Bipin Chandra Joshi

General Bipin Chandra Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (5 December 1935 – 19 November 1994) was the 16th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army. He is the only Chief of the Indian Army to die in office, and until the 2021 death of General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash, the only full general and serving Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee to have died in office.

Early life Joshi was born in a Hindu Kumaoni Brahmin family. He was the first Army Chief from Uttar Pradesh (Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand was a part of erstwhile Uttar Pradesh).

Career Commissioned 4 December 1954 into 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse), Indian Army Armoured Corps. Commanded an armoured regiment the 64th Cavalry in the Western Sector during the 1971 Indo-Pak operations. He also commanded an Independent Armoured Brigade and an Infantry Division. Military Advisor in Australia from May 1973 to October 1976 He was due to retire in 1995. He was the first Chief of Indian Army who died in harness. General Bipin Rawat, former Chief and the serving Chief of Defence Staff, also died in a tragic helicopter crash in December 2021 whilst landing at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington. General Joshi’s untimely death changed the entire line of succession for the post of Chief of Army Staff, which is typically decided on the basis of seniority. As a result, Lt. Gen. Shankar Roy Chowdhary was promoted to full general and appointed the 17th Chief of Army Staff.

Legacy The Gen. B. C. Joshi Army Public School was established in 1993 in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand in his honour.

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Dates of rank