Prabodh Chandra Bhardwaj

Lieutenant General Prabodh Chandra Bhardwaj PVSM AVSM VC SC VSM
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Army
Years of service	1970 – 2010
Rank	Lieutenant General
Service number	IC-24178 [1]
Unit	1 Para Special Forces
Commands held	Northern Army XIV Corps 17 Mountain Division
Battles/wars	Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Operation Pawan Kargil War
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vir Chakra Shaurya Chakra Vishisht Seva Medal

Lieutenant General Prabodh Chandra Bhardwaj is the former Vice Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army and assumed office on October 1, 2009 following the retirement of Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj.^[2] He also served as General Officer Commander-in-Chief, Northern Command of the Indian Army. He is one of the most decorated officers of the Indian Army.^[3]

Career

Lieutenant General PC Bhardwaj was commissioned into First Battalion the Parachute Regiment on 14 June 1970. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Indian Military Academy, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and National Defence College. He was a specialist in Special Operations and was the first person from the Indian Army to undergo the rigorous Commando Divers Course at Naval Diving School. He excelled on the course, qualifying as an instructor. He has also attended the prestigious Special Forces Officers Course at Fort Bragg, USA and earned an instructor rating.

He commanded his parent unit, 1 PARA (Commando) in Counter-insurgency operations along India's eastern border with China and Myanmar, and later commanded counter-insurgency Force Delta in Doda/Kishtwar. He commanded a mountain brigade in Nagaland and also the elite parachute brigade. As a brigadier, he commanded an infantry brigade and was the deputy director general at the Directorate General of Military Operations, Army Headquarters. He was appointed as the Defence Attache at Embassy of India at Yangon in Myanmar from 1994 to 1997. As a major general, he was the General Officer Commanding Delhi Area where he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service. Upon promotion to the rank of lieutenant general, he commanded XIV Corps, responsible for the vast areas of Ladakh and the Siachen Glacier before assuming command of Northern Command on 1 March 2008. Upon being awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 2009, he became the most decorated soldier in the Indian Army.^[4]

Honours and decorations

Vir Chakra Citation

As a second lieutenant, Bhardwaj was awarded the Vir Chakra for operations during the 1971 India Pakistan War. His Vir Chakra citation reads as follows.^[5]

CITATION
SECOND LIEUTENANT PRABODH CHANDRA BHARDWAJ

On the night of 16 December 1971, 2nd Lieutenant Prabodh Chandra Bhardwaj, a platoon commander in a battalion of Parachute Regiment, formed part of the company, which was assigned the task of capturing an enemy position in the Ferozepore Sector. This position was held in strength by the enemy and protected by mines and obstacles. During the assault, his platoon came under the effective fire of an enemy machine gun sited in a bunker. 2nd Lieutenant Bhardwaj, with utter disregard for his safety, charged the bunker, lobbed a grenade inside and immediately thereafter rushing inside the bunker, bayoneted the gun crew and captured the medium machine gun. In this process he was injured by a bullet in the forehead. Undeterred, he pressed on with the assault and charged another machine gun bunker. Here again, he followed up his grenade attack with the bayonet and succeeded in capturing the second machine gun. In this action, 2nd Lieutenant Bhardwaj displayed gallantry, determination and leadership of a high order.

He was also awarded the Shaurya Chakra for a rescue operation where tourists who were stranded in a cable car were rescued in a joint operation conducted by 1 Para Special Forces and the Indian Air force ^[6]

Param Vishisht Seva Medal		Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vir Chakra	Shaurya Chakra	Vishisht Seva Medal	Wound Medal
Samanya Seva Medal	Paschimi Star	Operation Vijay Star	Siachen Glacier Medal
Special Service Medal	Sangram Medal	Operation Vijay Medal	Operation Parakram Medal
Sainya Seva Medal	High Altitude Service Medal	Videsh Seva Medal	50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
25th Anniversary of Independence Medal	30 Years Long Service Medal	20 Years Long Service Medal	9 Years Long Service Medal

Post Military Career

Lt. Gen Bhardwaj has served as a Board Member of of the Welham Boys' School and also on the Governing Council of the Raphael Ryder Cheshire International Centre, both in Dehradun.^[7][8]

References