V.K. Singh will be Indian Army’s 25th chief

NEW DELHI - Lieutenant General V.K. Singh, who was Friday named the new Indian Army chief in the rank of general, will be the 25th in line to occupy the post in the world’s fourth largest army.

Singh, who will succeed Gen. Deepak Kapoor, will be the 23rd Indian to occupy the post since the country gained independence in 1947.

The first two chiefs were British officers - General Sir Robert McGregor Macdonald Lockhart and General Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher.

Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa was the first Indian officer to occupy the post, in the rank of general, assuming office on January 15, 1949. Since then, Army Day is annually observed on Jan 15.

Cariappa belonged to the Rajput regiment, into which V.K. Singh was also commissioned. Cariappa, who retired in 1953, was elevated to field marshal in 1983 in recognition of his services to the Indian Army.

There has been only one other five star officer in the Indian Army - Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who was given the honour for his exemplary during the 1971 war with Pakistan that led to the creation of the independent nation of Bangladesh.

Of the 24 Indian Army chiefs so far, 13 have been from the infantry, six from the Armoured Corps and five, including the current incumbent, have been from the Regiment of Artillery.

This is not surprising, considering the infantry makes up the bulk of the 1.1 million strong Indian Army.

Prior to independence, there were two elements of the army in India - the British Army in India comprising British officers and troops and the British Indian Army with British officers and Indian troops