Shankar Roychowdhury

General Shankar Roychowdhury PVSM ADC is a former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, and a former member of the Indian Parliament.[2][3]

For the fictional character, see Shankar Roy Chowdhury (character).

General
Shankar Roychowdhury
PVSM ADC
37th Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
In office
1 October 1996 – 30 September 1997
PresidentShankar Dayal Sharma
K. R. Narayanan
Prime MinisterP. V. Narasimha Rao
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
H. D. Deve Gowda
Inder Kumar Gujral
Preceded byVijai Singh Shekhawat
Succeeded bySatish Sareen
17th Chief of Army Staff
In office
22 November 1994 – 30 September 1997
PresidentShankar Dayal Sharma
K. R. Narayanan
Prime MinisterP. V. Narasimha Rao
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
H. D. Deve Gowda
Inder Kumar Gujral
Preceded byBipin Chandra Joshi
Succeeded byVed Prakash Malik
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
19 August 1999 – 18 August 2005
ConstituencyWest Bengal
Personal details
Born (1937-09-06) 6 September 1937
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Political partyIndian National Congress
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of service1957–1997
Rank General
Unit20 Lancers
Commands Army Training Command (ARTRAC)
16 Corps
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965, Bangladesh Liberation War
Service numberIC-8417[1]
Awards

Early life

General Roychowdhury was born in Kolkata, West Bengal, India into the Zamindar family of Taki (India), a Bengali Kayastha family, on 6 September 1937. He received his schooling at St. Xavier's Collegiate School in Kolkata and later at Wynberg Allen School, Mussoorie and St. George's College, Mussoorie. He then became a cadet in the Joint Services Wing of the Indian Armed Forces in 1953.[3][4]

Military career

General Shankar Roychowdhury was commissioned into the 20 Lancers of the Indian Army Armoured Corps on 9 June 1957, after graduating from the Indian Military Academy. He took part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 in the Chamb-Jaurian sector, and in Jessore and Khulna during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. He commanded the 20 Lancers from 1974 to 1976, an Independent Armoured Brigade from December 1980 to July 1983, and an Armoured Division from May 1988 to May 1990. He subsequently commanded the 16 Corps in Jammu and Kashmir from 1991 to 1992.[3][4]

He is a graduate of the Indian Military Academy Dehradun, National Defence Academy Pune, Defence Services Staff College, Army War College; National Defence College and also holds a Doctorate D.Litt. (Honoris CAVSA).[2] He held several staff and instructional appointments, including that of Director General Combat Vehicles dealing with the Arjun tank.[3][4]

He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service to the Indian Army and the nation. He took over as GOC-in-C, Army Training Command (ARTRAC) in August 1992. He assumed charge of the Indian Army as the 18th Chief of Army Staff on 22 November 1994, upon the untimely death of his predecessor, General B.C. Joshi.[5] He retired from the Indian Army on 30 September 1997, after 40 years of military service.[4][6]

Post-retirement

After retirement from the Army, General Roychowdhury became a member of the Rajya Sabha, where he highlighted defence related issues.[3] Since 21 January 2008, he has been a Director of Indian Metal & Ferro Alloys Ltd.[2][4] His autobiography titled Officially at Peace was published by Penguin Books in 2002.[7]

Honours and decorations
Param Vishisht Seva Medal Samar Seva Star Poorvi Star Paschimi Star
Raksha Medal Sangram Medal Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Service Medal
25th Anniversary of Independence Medal 30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

Dates of rank
InsigniaRankComponentDate of rank
Second LieutenantIndian Army9 June 1957[8]
LieutenantIndian Army9 June 1959[9]
CaptainIndian Army9 June 1963[10]
MajorIndian Army9 June 1970[11]
Lieutenant ColonelIndian Army1976
ColonelIndian Army24 October 1982[12]
BrigadierIndian Army12 April 1983[13]
Major GeneralIndian Army2 January 1988[14]
Lieutenant GeneralIndian Army1 July 1991[15]
General
(COAS)		Indian Army22 November 1994[1]

References
  1. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 21 January 1995. p. 97.
  2. "Executive Profile of Shankar Roychowdhury (Retd.)". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  3. "General Shankar Roy Chowdhury". Indian Army. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  4. "General Shankar Roychowdhury". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  5. "Shankar Roy Chowdhury appointed new chief of army staff". India Today. 15 December 1995. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  6. Abidi, S. Sartaj Alam; Sharma, Satinder (1 January 2007). Services Chiefs of India. Northern Book Centre. pp. 82–. ISBN 9788172111625. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  7. Roychowdhury, Shankar (2002). Officially at peace. New Delhi: Viking. ISBN 0670885851.
  8. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 5 April 1958. p. 78.
  9. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 15 August 1959. p. 301.
  10. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 14 September 1963. p. 308.
  11. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 30 January 1971. p. 112.
  12. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 19 January 1985. p. 84.
  13. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 11 January 1986. p. 24.
  14. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 4 November 1989. p. 1631.
  15. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 16 November 1991. p. 1771.

Notable publications
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