By Ammar Nainar
In October 2020, when India’s then foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited Myanmar, he was accompanied rather unusually by then Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane. General Naravane had previously served as India’s defence attaché in Yangon, thus bringing with him a working familiarity with the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, at a particularly sensitive time for relations between the two countries. Similarly, in June 2021, then Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria visited Bangladesh, where he had previously graduated from the Defence Services Command and Staff College in Dhaka. General Naravane and Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria’s experiences are by no means unique. However, as India prepares to appoint a new Chief of Defence Staff, it is useful to recall the extensive international experiences of its military leadership.
An overview of the backgrounds of all 30 individuals who have served as four-star military commanders in the Indian armed forces since 1998 reveals diverse and significant international experiences ranging from military diplomacy to participation in active conflict zones. It conveys some important trends—considerable hands-on experience by the senior leadership in India’s extended neighbourhood; strong professional military links with the United States and United Kingdom over old partner Russia; and a track record of working with India’s civilian leaders and diplomats.
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