Prem Nath Hoon (4 October 1929 – 6 January 2020) was an Indian military officer who was the General Officer Commander in Chief of the Western Army of the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the armed forces, military forces of the India, Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Ar ...

from 1986 to 1987. He had commanded mountain brigades, infantry brigades, infantry division and the XV Corps in

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

. He participated in the

1962 Sino-Indian War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

and 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. In 1984, he led the

Operation Meghdoot Operation Meghdoot was the codename for the Indian Armed Forces operation to take full control of the Siachen Glacier in Ladakh. Executed on the morning of 13 April 1984, it marks the highest battlefield in the world. This operation preempted Pa ...

, the

operation to capture the

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends in northeastern Kashmir. At long, it is the longest glaci ...

in the

region. He was also involved in the

Operation Brasstacks Operation Brasstacks was a combined arms military exercise of the Indian Armed Forces in the state of Rajasthan from November 1986 to January 1987. The operation's aim was to determine tactical nuclear strategy. As part of a series of exerci ...

, the biggest military exercise since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Early life

Prem Nath Hoon was born on 4 October 1929 in

Abbottabad Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...

(now in

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

North West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November 1901 from ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. His father Pran Nath Hoon was a railway officer. He was associated with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and participated in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

from 1936 to 1947.

Military career

Hoon joined 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 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 ...

in 1947. He was commissioned in

Sikh Regiment The Sikh Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It is the most highly decorated regiment of the Indian Army and in 1979, the 1st battalion was the Commonwealth's most decorated battalion, with 245 pre-independence and 82 post-i ...

and posted in

in various sectors from 1949 to 1961. He was posted at the Barahoti post during the 1962 Indo-China War. In 1965, during the Indo-Pakistan War, he fought in the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

and

Pasrur Pasrur (Punjabi and ), is a historical city of Sialkot District in the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the capital of Pasrur Tehsil and is administratively subdivided into 26 wards of the municipal committee Pasrur. Pasrur i ...

sectors. He was promoted to the post of Lieutenant Colonel and moved to

Kargil Kargil or Kargyil is a City in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TERTIARY, tert ...

sector in charge of Special Mountain Forces. In 1970, he was promoted to Brigadier and appointed to lead the Sikkim Brigade deployed at

Nathu La Nathu La(, Sikkimese language, Sikkimese: རྣ་ཐོས་ལ་) is a mountain pass in the Dongkya Range of the Himalayas between China's Yadong County in Tibet, and the Indian states of Sikkim. But minor touch of Bengal in South Asia. T ...

. He was later posted at

Hussainiwala Hussainiwala is a village near Firozpur city in Firozpur district in Punjab state, India. It lies near the bank of the Sutlej river. The village is on the border with Pakistan, opposite the Pakistani village of Ganda Singh Wala. It is a borde ...

in the

Ferozpur Firozpur, (pronunciation: ɪroːzpʊr also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in the Firozpur District of Punjab, India. After the Partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan bor ...

sector in Punjab in 1974. He was made the

Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the Strike Corps in Chandimandir in 1980. He led the 13th Battalion of the

Dogra Regiment The Dogra Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. The regiment traces its roots directly from the 17th Dogra Regiment of the British Indian Army. When transferred to the Indian Army like its sister regiments, the numeral prefix w ...

. In 1983, he was promoted to Lieutenant General. In 1984, he led the XV Corps and

, the

operation to capture the

in the

region. From 1985 to 1987, he was the Director General Military Operations at Army Headquarters as well as Chief of Staff of the Western Command. He was later made General Officer Commander in Chief of Western Army from 1 October 1986 to 31 October 1987. During these years, he was also involved in

, the biggest military exercise since World War II. He retired in 1987.

Later life

After retirement, he was appointed as the senior adviser to the textile company Birla VXL (now Digjam) from 1988 to 1990. He was appointed the Managing Director of Jiyajeerao Cotton Mills in

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

. Later he was involved in the construction activities in

Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distr ...

from 1991 to 1998. In 1999, he published his memoir ''Unmasking Secrets Of Turbulence – Midnight Freedom To A Nuclear Dawn''. He also published ''The Untold Truth'' in 2015 in which he claimed that the Indian military officers planned a coup to overthrow the

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

led government. Air Marshal Randhir Singh rejected his claim and called it his "own perception". Colonel K. S. Pathak told that the military personnel in Delhi might have been mobilized for other reasons. He was associated with

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...

and headed the ex-servicemen wing of the party from 1999 to 2005. He later ran a car dealership in

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

. In 2013, he had joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

. He died on 6 January 2020 in Command Hospital, Chandimandir following

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

. His cremation rites were performed the next day at Sector 25 cremation ground in

Personal life

He had a son and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoon, Prem Nath 1929 births 2020 deaths Siachen conflict Indian Army personnel Indian military leaders Indian military writers Indian male writers 20th-century Indian military personnel Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Sena Medal People from Chandigarh People from Abbottabad Indian Military Academy alumni Indian military historians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Maharashtra Shiv Sena politicians