Bhupinder Singh Thakur

Lieutenant General Bhupinder Singh Thakur PVSM, AVSM (born 20 March 1946), or Bhopinder Singh, is a retired officer of the Indian Army who served as the 26th Vice Chief of the Army Staff from January to September 2005. He also served as General Officer Commanding of II Corps, Director General of the Assam Rifles and Lieutenant Governor of The Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He was the former military secretary to president K. R. Narayanan and to President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. He was the former military, naval and air attaché for East and Southern Africa headquartered at Addis Ababa. He currently resides in Chandigarh in India.

Lieutenant General Bhupinder Singh Thakur PVSM, AVSM
Vice Chief of the Army Staff
In office 15 January 2005 – 30 September 2005
Preceded by	Lt Gen Shantanu Choudhry
Succeeded by	Lt Gen S. Pattabhiraman
Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
In office 29 December 2006 – 30 June 2013
Appointed by	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Preceded by	Madan Mohan Lakhera
Succeeded by	A. K. Singh
Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry
Additional charge
In office 15 March 2008 – 22 July 2008
Appointed by	Pratibha Patil
Chief Minister	N. Rangaswamy
Preceded by	Mukut Mithi
Succeeded by	Govind Singh Gurjar
Personal details
Born	(1946-03-20)20 March 1946
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Military service
Allegiance	India
Branch/service	Indian Army
Years of service	1965–2005
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Central India Horse
Commands	II Corps (India) Director General, Assam Rifles Military Attaché to East and Southern Africa

Early life and education

Thakur was born on 20 March 1946. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the Central India Horse regiment of the Armoured Corps on 27 June 1965.^[1]

Military career

Throughout his career, Thakur held various prestigious appointments: Early in his career, he served as the Brigade Major, a key operational staff officer role.^[1] He was responsible for planning and coordinating operations in a desert terrain.^[1] He served as the Chief of Staff at the Army Training Command, overseeing training doctrines and policies.^[1] As the head of the Assam Rifles, he initiated programs addressing health issues like HIV/AIDS among troops and local populations, collaborating with organizations such as UNAIDS and the Assam AIDS Prevention Society.^[2] He served as the military, naval, and air attaché for East and Southern Africa, headquartered in Addis Ababa.^[3] He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2000 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2004 for distinguished service.^[1]

Vice Chief of the Army Staff

Thakur served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff from 15 January 2005 to 30 September 2005. In this capacity, he was responsible for fine-tuning strategic and operational concepts of the Army and providing impetus to modernization plans.^[1]

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

He was the former Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Following the resignation of Mukut Mithi as Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Singh was appointed to replace him on 13 March 2008 and sworn in on 15 March.^[4]

Post-retirement

After retiring in 2005, Thakur remained active in veteran affairs and participated in various events. Notably, in June 2022, he addressed veterans during the conclusion of an Indian Army motorcycle expedition in Manali, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 21 Sub Area.^[5]

In the year 2017, he published his book Bayoneting with Opinions and in 2019 published another book Continuing Opinions in Difficult Times. ^{[citation needed]}

Awards and decorations

• Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM)
• Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM)