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 ...

Sunith Francis Rodrigues,

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 ...

, VSM (19 September 1933 – 4 March 2022) was an Indian army officer who was Chief of the Army Staff 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- ...

from 1990 to 1993 and Governor of Punjab from 2004 to 2010.

Early life and education

Rodrigues was born in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in 1933. He was educated at St. Xavier's High School, Fort in Bombay.

Military service

Rodrigues joined the

Joint Services Wing The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go ...

of 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 ...

in 1949 and was commissioned on 28 December 1952 into the

Regiment of Artillery The Regiment of Artillery is a combat/fighting arm of the Indian Army, which provides massive firepower during all ground operations of the Indian Army. It is a successor to the Royal Indian Artillery (RIA) of British Indian Army, which itsel ...

. After serving in several field and self-propelled artillery units he applied for pilot training in the

Air Observation Post Air Observation Post (AOP) is an aeroplane or helicopter used in the role of artillery spotter by the British Army and Commonwealth forces. In this role, either the pilot of the aircraft or another crew member acts as an observer watching for tar ...

of the Artillery in 1964 and qualified as an artillery aviation pilot. Between 1964 and 1969, he logged more than 158 flying hours on observation aircraft and helicopters, including 65 hours of combat flying during the 1965 war in which his unit logged on more than 56 precision artillery fire to effect on enemy formations. He attended the

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , presi ...

and took over as GSO II operations in XXXIII Corps HQ in 1971. In 1972, after the war with

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, he was awarded the VSM for distinguished service. He later served as a GSO I operations of a division from 1973 to 1975. As a

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

, he commanded a mountain infantry brigade in a high altitude sector from 1975 to 1977. Post this, Rodrigues attended the 1978 course at

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in the United Kingdom. He was Chief Instructor at Defence Services Staff College from 1979 to November 1981.

General officer

Rodrigues was then promoted to the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and then took over the command of a division in a high altitude area. In 1982, he was awarded the master's degree in Defence Studies. He then served as the Chief of Staff of a Corps from 1983 to September 1985 after which he took over as Director General Military Training (DGMT). After promotion to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

, Rodrigues took command of a corps in the Northern Sector in 1986. He was Vice Chief of Army Staff from November 1987 to April 1989 and then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Command from April 1989 to October 1989. He then took over Western Command from 1 November 1989 to 30 June 1990 and was the Chief of Army Staff from 1990 to 1993. He retired on 30 June 1993 after nearly 41 years of service.

Public service

After his retirement Rodrigues was Director of the International Centre,

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

for nearly six years. He served two terms on the National Security Advisory Board. Since his retirement, he has been engaged in social and literary pursuits and has also delivered talks on strategic issues. He takes a keen interest in education and empowering children to achieve their potential. He was on the Executive Council of

Goa University Goa University is a public state research university headquartered in the city of Panaji, in the Indian state of Goa. In addition to Panaji ( Taleigão Plateau Campus), it has a campus in Margao, Mapusa, Ponda, Old Goa and Vasco da Gama. ...

for seven years and on the Managing Committee of the Goa Chamber of Commerce. He is also a long-standing Member of the Goa Planning Board and on the Board of Governors of the Goa Institute of Management.

Governor of Punjab

Rodrigues was appointed Governor of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and Administrator of the Union Territory of

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

on 8 November 2004, and he was sworn into office on 16 November 2004. He was succeeded by

Shivraj Patil Shivraj Vishwanath Patil (born 12 October 1935) is an Indian politician who was the Minister of Home Affairs of India, from 2004 to 2008 and 10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. He was Governor of the state of Punjab and Administra ...

on 22 January 2010.

Death

Rodrigues died at the Manipal Hospital in Dona Paula on 4 March 2022, at the age of 88.

Military awards and decorations

Dates of rank

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodrigues, Sunith Francis 1933 births 2022 deaths Chiefs of Army Staff (India) Vice Chiefs of Army Staff (India) Goan Catholics Military personnel from Mumbai Konkani people Governors of Punjab, India Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Indian Roman Catholics Indian generals Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal