New Delhi: The Modi government’s decision to give a one-month extension to Army chief General Manoj Pande, who was set to retire this month end, has caused a flutter in the defence circles.
While there continues to be several speculations on why the government did so, official channels have been mum. Speculations within the Army community range from the decision being deferred because it is too close to election results to the government seeking to go in for a deep selection.
But one thing is certain that extension has opened up the possibility of the government going in for someone specific rather than just mere seniority.
Sources within the military analysing the developments said that while vice-chief Lt. Gen. Upendra Dwivedi could still be chosen by the new government once sworn in since he is the senior-most, others whose names were also sent to the Cabinet Committee on Appointments are strong contenders now.
But in case, the government decides to go in for someone else, the natural line of succession will change. If the principle of seniority is taken into consideration, the line of next two Army chiefs are clear after Lt. Gen. Dwivedi steps down.
Here are the main contenders for the top post.
Lt. Gen. Upendra Dwivedi
Lt Gen Dwivedi, the current Army vice-chief, is the natural contender since he is the senior most among the lot of five names that was sent to the Appointments Committee. Prior to taking over this position in February, he was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command which looks after the borders with both Pakistan and China.
While the borders with China saw the stand-off continuing, the Poonch-Rajouri area in Jammu and Kashmir saw a series of setbacks to the security forces with terrorists managing to carry out several attacks and ambushes with impunity.
While he was the Northern Army commander, the tactical responsibility of the ground situation lies with the Corps Commander, sources said.
Known to constantly push for infusion of more technology into the Northern Command, Lt. Gen. Dwivedi is an alumnus of Sainik School, Rewa (Madhya Pradesh) and was commissioned into 18 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles in 1984, a unit he later commanded.
Lt. Gen. Ajai Kumar Singh
Southern Army Commander Lt. Gen. A.K. Singh is the second in seniority within the Army.
Though he and Lt. Gen. Dwivedi are from the Indian Military Academy’s (IMA) same batch, the latter is senior by merit rank according to Army rules. Lt. Gen. Singh. is senior to him in age by a few weeks.
Sources in the defence establishment said that either of them could still be appointed as the Army chief like in the case of former IAF chief Air Chief marshal R.K.S Bhaduria who was appointed on the day he was to retire.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Pune and the IMA, Dehradun, the General Officer was commissioned into 7/11 Gorkha Rifles in December 1984, the same unit of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat.
He commanded 1/11 Gorkha Rifles on Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, an elite brigade in the Western Theatre, a frontline Counter Insurgency Force in the Kashmir Valley, and 33 Corps in North East.
Lt. Gen. Suchindra Kumar
The third in line of seniority is Lt. Gen. Suchindra Kumar, the current Northern Army Commander.
An alumnus of Sainik School, Bijapur, he was commissioned in First Battalion of The Assam Regiment in June 1985. He replaced Lt. Gen. Dwivedi as the Northern Army Commander in February, but was the vice-chief (Army Commander rank post) for nearly a year.
His command appointments were in varied field terrains including a 59 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion (Assam), 120 Infantry Brigade, and then Brigadier General Staff of a Corps in the North East. As a Major General, he led a Division along the Line of Control and as Corps Commander, he led the Nagrota-based 16 Corps.
In his Staff appointments, he has been the Deputy Director General CS, Quartermaster General Branch, and Additional Director General, Military Intelligence (Army) at Integrated Headquarters of MoD (Army). He has also served as Director General Military Intelligence, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy) and besides being vice-chief.
Lt. Gen. N.S. Raja Subramani
He was commissioned in Garhwal Rifles in 1985, the same year as Lt. Gen. Kumar, but is a course junior to him.
He had commanded a battalion during ‘Operation Rhino’, an Infantry Brigade along the International Boundary and the Black Cat Division in Eastern Command. He also commanded the Uttar Bharat Area in 2020 and the Pakistan focussed Kharga Strike Corps at Ambala.
In his Staff Appointment, he has been Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade, Assistant Military Secretary in the Military Secretary Branch, Colonel General Staff at Headquarters Eastern Command, Deputy Director General of Military Intelligence in the Integrated Headquarters of MoD, Brigadier General Staff in Eastern Command and Chief of Staff at Headquarters Northern Command among others.
The sources said that Lt. Gen. Subramani was already stated to come to New Delhi as the vice- chief and that he would have been replaced by Lt. Gen. Anindya Sengupta as the new Central Army Commander.
Lt. Gen. Johnson P. Mathew
Lt. Gen. Mathew is currently the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) and reports to the CDS. He was commissioned into the Punjab Regiment on 14 December 1985 from the IMA. He has experience of both staff and command appointment in crucial counter insurgency operations in Northern and Eastern theatres, besides Commanding the 3 Corps.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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