Anil Chauhan

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Anil Chauhan
File:Anil Chauhan Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).jpg


Official portrait, 2022

Office 2nd Chief of Defence Staff
Office 58th Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
Office General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command



Term start Template:Start date


Predecessor Bipin Rawat


Predecessor Manoj Mukund Naravane (Acting)




Born 1961-05-18 (age 65)
Born Gwana, Pauri Garhwal district, Uttar Pradesh, India
(now in Uttarakhand, India)[1]






Spouse Anupama Chauhan
Children 1
Alma mater Template:Plainlist



General Anil Chauhan Template:Post-nominals (born 18 May 1961) is a four-star general of the Indian Army, who is the current and 2nd Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces since 30 September 2022.[2][3]

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla(58 Course) join in 1977 and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun,(68 Course) join in 1980. General Chauhan was commissioned into the 11th Gorkha Rifles in 1981, spanning a military career of four decades.[2] During his latter years of service, General Chauhan commanded the Baramulla-based 19th Infantry Division of the Northern Command as major general, later serving as the commanding officer of the Dimapur-based III Corps from 2017 to 2018, in the capacity of lieutenant general.[4][5][6] In January 2018, he was appointed Director General Military Operations (DGMO), during the course of which he oversaw the execution of two key military operations: the 2019 retaliatory airstrikes against Pakistan and Operation Sunrise - a joint India-Myanmar counter-insurgency offensive.[7]

In September 2019, General Chauhan was appointed as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command upon the elevation of his predecessor, Manoj Mukund Naravane, as Vice Chief of Army Staff, serving in the role until his retirement in May 2021.[8][9] Following his retirement from active military service, General Chauhan served as a military advisor to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), headed by Ajit Doval, India's fifth National Security Advisor.[7]

On 28 September 2022, a retired General Chauhan was recalled from retirement and was appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) by the Narendra Modi-led government, following a June 2022 notification which permitted military retirees under the age of 62 to be qualified for the post.[10] Assuming charge two days later, he became the first three-star retiree to be appointed to the post, traditionally held by a four-star officer.[10] He succeeded General Bipin Rawat, the inaugural holder of the post, who had died nine months earlier in a helicopter crash in December 2021.[11]

Early life and initial career

Born to a Garhwali Rajput family on 18 May 1961, Chauhan hailed from the Pauri Garhwal district, Uttarakhand.[12] After completing his schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya at Fort William, Kolkata, Gen Chauhan joined the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla (58 Course) in year 1977 and later went to the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun,(68 Course) in year 1980 subsequently graduating in 1981.[13][14]

After graduating from the IMA in June 1981, Gen Chauhan was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 6th Battalion of the 11th Gorkha Rifles (6/11 GR).

Later career

In July 2019, he was appointed to succeed Manoj Mukund Naravane as GOC-in-C, Eastern Command when the latter became Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS) on 31 August.[15]

Gen Chauhan superannuated on 31 May 2021.[16]

Return to military service

Chief of Defence Staff

Template:See also

On 8 December 2021, Gen. Bipin Rawat, the inaugural Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), tragically died when his Mil Mi-17 helicopter carrying him and 13 others, crashed in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.[17] Gen Rawat, who had only been in the post for twenty-three months, had no immediate successor to him, as the position of CDS had no defined order of succession, which led to it becoming vacant.[18] Amidst growing uncertainty over the impending choice of appointing a successor, the Union Government appointed Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane, the then-Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), as an acting functionary to the position of Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (Chairman COSC), as an interim successor in an effort to temporarily oversee Gen Rawat's responsibilities, while simultaneously looking for an apt successor.[19] Gen Naravane, then the senior most chief amongst the three branches of the armed forces, was himself reported to be a plausible successor; however, his retirement in April 2022 put an end to those speculations.[20][21]

In June 2022, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued a gazette notification, which stated that any three-star officer under the age of 62 - lieutenant general, vice admiral or air marshal, whether serving or retired, would be considered qualified candidates eligible to appointed as CDS.[22] The notification subsequently made Gen Chauhan, who had already retired as a lieutenant general at the age of 60, one of the key frontrunners in the pool of qualified candidates.[23] Around the time of the notification's release, Gen Chauhan was one of 14 candidates from the army, comprising both serving and retired commanders, who were eligible for the position.[24]

On 28 September 2022, the MoD released an official statement announcing that Gen Chauhan had been selected as the new CDS, which subsequently concluded the position's nine-month vacancy.[25][26]

Personal life

General Chauhan is married to Anupama, an artist.[13] The couple have a daughter, Pragya.[13] An art enthusiast, Gen Chauhan is a keen admirer of Tibetan art, a fact which he attributed to his wife.[13] As a general officer and later as CDS, Gen Chauhan's life bore several similarities to Gen Rawat's; both men were commissioned in the same regiment, the 11th Gorkha Rifles and also hailed from the same ancestral region, the Pauri Garhwal district.[27] As fellow officers, Gen Rawat was said to have held Gen Chauhan with high esteem; in 2022, when a military garrison along the Line of Actual Control was renamed after him, Gen Chauhan was amongst the dignitaries present at the renaming ceremony.[28][29] Chauhan is also said to be close with Ajit Doval, with whom he had closely worked with during his retirement.[30]

Apart from his service in the military, Gen Chauhan authored two books: Aftermath of A Nuclear Attack - an analytic detailing the effects of a nuclear fallout, which was published in 2010 and History of 11 Gorkha Rifles Regimental Centre, a chronicle of the regiment he wrote during his stint as its commander.[13][31] According to Chauhan's known acquaintances, he is reputed to be an steady golfer and an ardent collector of masks.[32][33]

Honours and decorations

Over the span of his military career of four decades, Gen Chauhan received numerous military decorations, several notable among them being: the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, the Sena Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal.[34][35][36]

File:Param Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg File:Uttam Yudh Seva Medal ribbon.svg Template:Ribbon devices File:Sena Medal ribbon.svg
File:Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg File:IND Samanya Seva medal.svg File:IND Special Service Medal Ribbon.svg File:IND Operation Parakram medal.svg
Template:Ribbon devices Template:Ribbon devices Template:Ribbon devices Template:Ribbon devices
Template:Ribbon devices Template:Ribbon devices Template:Ribbon devices Template:Ribbon devices
Param Vishisht Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Sena Medal
Vishisht Seva Medal Samanya Seva Medal Special Service Medal Operation Parakram Medal
Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Service Medal Videsh Seva Medal 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal MONUA

Dates of rank

Insignia Rank Component Date of rank
File:Second Lieutenant of the Indian Army.svg Second Lieutenant Indian Army 13 June 1981[37]
File:Lieutenant of the Indian Army.svg Lieutenant Indian Army 13 June 1983[38]
File:Captain of the Indian Army.svg Captain Indian Army 13 June 1986[39]
File:Major of the Indian Army.svg Major Indian Army 13 June 1992[40]
File:Lieutenant Colonel of the Indian Army.svg Lieutenant-Colonel Indian Army 16 December 2004[41]
File:Colonel of the Indian Army.svg Colonel Indian Army 1 October 2005[42]
File:Brigadier of the Indian Army.svg Brigadier Indian Army 1 June 2009 (seniority from 8 June 2008)[43]
File:Major General of the Indian Army.svg Major General Indian Army 1 January 2014 (seniority from 7 October 2011)[44]
File:Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.svg Lieutenant General Indian Army 1 July 2016[45]
File:Rank insignia for India CDS.svg General
(CDS)		 Indian Armed Forces
(tri-service)		 30 September 2022

