General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Bipin Chandra Joshi,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...

(5 December 1935 – 19 November 1994) was the 17th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. He is the only Chief of the Indian Army to die in office, and until the 2021 death of General

Bipin Rawat General Bipin Rawat (16 March 1958 – 8 December 2021) was an Indian military officer who was a four-star general of the Indian Army. He served as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces from January 2020 u ...

in a helicopter crash, the only full general and serving

Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee The Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (Chairman COSC) is a position in the Indian Armed Forces, usually held by a four-star officer serving as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian military. The position holder chairs the Chiefs of ...

to have died in office.

Early life

Joshi was born in a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Kumaoni

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family. The time he became Army Chief, Pithoragarh & Almora were parts of Uttar Pradesh. He was the first Army Chief from

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

(Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand was a part of erstwhile Uttar Pradesh). Today Pithoragarh district falls within the borders of Uttarakhand.

Career

*Commissioned 4 December 1954 into 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse),

Indian Army Armoured Corps The Indian Army Armoured Corps is one of the combat arms of the Indian Army. Tracing its origins from the first regiment formed in 1776, the present corps was formed in 1947 from two-thirds of the personnel and assets of the British Indian Army' ...

. *Commanded an

armoured regiment Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or ...

in the Western Sector during the 1971 Indo-Pak operations. He also commanded an Independent Armoured Brigade and an Infantry Division. *Military Advisor in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

from May 1973 to October 1976 *Staff officer in the UN Force in Gaza *Brigadier General Staff in a Corps Headquarters *Commanded a Corps in the Eastern Sector *General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command. *Additional Director General of Perspective Planning (ADG PP) & Director General Military Operations (DGMO) at the Army Headquarters *Three tenures as an instructor in the

Armoured Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

Centre and School,

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 ...

*Directed Staff in the College of Combat,

Mhow Mhow, officially Dr. Ambedkar Nagar, is a town in the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is located south-west of Indore city, towards Mumbai on the old Mumbai-Agra Road. The town was renamed as ''Dr. Ambedkar Nagar'' in 20 ...

*Established the

Army Institute of Technology Army Institute of Technology is an engineering college located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is affiliated to the University of Pune. Only wards of army personnel are admitted in this institute. AIT is operated by the Army Welfare Education S ...

in Pune (Engineering College), Maharashtra in August 1994 for the wards of defence personnel, either in service or retired. Joshi also became Colonel_(India)#Colonel_of_the_regiment of the 64 Cavalry later in his career.

Medals

Joshi has been a recipient of the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...

for distinguished service of the most exceptional order.

Death

Joshi died of a cardiac arrest in New Delhi Military Hospital on 18 November 1994. He was due to retire in 1995. He was the first Chief of Indian Army who died in harness. General Bipin Rawat, former Chief and the serving Chief of Defence Staff, also died in a tragic helicopter crash in December 2021 whilst landing at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington. General Joshi’s untimely death changed the entire line of succession for the post of Chief of Army Staff, which is typically decided on the basis of seniority. As a result, Lt. Gen. Shankar Roychoudhary was promoted to full general and appointed as the 17th Chief of Army Staff.

Legacy

The Gen. B. C. Joshi Army Public School was established in 1993 in

Pithoragarh Pithoragarh ( Kumaoni: ''Pithor'garh'') is a Himalayan city with a Municipal Board in Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the fourth largest city of Kumaon and the largest in Kumaon hills. It is an education hub of t ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

in his honour.

Honours and decorations

Dates of rank

References

External links

* Book titled ''Man, culture, and society in the Kumaun Himalayas: General B. C. Joshi commemoration volume'' () - includes brief articles on General B. C. Joshi * https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/19/obituaries/gen-bipin-chandra-joshi-indian-army-chief-59.html * http://www.timescontent.com/tss/showcase/preview-buy/29780/News/General-Bipin-Chandra-Joshi.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Joshi, Bipin Chandra 1935 births 1994 deaths Kumaoni people Military personnel from Uttarakhand People from Pithoragarh Chiefs of Army Staff (India) Indian generals Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal