General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Vishwa Nath Sharma,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

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 ...

, ADC (born 4 June 1930) was the 14th Chief of the Army Staff of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

, serving between 1988 and 1990. He was the first Indian COAS to have begun his career in the post-Independence Indian Army.

Early life

His father, Major General Amar Nath Sharma, was also a military officer. He is the younger brother of the late

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Som Nath Sharma, recipient of Independent India's first posthumous

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest Awards and Decorations of the Indian Armed Forces, military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates roughly as the "Wheel of Supre ...

, and also

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

Surindra Nath Sharma, formerly Engineer in Chief of the Indian Army. The family hailed from

Kangra district Kangra district is the most populous district of Himachal Pradesh, India. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Kangra is known for having one of the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world, the Katoch of ...

, in present-day Himachal Pradesh. Both brothers were educated at the Prince of Wales' Royal Indian Military College,

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

. All three brothers did their schooling at

Sherwood College Sherwood College is a co-educational residential school in Nainital, Uttrakhand , India. It was established in 1869 and is affiliated to CISCE and IGCSE. The school has been described in ''The Economic Times'' as one of a group of "old, rich ...

, Nainital.

Military career

Sharma went on to join the fifth Regular Course 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 ...

and he was commissioned on 4 June 1950 into the 16th Light Cavalry. He fought in the 1965 War against

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in the

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Sector. He commanded the 66th Armoured Regiment and later a Mountain Brigade in an insurgency affected area. Awarded the

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal 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 D ...

for distinguished service, General Sharma took over as GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command, on 1 June 1987 and was appointed Honorary Army ADC to the President on 25 July 1987. He took over as the Chief of Army Staff on 1 May 1988.Page 50, Where Gallantry is Tradition: Saga of Rashtriya Indian Military College, By Bikram Singh, Sidharth Mishra, Contributor Rashtriya Indian Military College, Published 1997, Allied Publishers,

Honours and awards

Dates of rank

After career

*Board of directors, Local Advisory Board of India, ABN AMRO, 1991–97 * Board of directors, Diamond & Gem Development Corporation, 1993–97 * Board of directors, Hawkins Cookers Limited, 2001–present * Member,

Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), is an Indian think tank for advanced research in international relations, especially defence, strategic and security issues. It also provides training to civilian, military ...

, 1990–present * Member, United Services Institute of India, 1955–present * Member,

National Security Advisory Board The National Security Council (NSC) (IAST: ''Rāṣṭrīya Surakṣā Pariṣad'') of India is an executive government body tasked with advising the prime Minister of India on matters of national security and foreign policy. It was establishe ...

, 2006–09 * Free Tuberculosis & Medical Center, Dadh,

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

, 1992–present

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Vishwa Nath 1930 births Living people Chiefs of Army Staff (India) Indian generals Rashtriya Indian Military College alumni Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal National Defence College, India alumni Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal People from Kangra district