General
Dalbir Singh Suhag
PVSM UYSM AVSM VSM ADC
Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles
In office
25 April 2019 – 22 September 2022
PresidentRam Nath Kovind
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byAusaf Sayeed
Succeeded byKartik Pande[1]
25th Chief of the Army Staff
In office
31 July 2014 – 31 December 2016
PresidentPranab Mukherjee
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byBikram Singh
Succeeded byBipin Rawat
Personal details
Born (1954-12-28) 28 December 1954
Jhajjar, Haryana
Spouse
Namita Suhag
​
(m. 1984)​
Alma materSainik School, Chittorgarh
National Defence Academy
Indian Military Academy
Awards Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Uttam Yudh Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vishisht Seva Medal
Commander of the Legion of Merit
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of service16 June 1974 – 31 December 2016
Rank General
Unit4/5 Gorkha Rifles
CommandsChief of the Army Staff
Vice Chief of the Army Staff
Eastern Command
III Corps
8 Mountain Division
Special Frontier Force
53 Infantry Brigade
33 Rashtriya Rifles
Battles/warsOperation Pawan
Operation Vijay
Operation Parakram

General Dalbir Singh Suhag, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC (born 28 December 1954) is the former Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles and a former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army.[2] He was the 25th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army, serving from 31 July 2014 to 31 December 2016, and Vice Chief of the Army Staff prior to that.[3]

Early life and education

Singh, born on December 28, 1954, is a third-generation soldier, son of Ishari Devi and Ch Ramphal Singh, a Risaldar-major in the 18th Cavalry Regiment of the Indian Army. He is from Bishan village of Jhajjar district, Haryana, India.[4][3][5]

Singh completed his primary education in his native village and then moved to Sainik School, Chittorgarh, Rajasthan for his secondary education in 1965 before joining the National Defence Academy in 1970.[6] He holds master's degrees in Management Studies and Strategic Studies and has also completed the Executive Course offered by the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii as well as the Senior Mission Leaders Course of the United Nations Peace Keeping Centre in Nairobi.[4][7][8]

Military career

Singh was commissioned into the 4th battalion of the 5 Gorkha Rifles on 16 June 1974. He was an instructor at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun after which he served as a company commander during Operation Pawan in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. He commanded 33 Rashtriya Rifles in Nagaland. He then commanded the 53 Infantry Brigade, which was involved in counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley from July 2003 to March 2005, and the 8th Mountain Division in Kargil from October 2007 to December 2008.[4][9] He was also appointed as the Inspector General of the Special Frontier Force.[10][11]

Singh has completed various Indian and foreign courses including LDMC at College of Defence Management in 1997–98, National Defence College in 2006, Executive Course in USA in 2005 and Senior Mission Leaders Course (UN) in Kenya in 2007.[12]

General Officer Commanding III Corps

Singh took command of the III Corps, headquartered in Dimapur, in northeast Indian state of Nagaland. In 2012, he was put under a 'Discipline and Vigilance' ban by the then outgoing Army Chief General V K Singh. Singh's unit had allegedly botched up a military intelligence operation in Jorhat, Assam, which happened during his tenure as the III Corps commander.[13][14] The 'Discipline and Vigilance' ban was, however, subsequently revoked by the next army chief General Bikram Singh with the concurrence of Minister of Defence A K Antony.[13]

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command

After promotion to Army Commander grade, he took over as the General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Eastern Army based in Kolkata on 16 June 2012[15][12] and served it that capacity until 31 December 2013.

Vice Chief of the Army staff

Singh replaced Lt Gen Sri Krishna Singh as the Vice Chief of Army staff (VCOAS) on 31 December 2013. He held this post until 30 July 2014.[3][9]

Chief of the Army staff

On 14 May 2014, Government of India announced its decision to appoint Singh as next Chief of the Army staff. His name was recommended by the Defence Ministry of India to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) which was headed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He assumed charge as Chief of the Army staff on 31 July 2014 following the retirement of General Bikram Singh, and served in that capacity until 31 December 2016.[16][17] He is the second officer from the Gorkha Rifles to become the Chief of the Army, after the late Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.[4][3][13]

Row over appointment

On 7 July 2014, the Supreme Court of India declined to stay or stall Singh's appointment as next Army Chief,[18] in response to a petition filed by Lt Gen Ravi Dastane challenging his appointment as Eastern Army Commander.[19] The Bench observed that there is no reason and urgency to stay the appointment [20] and that the petition pertained to Singh's appointment as army commander and hence issues relating to appointment of army chief did not have to be dealt with at this stage.[18] Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi representing the Government of India, also justified the appointment, arguing that there was nothing in the allegations levelled and that Singh fulfilled all the criteria for the post including being senior-most in the seniority list. He also said that the ban imposed on Singh in 2012 had been lifted and he had been discharged from all charges.[20] Earlier on 10 June 2014, the central government had told the Supreme Court that the alleged lapses which were made as grounds to impose disciplinary ban on Army Vice Chief Dalbir Singh by then Army Chief V K Singh, were "premeditated", "vague" and "illegal".[21]

Honours and decorations

Military awards

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal
Samanya Seva Medal Special Service Medal Operation Vijay Star Operation Vijay Medal
Operation Parakram 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

General Suhag has received the following medals and decorations throughout his military career:

Dates of rank

InsigniaRankComponentDate of rank
Second LieutenantIndian Army16 June 1974[24]
LieutenantIndian Army16 June 1976[25]
CaptainIndian Army16 June 1980[26]
MajorIndian Army16 June 1985[27]
Lieutenant-ColonelIndian Army30 December 1994[28]
ColonelIndian Army1 July 1997[29]
BrigadierIndian Army1 August 2004[30]
Major GeneralIndian Army1 February 2008 (seniority from 2 July 2007)[31]
Lieutenant-GeneralIndian Army19 July 2010[32]
General
(COAS)		Indian Army1 August 2014[33]

Personal life

Singh is married to Namita Suhag. She is a graduate from Delhi University with a degree in political science. The couple have three children, two daughters and a son.[8] Known as a sportsperson, he takes special interest in physical activities like riding and swimming. His personal hobbies include daily run of 10 km, horse-riding and playing golf.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Shri Kartik Pande appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Seychelles".
  2. ↑ "Former Army chief Dalbir Suhag appointed Indian envoy to Seychelles". The Economic Times. PTI. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Lt Gen Suhag appointed as next Army chief". The Hindu. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "A Profile of India's 26th Army Chief". Press Information Bureau. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Dalbir Singh Suhag is the new Army chief". Moneylife. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "General who lets his dog disobey". Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  7. ↑ "GENERAL DALBIR SINGH, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC". Indian Army. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Lt-Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag to be next Army Chief". The Statesman. 14 May 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag will be next vice chief of army". DNA. 12 December 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "Lt-Gen Dalbir Singh appointed next Army chief". India Today. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "CBI turns down Army Chief's request to investigate serving general". NDTV. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag named India's new Army chief". The Economic Times. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 "Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag named new Army chief". The Times of India. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Yadav, Nilesh (26 May 2012). "Army Chief V K Singh clarifies row about his Show Cause Notice". Bihar Prabha (Biharprabha News). Archived from the original on 3 May 2014.
  15. ↑ Pandit, Rajat (12 May 2014). "Govt set to announce Lt Gen Suhag as next Army chief despite BJP objections". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Will be the Next Chief of Army Staff". Press Information Bureau. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag takes over as new Army chief". Rediff.com. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  18. 1 2 "SC refuses to stall appointment of Lt Gen Suhag as next Army chief". Indian Express. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "Supreme Court refuses to stay Lt Gen Dalbir Suhag's appointment as Army Chief". ZeeNews. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  20. 1 2 "Supreme Court refuses to stay appointment of Dalbir Singh Suhag as next Army Chief". The Hindu. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  21. ↑ "Grounds for imposing ban on Lt Gen Suhag was 'premeditated': Centre to Supreme Court". The Economic Times. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  22. ↑ Sura, Ajay (19 August 2018). "General Suhag awarded US 'Legion of Merit'". The Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  23. ↑ "General Orders No. 2018–33" (PDF). Washington, DC: Headquarters Department of the Army. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  24. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 16 August 1975. p. 1082.
  25. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 16 October 1976. p. 1427.
  26. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 20 June 1981. p. 841.
  27. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 28 February 1987. p. 305.
  28. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 13 April 1996. p. 553.
  29. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 30 October 1999. p. 1475.
  30. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 25 November 2006. p. 1756.
  31. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 21 February 2009. p. 251.
  32. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 May 2011. p. 964.
  33. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 8 November 2014. p. 2010.
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