Former Army Chief General Padmanabhan passes away at the age of 83
CHENNAI: Ex-Army Chief General Sundararajan Padmanabhan passed away at his home in Chennai on Monday. He was 83. The general is survived by his wife and two children. The funeral will be held on Tuesday morning.
An alumnus of the prestigious Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun, and the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla in Pune, General Padmanabhan served as the Chief of Army Staff from October 2000 to December 2002, leading the Indian Army during Operation Parakram.
He also held the position of Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Born in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on December 5 1940, he was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery after graduating from the Indian Military Academy on December 13, 1959.
Governor RN Ravi, Chief Minister MK Stalin, General Officer Commanding in Chief Lt Gen Karanbir Singh Brar and Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian paid tributes to the former army chief.
Stalin in his message said, “General S Padmanabhan’s exemplary leadership and unwavering dedication to our nation’s security will always be remembered.”
His illustrious career included several prestigious command, staff and instructional postings, besides having participated in numerous operations, a release said.
A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington in 1973 and the National Defence College (NDC) at New Delhi, General Padmanabhan commanded an Independent Light Battery from August 1975 to July 1976 and later on commanded the Gazala Mountain Regiment, one of the oldest artillery regiments of the Indian Army from September 1977 to March 1980, the release added.
He served as Chief of Staff, 3 Corps from September 1992 to June 1993. After his promotion to Lieutenant General, he was commander of the 15 Corps in the Kashmir valley from July 1993 to February 1995. It was during his tenure as the 15 Corps Commander, that the Army made big gains over the militants in Kashmir and could even scale down its operations. He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for his services as the 15 Corps Commander.
General Padmanabhan was also Director General Military Intelligence. Before being appointed as the Chief of Army Staff, he was the GOC of Southern Command. He retired on December 31, 2002, after completing more than 43 years of service.
