Former Army Chief General Sundararajan Padmanabhan passed away at the age of 83. He breathed his last in Chennai. Born on 5 December 1940 in Trivandrum, Kerala, he was an alumnus of the prestigious Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun and National Defense Academy (NDA), Khadakvasla, Pune. General Sundararajan Padmanabhan took over the Indian Army as the 20th Army Chief on 30 September 2000.
He was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery after graduating from the Indian Military Academy (IAM) on 13 December 1959. His illustrious career included several prestigious command, staff and instructional postings, besides participating in numerous operations. He graduated from the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington and the National Defence College (NDC) in New Delhi in 1973.
Been part of many wars
General Sundararajan Padmanabhan commanded an independent light battery from August 1975 to July 1976 and later 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 many wars.
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General Sundararajan Padmanabhan served as Instructor Gunnery at the Artillery School in Deolali, Brigade Major of an infantry brigade and as Colonel General Staff of a Mountain Division from January 1983 to May 1985, where he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM). He has also spent two tenures as an instructor at the IMA.
People used to call him Paddy lovingly
Fondly known as Paddy among the Army men, he commanded an independent Artillery Brigade and a Mountain Brigade before attending the prestigious NDC Course in Delhi. He commanded an Infantry Brigade in Ranchi, Bihar and Punjab from December 1988 to February 1991 and then was appointed as General Officer Commanding an Infantry Division in Punjab from March 1991 to August 1992.
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General Sundararajan Padmanabhan served as Chief of Staff of 3 Corps from September 1992 to June 1993. After promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General, he was the Commander of 15 Corps in the Kashmir Valley from July 1993 to February 1995. It was during his tenure as 15 Corps Commander that the Army achieved major success over militants in Kashmir and could even reduce their operations. He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for his services as 15 Corps Commander.
Before being appointed Army Chief, General Sundararajan Padmanabhan was the GOC of Southern Command. He retired on 31 December 2002 after completing more than 43 years of distinguished military service.
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