Sundararajan Padmanabhan
Indian Army general
About Sundararajan Padmanabhan
Lived 1940 – 2024 (aged 83). Sundararajan Padmanabhan was an Indian.
General Sundararajan Padmanabhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM (5 December 1940 – 18 August 2024) was a General Officer of the Indian Army. He served as the 19th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. General Padmanabhan succeeded General V.P. Malik on 30 September 2000.
Early life and education Padmanabhan was born in a Tamil Brahmin family. He was schooled at the Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun. In 1956, Padmanabhan joined the National Defence Academy and then the Indian Military Academy, from where he graduated in 1959.
Military career Padmanabhan was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery on 13 December 1959. Padmanabhan authored two books. He died in Chennai on 18 August 2024, at the age of 83.
Books Gen. Padmanabhan was also an author of Indian military fiction, including the 2004 novel Writing on the Wall, the plot of which involves India fighting a war simultaneously with Pakistan while improving relations with China.
Honours and awards
Military awards
Dates of rank
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Sundararajan Padmanabhan's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Sundararajan Padmanabhan?
Indian Army general (1940–2024)
When was Sundararajan Padmanabhan born?
Sundararajan Padmanabhan was born on 5 December 1940 in Thiruvananthapuram.
When did Sundararajan Padmanabhan die?
Sundararajan Padmanabhan died on 19 August 2024 in Chennai.
What nationality was Sundararajan Padmanabhan?
Sundararajan Padmanabhan was Indian.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Sundararajan Padmanabhan
· DBpedia: Sundararajan Padmanabhan
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Sundararajan Padmanabhan. https://biography.guide/sundararajan-padmanabhan/
MLA: "Sundararajan Padmanabhan." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/sundararajan-padmanabhan/.
Chicago: "Sundararajan Padmanabhan." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/sundararajan-padmanabhan/.
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