Major General Rajendra Nath
PVSM (born 1925)
is a retired
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- ...
officer.
Military career
Nath graduated from the
Indian Military Academy
The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...
and was the commissioned into the
11th Gorkha Rifles
The 11 Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army that was re-raised after independence. The regiment consists of primarily the Kirant Tribes Rai, Limbu, Yakkha, Sunuwar of Eastern Nepal, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Dooars of West Ben ...
in 1947. In 1952, he served in the Military Intelligence Directorate in New Delhi. He volunteered to lead a reconnaissance team into
Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of t ...
. The team was selected by Nath and included a military engineer, doctor and fifteen men. Interpreters and linguists were attached. They also carried with them gifts for distribution such as sweets, kerosene oil, sugar and medicines. Animals such as ponies were taken to carry supplies. The reconnaissance team started on 5 October and according to media reports trekked across
Chang La
Chang La is a high mountain pass in Ladakh at an elevation of in the Ladakh Range between Leh and the Shyok River valley. The Chang La, on Leh to Pangong Lake road, lies on the Leh-Karu, Ladakh, Karu-Sakti, Ladakh, Sakti-Zingral-Chang L ...
,
Marsmik La,
Chang Chenmo River valley ending the mission at
Lanak La. They returned on 15 November. The findings of the reconnaissance remain a secret till date.
During the
1971 war, Nath was in charge of the 62 Mountain Brigade. Men under Major General Mohammad Hussain Ansari of 9 Pakistan Division surrendered to the Nath.
From 1959-61 he got the opportunity to attend a course at the
Canadian Army Staff College.
He taught at
Defence Services Staff College
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, type = Defence Service Training Institute
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in
Wellington Cantonment
Wellington is a cantonment town in the Coonoor sub-Division of Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu. One of its most famous residents was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who died in the town on June 27, 2008. This town is adjacent to the city of Coonoor. ...
, from 1965-68.
He was also commander of an infantry division in Jammu and Kashmir.
He later served as
Commandant of the Indian Military Academy
The Commandant of the Indian Military Academy is a post created in 1932 for the purpose of leading the Indian Military Academy in its education of "gentleman cadets". The Commandant must hold a rank of lieutenant general ( three star equivalent) ...
in 1979-80.
He retired in 1982.
Later career
Nath has been associated with the Institute for the Blind in Chandigarh since 1982. He has been awarded for his social work, including a Haryana Ratan in 2005.
Publications
Books
* 1990: ''Military Leadership in India: Vedic Period to Indo-Pak Wars''. Lancer Books.
* 2009: ''Flash Points in South Asia''. (With Kuldip Ludra).
* 2016: ''Strategic Ladakh: A Historical Narrative 1951-53 and a Military Perspective''. Vij Books.
Essays
*
Gulf War and Security of South Asia' (January - March 1989) USI Journal.
''Indian XI Corps and Battle of Asal Uttar 1965.''Indian Military History.
References
{{Reflist
Indian Army officers
Indian Military Academy alumni
Commandants of Indian Military Academy
Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal