General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Dalbir Singh Suhag, PVSM,

UYSM Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM; ''Great War Service Medal'') is one of India's military decorations for Wartime Distinguished Service. It is awarded for a high degree of distinguished services in an operational context. "Operational context" includes ...

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 ...

, VSM, ADC (born 28 December 1954) is the former

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

High Commissioner to

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

and a former Chief of 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- ...

. He was the 25th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the

, serving from 31 July 2014 to 31 December 2016, and Vice Chief of the Army Staff prior to that.

Early life and education

Singh is a third generation soldier who was born on 28 December 1954 to Ishari Devi and Ch Ramphal Singh, a

subedar-major Subedar Major is the senior-most rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian and Pakistani Armies, formerly known as the Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History During the British Raj, Subedar-Major was the hi ...

in the 18th Cavalry Regiment of the Indian Army. He is from

Bishan Bishan most commonly refers to Bishan, Singapore, a residential town in Singapore's Central Region, and its associated places. Bishan may also refer to: Places Singapore * Bishan, Singapore ** Bishan MRT station, a MRT interchange station along t ...

village of

Jhajjar district Jhajjar district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in northern India. Carved out of Rohtak district on 15 July 1997 and with its headquarters in Jhajjar, it lies from Delhi and had developed into an important industrial center. Othe ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Singh completed his primary education in his native village and then moved to Sainik School, Chittorgarh,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

for his secondary education in 1965 before joining the

National Defence Academy 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 on ...

in 1970. He holds

master's degrees A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Management Studies Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and Strategic Studies and has also completed the Executive Course offered by the

Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies The Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) is a U.S. Department of Defense institute that officially opened Sept. 4, 1995, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Center addresses regional and global security issues, inviting militar ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

as well as the Senior Mission Leaders Course of the United Nations Peace Keeping Centre in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

Military career

Singh was commissioned into the 4th battalion of the 5 Gorkha Rifles on 16 June 1974. He was an instructor at 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 ...

, Dehradun after which he served as a company commander during

Operation Pawan Operation Pawan ( hi, कार्यवाही पवन ''Kãryvãhi Pavan'', lit. "Operation Wind") was the code name assigned to the operation by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to take control of Jaffna from the Liberation Tigers o ...

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...

, Sri Lanka. He commanded 33 Rashtriya Rifles in

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

. He then commanded the 53 Infantry Brigade, which was involved in counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley from July 2003 to March 2005, and the 8th Mountain Division in Kargil from October 2007 to December 2008. He was also appointed as the Inspector General of the

Special Frontier Force The Special Frontier Force (SFF) is an Indian special operations unit created on 14 November 1962. It mainly comprised Tibetan refugees living in India. Now it has increased in size and scope of operations. Its primary goal originally was to ...

. Singh has completed various Indian and foreign courses including LDMC at College of Defence Management in 1997–98, National Defence College in 2006, Executive Course in USA in 2005 and Senior Mission Leaders Course (UN) in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

in 2007.

General Officer Commanding III Corps

Singh took command of the III Corps, headquartered in

Dimapur Dimapur () is the largest city in the Indian state of Nagaland. As of 2011, the municipality had a population of 122,834. The city is the main gateway and commercial centre of Nagaland. Located near the border with Assam along the banks of the ...

, in northeast Indian state of

. In 2012, he was put under a 'Discipline and Vigilance' ban by the then outgoing Army Chief

V K Singh. Singh's unit had allegedly botched up a military intelligence operation in Jorhat,

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, which happened during his tenure as the III Corps commander. The 'Discipline and Vigilance' ban was, however, subsequently revoked by the next army chief General Bikram Singh with the concurrence of

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

A K Antony.

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command

After promotion to Army Commander grade, he took over as the General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Eastern Army based in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

on 16 June 2012 and served it that capacity until 31 December 2013.

Vice Chief of the Army staff

Singh replaced Lt Gen S K Singh as the Vice Chief of Army staff (VCOAS) on 31 December 2013. He held this post until 30 July 2014.

Chief of the Army staff

On 14 May 2014,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

announced its decision to appoint Singh as next Chief of the Army staff. His name was recommended by the Defence Ministry of India to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) which was headed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He assumed charge as Chief of the Army staff on 31 July 2014 following the retirement of General Bikram Singh, and served in that capacity until 31 December 2016. He is the second officer from the Gorkha Rifles to become the Chief of the Army, after the late Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.

Row over appointment

On 7 July 2014, the Supreme Court of India declined to stay or stall Singh's appointment as next Army Chief, in response to a petition filed by Lt Gen Ravi Dastane challenging his appointment as Eastern Army Commander. The Bench observed that there is no reason and urgency to stay the appointment and that the petition pertained to Singh's appointment as army commander and hence issues relating to appointment of army chief did not have to be dealt with at this stage. Attorney General

Mukul Rohatgi Mukul Rohatgi is an Indian lawyer and designated senior counsel, and was the 12th Attorney General for India. He was succeeded by K. K. Venugopal, whom he was also offered to succeed to hold the position again, but he declined. He had a tenure o ...

representing the

, also justified the appointment, arguing that there was nothing in the allegations levelled and that Singh fulfilled all the criteria for the post including being senior-most in the seniority list. He also said that the ban imposed on Singh in 2012 had been lifted and he had been discharged from all charges. Earlier on 10 June 2014, the central government had told the Supreme Court that the alleged lapses which were made as grounds to impose disciplinary ban on Army Vice Chief Dalbir Singh by then Army Chief V K Singh, were "premeditated", "vague" and "illegal".

Honours and decorations

Military awards

General Suhag has received the following medals and decorations throughout his military career: *

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 ...

for services of exceptionally high order to the nation. *

Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM; ''Great War Service Medal'') is one of India's military decorations for Wartime Distinguished Service. It is awarded for a high degree of distinguished services in an operational context. "Operational context" includes ...

for counter-insurgency operations in the North-Eastern states in addition to the conventional operational role along the Indo-China border. * Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for commanding

Mountain Division The Mountain Division (later the Mountain Subdivision) is a railroad line that was once owned and operated by the Maine Central Railroad (MEC). It stretches from Portland, Maine on the Atlantic Ocean, through the Western Maine Mountains and Whi ...

in the Kargil- Dras sector at high altitude near Line of Control. *

Vishisht Seva Medal The Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) is a decoration of the Indian Armed Forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed Forces. From 1980, the Yudh Seva Medal was introduced to recognize exc ...

for intense counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir valley. * Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) for exceptionally meritorious service as CoAS of the

Dates of rank

Personal life

Singh is married to Namita Suhag. She is a graduate from

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. The couple have three children, two daughters and a son. Known as a sportsperson, he takes special interest in physical activities like riding and swimming. His personal hobbies include daily run of 10 km, horse-riding and playing golf.

References

External links

General Dalbir Singh, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM
at the Indian Army official website
Ascent of a General: A Profile of India’s 26th Army Chief
at the Press Information Bureau official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh Suhag, Dalbir 1954 births Living people Indian Army personnel People from Jhajjar district Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Chiefs of Army Staff (India) Sainik School alumni Indian generals National Defence Academy (India) alumni Vice Chiefs of Army Staff (India) Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal National Defence College, India alumni College of Defence Management alumni