General MM Naravane Retires As Army Chief. Look Back At COAS’s Tenure From LAC Standoff To LOC Ceasefire

As the 27th Chief of the Army Staff, Naravane oversaw some momentous events including the military standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, a ceasefire with Pakistan along the Line Of Control (LOC), the Covid-19 pandemic, and the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from some districts in states of the North-East. 

News Delhi: Chief of Amry Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane demits office on Saturday after over 40 years of service in the Indian Army and a 28 months eventful stint in his last role. As the 27th Chief of the Army Staff, Naravane oversaw some momentous events including the military standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, a ceasefire with Pakistan along the Line Of Control (LOC), the Covid-19 pandemic, and the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from some districts in states of the North-East.

On his last day in office, Naravane laid a wreath at the National War Memorial on Saturday and received the guard of honour at the South Block lawns before relinquishing his post. Lieutenant General Manoj Pande took charge as India’s new Chief of Army Staff, succeeding Naravane in the role.

Delhi | General MM Naravane receives guard of honour at the South Block lawns prior to relinquishing as Chief of the Army Staff pic.twitter.com/qnwFOedxUY

— ANI (@ANI) April 30, 2022

A Look Back at General MM Naravane Military Career

• Born on April 22, 1960, in Pune, General MM Naravane is a son of a former officer in the Indian Air Force.
• General Naravane is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune, and Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun. He also has an M.Phil degree in defence studies.
• He served in numerous command and staff appointments, including Rashtriya Rifles battalion commander in Jammu and Kashmir and an infantry brigade commander on the eastern front.
• After successfully commanding the Army Training Command, Shimla and the Eastern Command that takes care of India’s nearly 4,000-km-long border with China, General Naravane held the appointment of Vice Chief of the Army Staff before assuming the appointment of the Chief of the Army Staff on 31 Dec 2019.
• Immediately after he took over as COAS in 2019, India and China were engaged in a face-off at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh where the Indian Army lost 20 soldiers. Naravane was responsible for ensuring the highest standard of operational preparedness amid the standoff.
• Apart from the LAC standoff with China, the reiteration of the ceasefire at the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, and the rewriting of the Order of Battle (ORBAT) were some of the issues that made Navarane’s tenure action-packed.