement weather would need huge money to maintain & was not impregnable.”
Gen Padmanabhan was a secular, intellectually honest & principled leader. Being from Artillery, I was able to strike an interactive relationship with him. He told me that he had advised his successor Gen NC Vij to not erect the fence on the Line of Control as it would instill… https://t.co/2oSnY99LtF
— Pravin Sawhney (@PravinSawhney) August 19, 2024
Another veteran, Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah also expressed his condolences on X.
Heartfelt condolences on demise of former COAS, Gen S Padmanabhan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, at Chennai, yesterday
I had the honour of serving as his Col (GS) in Arrow Div & subsequently he as Chief, gave me str to fulfill the Army’s Mission of restoring peace in Gujarat in Jan2002. pic.twitter.com/8QuhBHm9KM— Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah (Veteran) (@zoomshah) August 19, 2024
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula, with PTI inputs)
