Thursday, July 31, 2014

Gen Dalbir Suhag takes over as Army Chief: Know all about the new Chief of Army Staff

New Delhi: Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, whose appointment as the Army chief had sparked a controversy, on Thursday took over as the 26th head of the 1.3 million strong force succeeding Gen Bikram Singh. Gen Suhag assumed charge after his predecessor handed over to him the Chief of Army Staff baton in his South Block office here. The new chief takes over at a time when the force is facing challenges of modernsation in its artillery, infantry and air defence arms and is also preparing itself for facing a possible multi-front war. Suhag was till now the Vice Chief of Army Staff. He will have a tenure of 30 months as the 26th Army Chief. Who is Suhag? Born in Jat family based in Bishan village in Haryana's Jhajjar district, 59-year-old Suhagis the son of a retired subedar. An alumnus of Sainik School in Chittorgarh, Suhag joined National Defence Academy in 1970 and was commissioned into the 4th battalion of the 5 Gorkha Rifles in June 1974. He had participated in the 1987 Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) operation in Sri Lanka. He commanded the 8 Mountain Division in Kargil from October 2007 to December 2008 and the 53 Infantry Brigade, which was involved in counter insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley, from July 2003 to March 2005. He also served as the Inspector General of the Special Frontier Force. Suhag was made the Vice Chief of Army Staff in December last year. Before that, he was the Eastern Army Commander from June 16, 2012. He was at the centre of a controversy triggered by 'discipline and vigilance' ban imposed on him by the then Army Chief Gen V K Singh in connection with an intelligence operation in Assam earlier. The ban on Suhag, the then 3 Corps Commander, was lifted soon after Gen Bikram Singh took over in May 2012. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had questioned the hurry in making the appointment and insisted that the matter be left to the next government. However, soon after the NDA government took over, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had said the new dispensation would continue with the appointment made during the UPA rule.

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