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| With new CDS, Lucknow's 11 Gorkhas make history again | | | |  New Delhi SEPTEMBER 28: There is sure to be unbridled elation at the 11 Gorkha Regimental Centre in Lucknow. It is from the ranks of these men that the country got its second Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on Wednesday as Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) was officially named for the post.
The announcement came less than ten months after the fatal helicopter crash on the misty morning of December 8, near Tamil Nadu’s hilly Coonoor area, that claimed the life of India’s first CDS General Bipin Rawat besides 13 others including his wife. Both Gen Rawat and Lt Gen Anil Chauhan—interestingly both Garwalis hailing from Uttarakhand—had cut their teeth as young officers of 11 Gorkha Regiment.With this appointment, Lt Gen Chauhan may also become the first-ever officer in India’s military history to don the uniform again—with full regalia—after having hung it up after his retirement from the service on May 31, 2021. Gen Rawat was named the CDS on December 31, 2021, just a day before he was to retire, in a continuation of his 41-year-long military career.After retirement, Indian military officials wear their uniforms only for ceremonial events. A very significant feature of this appointment is the fact that with the retirement age of the CDS being set at 65 years, Lt Gen Chauhan is likely to get a very long term of 3 years 8 months—a perfect time frame to implement the government’s policy for the country’s military
Besides keeping continuity in view, in this appointment, the government has been careful not to disturb the applecart of seniority as Gen Chauhan is senior to all the serving chiefs of the Army, Navy and the IAF. Like most commanders of the Indian Army, the CDS has served substantial stints in the country’s two prime hotspots of the Northeast and Kashmir facing Pakistan on one side and China on the other.As a major-general, he commanded the 19th Mountain Division (Dagger Division) headquartered in the critical Baramulla sector in the Northern Command besides serving as the chief of staff at the Srinagar-headquartered 15 Corps. As Lt General, after serving as the Director-General Military Operations (DGMO), the officer commanded the Dimapur-headquartered 3 Corps.
He subsequently became the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command from September 2019 to his retirement in May 2021. As the CDS, the work is cut out for Gen Chauhan—to take forward the theaterization and integration effort of the Indian military that will involve landmark changes in the very way the army, navy and IAF operate.An important aspect will be to balance the 'guns-butter' dilemma even as the Indian military undertakes a modernization and indigenization effort in the face of scarce funds. Very vital will be a Herculean effort on part of Gen Chauhan to achieve that perfect coordination between the three wings of the armed forces and other commands.
While the CDS is considered to be the 'first among equals' among the army, navy and IAF chiefs, all four wear four stars. The CDS post is often described as a 'one-stop window' for military advice on financial and administrative matters for the Indian army, the Navy and the Air Force.
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