Sarath Chand

Lieutenant General Sarath Chand, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM is an Indian politician and former Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) of the Indian Army. He served as Vice Chief of Army Staff from 13 January 2017 till his retirement on 31 May 2018.^[1][2] He joined Bharatiya Janata Party on 6 April 2019.^[3]

Lieutenant General Sarath Chand PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM
Sarath Chand and Bipin Rawat during superannuation
38th Vice Chief of the Army Staff
In office 13 January 2017 – 31 May 2018
Chief of Army Staff	Bipin Rawat
Preceded by	Bipin Rawat
Succeeded by	Devraj Anbu
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command
In office 1 February 2016 – 12 January 2017
Preceded by	Arun K Sahni
Succeeded by	Abhay Krishna
Personal details
Born	Neduvathoor, Kottarakkara, Kerala
Spouse	Bindu
Military service
Allegiance	India
Branch/service	Indian Army
Years of service	June 1979 – 31 May 2018
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	11 Garhwal Rifles
Commands	South Western Command IV Corps 11 Garhwal Rifles
Battles/wars	Operation Pawan Operation Rhino Operation Falcon
Service number	IC-35904Y
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal

Early life and education

Chand was born in Kottarakkara, Kerala and is the son of late N. Prabhakaran Nair and G. Saradamma. He is an alumnus of Devi Vilasam Upper Primary School, Neduvathoor; Sainik School, Kazhakootam,^[4] National Defence Academy, Pune and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He also attended Defence Services Staff College, Wellington; higher command course at Army War College, Mhow and a National Defence College, New Delhi.^[5][6]

Military career

Chand was commissioned into 11th Battalion the Garhwal Rifles in June 1979. He has vast experience spanning over 38 years and has served in all operational theatres and held active combat leadership role at every stage of command. He has commanded a company in the Kargil Sector of Ladakh and another company during Operation Pawan as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. He has also commanded a battalion in Operation Rhino, targeted at infiltrators in Assam and Operation Falcon, along the Line of Actual control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh; an infantry brigade in the desert, a counter-insurgency force in the Kashmir valley, IV Corps (Tezpur) and GOC-C South Western Command (Jaipur). In addition, he has held numerous staff and instructional appointments including instructor of the commando wing in infantry school . He was also served in the United Nations mission in Somalia (UNOSOM-II).^[6][1] He has also served as Colonel of the Regiment of Garhwal Rifles.^[7]

He assumed the office of VCOAS on 13 January 2017 after General Bipin Rawat was promoted to Chief of Army Staff (COAS).^[5][8][1] and retired on 31 May 2018, succeeded by Lt General Devraj Anbu.^[2]

During 38 years of his career he has been awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2006, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2014, the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal in 2016 ^[6][9][10] and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018.^[11]

Honours and decorations

	Param Vishisht Seva Medal	Uttam Yudh Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal	Vishisht Seva Medal	Special Service Medal	Siachen Glacier 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	UNOSOM II

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date of rank
	Second Lieutenant	Indian Army	9 June 1979[12]
	Lieutenant	Indian Army	9 June 1981
	Captain	Indian Army	31 July 1984[13]
	Major	Indian Army	9 June 1990[14]
	Lieutenant-Colonel	Indian Army	1 January 2000[15]
	Colonel	Indian Army	31 October 2004[16]
	Brigadier	Indian Army	8 April 2008 (seniority from 6 July 2007)[17]
	Major General	Indian Army	30 April 2012 (seniority from 4 October 2010)[18]
	Lieutenant-General	Indian Army	28 October 2014[19]

Personal life

He is married to Bindu and they have two sons; Abhilash Chand, a major in the Indian Army Corps of Engineers and Abhijit Chand, a former naval lieutenant.^[6]