References

  1. ↑ Lt Gen Chauhan's village in Uttarakhand celebrates his appointment as CDS. Deccan Herald(2022-09-29). Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lt General Anil Chauhan (retd) appointed as new Chief of Defence Staff. www.aninews.in(28 September 2022).
  3. ↑ General Anil Chauhan takes charge as Chief of Defence Staff. India Today. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  4. ↑ Archive - Military Digest Disabled soldier awaits relief, AFT principal bench upset at orders not being implemented. indianexpress.com(13 June 2022).
  5. ↑ Lt. Gen. Anil Chauhan is new GOC 3 Corps. www.easternmirrornagaland.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  6. ↑ Lt Gen Anil Chauhan takes over as GOC Spear Corps 20170101. e-pao.net. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Centre appoints 'China expert' Lt Gen Anil Chauhan as new CDS. theprint.in(28 September 2022).
  8. ↑ Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan takes over as Eastern Army Commander, Gupta, Jayanta. The Times of India(2019-09-01).
  9. ↑ Lt Gen Naravane relinquishes charge of Eastern Command, to take over as VCOAS(2019-08-31).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Why the Elevation of Lt Gen. Anil Chauhan as CDS Is Extraordinary. thewire.in(29 September 2022).
  11. ↑ Next Chief appointed Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retired) appointed as the next Chief of Defence Staff. www.thehindubusinessline.com(28 September 2022).
  12. ↑ Who is Lt Gen Anil Chauhan: Here's everything about India's new Chief of Defence Staff. www.freepressjournal.in(28 September 2022).
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Calcutta shaped me as a soldier: Lt Gen. Anil Chauhan. www.telegraphindia.com.
  14. ↑ Lt General Anil Chauhan (retd) is India's 2nd Chief of Defence Staff, Negi, Manjeet. India Today(September 28, 2022). Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  15. ↑ Naravane appointed as new Vice Chief of Indian Army, four army commanders appointed. The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  16. ↑ Lt Gen Manoj Pande relinquishes Command of Andaman & Nicobar Command. Press Information Bureau (Government of India). Press Information Bureau(31 May 2021). Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  17. ↑ Archive - Bipin Rawat: Tributes for India's top general who died in helicopter crash. www.bbc.com(9 December 2021).
  18. ↑ DNA Explainer: Amid no clear line of succession, why it's necessary to appoint a new CDS. www.dnaindia.com(9 December 2021).
  19. ↑ Army Chief General MM Naravane takes charge as Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee. www.newindianexpress.com(15 December 2021).
  20. ↑ Chief of the Army Staff Gen Naravane tipped to be new CDS; Lt Gen MC Pande to succeed as COAS. government.economictimes.indiatimes.com(12 April 2022).
  21. ↑ General Naravane hangs boots, but mystery over next CDS remains. www.thehindubusinessline.com(30 April 2022).
  22. ↑ Centre makes key changes in eligibility rules for appointment. timesofindia.indiatimes.com(7 June 2022).
  23. ↑ Govt appoints Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (Retd) as new Chief of Defence Staff. timesofindia.indiatimes.com(28 September 2022).
  24. ↑ Archice - Govt notifies eligibility for appointment of Chief of Defence Staff. www.business-standard.com(8 June 2022).
  25. ↑ Archive - PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (DEFENCE WING). www.mod.gov.in(28 September 2022).
  26. ↑ Who Is Anil Chauhan, The New Chief Of Defence Staff?. www.outlookindia.com(28 September 2022).
  27. ↑ Lt General Anil Chauhan Named India's New Chief Of Defence Staff. www.businessworld.in(28 September 2022).
  28. ↑ Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) appointed new Chief of Defence staff. www.telegraphindia.com(28 September 2022).
  29. ↑ Military garrison close to LAC renamed after CDS Bipin Rawat. v(12 September 2022).
  30. ↑ New Chief of Defence Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retired) appointed as the next Chief of Defence Staff. ww.thehindubusinessline.com(28 September 2022).
  31. ↑ Aftermath of a Nuclear Attack: A Case Study on Post-strike Operations{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(2010). ISBN 9788182744905
  32. ↑ New CDS a border expert, collector of masks, keen golfer. www.hindustantimes.com(29 September 2022).
  33. ↑ Archive - A journey around the world, one mask at a time. www.telegraphindia.com(20 April 2020).
  34. ↑ LIST OF PERSONNEL BEING CONFERRED GALLANTRY AND DISTINGUISHED AWARDS ON THE OCCASION OF REPUBLIC DAY-2020. static.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  35. ↑ 390 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced.
  36. ↑ Ashok Chakra Awarded to NK Neeraj Kumar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles (Posthumous) 374 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced. archive.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  37. ↑ Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)(24 July 1982).
  38. ↑ Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)(19 November 1983).
  39. ↑ Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)(21 March 1987).
  40. ↑ Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)(19 December 1992).
  41. ↑ Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)(15 October 2005).
  42. ↑ Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)(16 September 2006).
  43. ↑ Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)(25 June 2011).
  44. ↑ Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)(15 August 2015).
  45. ↑ Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)(31 December 2016).

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