Sarath Chand

Lieutenant General Sarath Chand, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM is an Indian politician and former Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) of the Indian Army. He served as Vice Chief of Army Staff from 13 January 2017 till his retirement on 31 May 2018.[1][2] He joined Bharatiya Janata Party on 6 April 2019.[3]

Lieutenant General Sarath Chand PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM
Born	Kottarakkara, Kerala
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Army
Years of service	June 1979 – 31 May 2018
Rank	Lieutenant General
Service number	IC-35904Y
Unit	Garhwal Rifles
Commands held	South Western Army IV Corps
Battles/wars	Operation Pawan Operation Rhino Operation Falcon
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal
Spouse(s)	Bindu

Early life and education

Chand was born in Kottarakkara, Kerala and is the son of late N. Prabhakaran Nair and G. Saradamma. He is an alumnus of Devi Vilasam Upper Primary School, Neduvathoor; Sainik School, Kazhakootam,[4] National Defence Academy, Pune and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He also attended Defence Services Staff College, Wellington; higher command course at Army War College, Mhow and a National Defence College, New Delhi.[5][6]

Military career

Chand was commissioned into Garhwal Rifles in June 1979. He has vast experience spanning over 38 years and has served in all operational theatres and held active combat leadership role at every stage of command. He has commanded a company in the Kargil Sector of Ladakh and another company during Operation Pawan as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. He has also commanded a battalion in Operation Rhino, targeted at infiltrators in Assam and Operation Falcon, along the Line of Actual control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh; an infantry brigade in the desert, a counter-insurgency force in the Kashmir valley, IV Corps (Tezpur) and GOC-C South Western Command (Jaipur). In addition, he has held numerous staff and instructional appointments including instructor of the commando wing in infantry school . He was also served in the United Nations mission in Somalia (UNOSOM-II).[6][1] He has also served as Colonel of the Regiment of Garhwal Rifles.[7]

He assumed the office of VCOAS on 13 January 2017 after General Bipin Rawat was promoted to Chief of Army Staff (COAS).[5][8][1] and retired on 31 May 2018, succeeded by Lt General Devraj Anbu.[2]

During 38 years of his career he has been awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2006, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2014, the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal in 2016 [6][9][10] and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018.[11]

Honours and decorations

	Param Vishisht Seva Medal	Uttam Yudh Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal	Vishisht Seva Medal	Special Service Medal	Siachen Glacier 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	UNOSOM II

Personal life

He is married to Bindu and they have two sons; Abhilash Chand, a major in the Indian Army Corps of Engineers and Abhijit Chand, a naval lieutenant.[6]

References

1. "Press Information Bureau". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
2. "Lt Gen Devraj Anbu is the new Vice Chief of Army Staff". The Indian Express. 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
3. https://www.financialexpress.com/elections/former-vice-chief-of-army-staff-sarath-chand-joins-bjp-says-inpired-by-pm-modi/1540066/
4. "Sainik Schools to be more affordable". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
5. "Lt General Sarath Chand appointed new Vice Chief of Army Staff". The Indian Express. 2017-01-12. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
6. "Lt Gen Sarath Chand, a Keralite, to replace Bipin Rawat as army vice-chief". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
7. "Lt Gen Cherish Mathson appointed Colonel of Regiment of Garhwal Rifles". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
8. Correspondent, Special. "Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand embarks on new role". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2017-10-08. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
9. "Press Information Bureau". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
10. "Press Information Bureau". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
11. "390 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced".

Military offices
Preceded by Arun Kumar Sahni	General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command 1 February 2016 – 12 January 2017	Succeeded by Abhay Krishna
Preceded by	General Officer Commanding IV Corps	Succeeded by
Preceded by Bipin Rawat	Vice Chief of Army Staff 13 January 2017 – 31 May 2018	Succeeded by Devraj Anbu