Former Chief General S Padmanabhan, Who Led The Indian Army In The Crucial 'Operation Parakram' Against Pakistan, Passes Away

Indian Army's former Chief, General S Padmanabhan, passed away at his home in Chennai on Monday (19 August).

The 83-year-old General is survived by his wife, a daughter, and a son. He was suffering from a prolonged illness. Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi and all ranks of the army offered their tribute and condolences to the family.

General Padmanabhan was the army chief from September 2000 to December 2002 and led the army in a crucial operation — Operation Parakram.

Operation Parakram was a five-month standoff (13 December 2001 – 10 June 2002) between the Indian and Pakistani Armies at the Line of Control (LoC) following the terror attacks on the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Legislative Assembly on 1 October 2001 and the Parliament on 13 December 2001.

Operation Parakram identified flaws in the army's planning and mobilisation, as it took close to a month to mobilise the Strike Corps, forcing the army to develop a more proactive strategy, colloquially known as the 'Cold Start' doctrine.

Known as Paddy by his peers, he was said to be committed to the welfare of soldiers, modernisation, and strategic vision.

He is also known for his lasting role in the Kashmir anti-terrorist operation, where he commanded the Srinagar-based 15 Corps from July 1993 to February 1995. During his tenure, the army was able to get a handle on terrorism and even scale down its operations.

An alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun, and the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, General Padmanabhan was born on 5 December 1940, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

He was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery on December 13, 1959. He commanded an Independent Light Battery (August 1975-July 1976) and the Gazala Mountain Regiment (September 1977-March 1980) in his early years.

Following this, he was an instructor at the School of Artillery in Deolali. He commanded an infantry brigade, a mountain brigade, an independent artillery brigade, an infantry division, and the 15 Corps.

After completing his tenure with the 15 Corps, he served as the Director General of Military Intelligence before becoming the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Northern Command and later the Southern Command.

He retired from service on 31 December 2002, after an illustrious 43-year career in the army.