Lt Gen. Chauhan, 61, will be India’s second CDS. His predecessor, Gen. Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash in December last year. This is the first time in the history of the Indian military that a retired three-star officer has returned to active service in a four-star position.

In the 10 months following Gen. Rawat’s death, there had been widespread speculation that the next CDS would be appointed from within the Indian Army, not only because it is the biggest and most influential of the three services but also because Gen. Rawat’s untimely death had left the army’s CDS term unfinished.

In June, when the government made changes in the rules for appointment of the CDS, military circles were abuzz with Lt Gen. Chauhan’s name as a possible contender for the coveted post. Lt Gen. Chauhan belonged to the 11 Gorkha Rifles regiment, the same as Gen. Rawat. He is a native of Uttarakhand, like Gen. Rawat was. After his retirement from the army in May 2021, Lt Gen. Chauhan had been working closely with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval as a military advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat.

Seen as an expert on China, Lt. Gen. Chauhan previously served as director general of military operations (DGMO) before being appointed as the eastern army commander in September 2019. In his 40-year-long service in the army, he commanded an infantry division in the critical Baramulla sector in the Northern Command and later a corps in the Northeast.

Besides being a hardcore military man, Lt Gen. Chauhan has been a regular contributor to military think-tanks and has authored the book Aftermath of a Nuclear Attack.

As CDS, one of Lt Gen. Chauhan‘s biggest tasks will be to complete the theaterisation of the defence forces, which will see the creation of theatre commands. Gen. Rawat, who had started the process, was of the view that there was a marked lack of synergy between the three military wings since they operated in isolation. In the past few months, several studies on theatre commands have been underway at the Department of Military Affairs, along with a study on manpower optimisation.

The main agenda for the CDS will be to build a lean and integrated warfighting machinery within the budgetary constraints. The issue of theatre commands has been mired in controversy within the services, with the Indian Air Force (IAF) objecting to the move. Air chief marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari recently said a separate air defence command would be “counterproductive”.

Gen. Rawat had been working hard to iron out the inter-service differences—a task his successor will have to continue. Like in the US and China, Gen. Rawat planned to have five commands—northern, western, peninsular, air defence and maritime.

The Indian military currently functions under 17 single-service commands. It has eight commands to manage the China front as against a single theatre command of the Chinese military responsible for borders with India. The proposal to set up unified commands came after the 1999 Kargil War, but the concept remained in limbo partly over fears that it would trigger an ugly turf war between the three services. If IAF chief Chaudhari’s remarks are any indicator, the issue of theaterisation still remains hotly debated and polarising within India’s defence establishment.

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India has lost a capable and experienced military leader in the tragic death of Gen Bipin Rawat, the country’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), in a helicopter crash near Coonoor on 8 December 2021.

Gen Rawat was appointed the first CDS on January 1, 2020, as well as Secretary of the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) after he completed three years service as the Chief of the Army Staff. He had another year left to serve as the CDS.

Gen. Rawat will go down as the most impactful, reforming leader the Indian Armed Forces have seen in their history. He successfully restored the role of the armed forces as a premier stakeholder in strategic decision-making, even influencing foreign policy.

His acumen was recognised across boundaries as a military leader. On his passing the UN Secretary-General, the US secretary of state, Russia and Israel, among others, paid deservingly and befittingly rich tributes.

As CDS, he was expected to function as the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister, work in tandem with the three Service chiefs, who operate in their respective domains — a role and function that is still in the making.

Gen Rawat would not hesitate to call a spade a spade and back the much needed reforms in the Armed Forces for synergy and building capabilities.

After he took over the mantle of the Army Chief, at the customary media interaction in January 2017, it became amply clear that here was an Army Chief who was firm in his convictions, would not pull his punches when required and would definitely not shy away from speaking his mind in a forthright and erudite manner. He was a man who would back his decisions to the hilt.

Under Gen. Rawat’s leadership, a mission was carried out inside Myanmar in which militant camps were decimated in response to an ambush by Myanmar-based NSCN(K) militants in 2015.

As Army vice-chief, he played a key role in the surgical strike across the India-Pakistan Line of Control in 2016. Gen Rawat was highly vocal to publicly emphasise that force would be used against those across the border in Pakistan, if they threatened Indian interests. He was determined to end militancy in Kashmir. He planned the action in the Kashmir Valley, which broke the backbone of terrorism in the Valley, creating suitable conditions for the abrogation of Article 370.

He believed, rightly, that China, not Pakistan, was India’s chief adversary; and was the first chief to say so in public.

As Secretary DMA, Gen Rawat was tasked with bridging the gap between the civilian bureaucrats and the uniformed officials. He was meant to be the harbinger of a revolution in both bureaucratic and military affairs. He was a man on a mission and wanted to bring multiple changes, perhaps too fast for the liking of many within the forces and the veteran community.

Much ground has been covered in implementing the theaterisation model for the armed forces, with him in the helm for two years. His ideas on a joint Air Defence Command, a Logistics Command and Maritime Theatre Command have taken seed. He also wanted the three Services to combine certain logistics and training facilities to avoid duplication. He oversaw the operationalisation of three Joint Logistics Nodes at Guwahati, Port Blair and Mumbai.

Gen. Rawat was working towards evolving consensus amongst the Services on integrated theatre commands, which would be the biggest reorganisation of the Indian armed forces since Independence.

He was also clear that the Armed Forces could modernise only by cutting the flab so that the burden of defence budget could be reduced and make a leaner and meaner force, capable of fighting wars of the future.

Rawat was a gentleman, gallant and professional, and a proud Gorkha. His boots will be hard to fill.

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