The Indian military’s new chief of staff, General Anil Chauhan, stated that the three services will work together to overcome any obstacles on Friday.
Over nine months after the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, perished in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu, CDS General Anil Chauhan, a former Eastern Army Officer, assumed leadership as the country’s senior-most military commander.
General Chauhan, who was born on May 18th, 1961, joined the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981. His elevation to the top position coincides with the ongoing border dispute between Indian and Chinese soldiers in eastern Ladakh. He is known as an authority on China.
When Indian planes bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan in 2019, he served as the Army’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO).
On May 31, 2021, while he was the Eastern Army Commander, CDS Chauhan announced his retirement from the military. Following his retirement, he worked as the military advisor to Ajit Doval, the NSA who oversaw the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS).
General Chauhan visited the National War Memorial inside the India Gate complex to pay respects to India’s dead warriors before taking over the CDS.
A tri-service guard of honour was also presented to him on the South Block lawn in the Raisina Hills. The first former three-star officer to re-enter active duty with four-star status is General Chauhan.
