Anil Chauhan

Anil Chauhan was born in a Hindu Garhwali Rajput family of Chauhan clan on 18 May 1961, hailing from the Pauri Garhwal district, Uttarakhand.^[9] After completing his schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya at Fort William, Kolkata, he joined the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla (NDA) as part of the 58 Course in year. He subsequently joined to the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun (IMA) as part of the 68 Course in 1980.^[10][11] He is also a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the Higher Command and National Defence College courses.^[12]

Gen Chauhan was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 6th Battalion of the 11th Gorkha Rifles (6/11 GR) on 13 June 1981 from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. Chauhans's staff and instructional assignments include Instructional tenure at HQ IMTRAT, Bhutan, Military Observer on a UN Mission to Angola, General Staff Officer 1 (Operations) of the Mountain Division, Director, Perspective & Planning (TAS) at Army HQ, Chief of Staff at HQ 15 Corps and Director General of Discipline Ceremonial & Welfare.

As a Major general, he commanded the Baramulla-based 19th Infantry Division of the Northern Command. In 2017, on promotion to the rank of Lieutenant general, he was appointed General officer commanding (GOC) of the Dimapur-based III Corps.^[13][14] In January 2018, he was appointed Director General Military Operations (DGMO), during the course of which he oversaw the execution of two key military operations: the 2019 Balakot airstrike against Pakistan and Operation Sunrise (2019) - a joint India-Myanmar counterinsurgency offensive.^[15]

On 1 September 2019, he took over as the GOC-in-Chief Eastern Command succeeding Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane upon his elevation as the Vice Chief of Army Staff.^[16][17] He superannuated on 31 May 2021 and was succeeded by Lt Gen Manoj Pande.^[18] Following his retirement from active military service he served as a military advisor to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), headed by Ajit Doval, India's fifth National Security Advisor.^[15]

General Chauhan is married to Anupama, an artist.^[10] The couple have a daughter, Pragya.^[10] An art enthusiast, he is a keen admirer of Tibetan art, a fact which he attributed to his wife.^[10] As a general officer and later as CDS, Gen Chauhan's life bore several similarities to Gen Rawat's; both men were commissioned in the same regiment, the 11th Gorkha Rifles and also hailed from the same ancestral region, the Pauri Garhwal district.^[33] As fellow officers, Gen Rawat was said to have held Gen Chauhan with high esteem; in 2022, when a military garrison along the Line of Actual Control was renamed after him, Gen Chauhan was amongst the dignitaries present at the renaming ceremony.^[34][35] Chauhan is also said to be close with Ajit Doval, with whom he had closely worked with during his retirement.^[36]

Apart from his service in the military, Gen Chauhan authored two books: Aftermath of A Nuclear Attack - an analytic detailing the effects of a nuclear fallout, which was published in 2010 and History of 11 Gorkha Rifles Regimental Centre, a chronicle of the regiment he wrote during his stint as its commander.^[10][37] According to Chauhan's known acquaintances, he is reputed to be an steady golfer and an ardent collector of masks.^[38][39]

Over the span of his military career across four decades, Gen Chauhan received numerous military decorations. He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2011, the Sena Medal in 2014, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2015, the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal in 2018, and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2020.^[40][41][42]