Shankar Roychowdhury facts for kids

Quick facts for kids General Shankar Roychowdhury PVSM ADC
37th Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
In office 1 October 1996 – 30 September 1997
President	Shankar Dayal Sharma K. R. Narayanan
Prime Minister	P. V. Narasimha Rao Atal Bihari Vajpayee H. D. Deve Gowda Inder Kumar Gujral
Preceded by	Vijai Singh Shekhawat
Succeeded by	Satish Sareen
17th Chief of Army Staff
In office 22 November 1994 – 30 September 1997
President	Shankar Dayal Sharma K. R. Narayanan
Prime Minister	P. V. Narasimha Rao Atal Bihari Vajpayee H. D. Deve Gowda Inder Kumar Gujral
Preceded by	Bipin Chandra Joshi
Succeeded by	Ved Prakash Malik
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 19 August 1999 – 18 August 2005
Constituency	West Bengal
Personal details
Born	(1937-09-06) 6 September 1937 (age 86) Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Military service
Allegiance	India
Branch/service	Indian Army
Years of service	1957–1997
Rank	General
Unit	20 Lancers
Commands	Army Training Command (ARTRAC) 16 Corps
Battles/wars	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Bangladesh Liberation War
Service number	IC-8417
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal

General Shankar Roychowdhury PVSM ADC is a former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, and a former member of the Indian Parliament.

Early life

General Roychowdhury was born in Kolkata, West Bengal, India into the Zamindar family of Taki (India), a Bengali Kayastha family, on 6 September 1937. He received his schooling at St. Xavier's Collegiate School in Kolkata and later at Wynberg Allen School, Mussoorie and St. George's College, Mussoorie. He then became a cadet in the Joint Services Wing of the Indian Armed Forces in 1953.

Military career

General Shankar Roychowdhury was commissioned into the 20 Lancers of the Indian Army Armoured Corps on 9 June 1957, after graduating from the Indian Military Academy. He took part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 in the Chamb-Jaurian sector, and in Jessore and Khulna during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. He commanded the 20 Lancers from 1974 to 1976, an Independent Armoured Brigade from December 1980 to July 1983, and an Armoured Division from May 1988 to May 1990. He subsequently commanded the 16 Corps in Jammu and Kashmir from 1991 to 1992.

He is a graduate of the Indian Military Academy Dehradun, National Defence Academy Pune, Defence Services Staff College, Army War College; National Defence College and also holds a Doctorate D.Litt. (Honoris CAVSA). He held several staff and instructional appointments, including that of Director General Combat Vehicles dealing with the Arjun tank.

He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service to the Indian Army and the nation. He took over as GOC-in-C, Army Training Command (ARTRAC) in August 1992. He assumed charge of the Indian Army as the 18th Chief of Army Staff on 22 November 1994, upon the untimely death of his predecessor, General B.C. Joshi. He retired from the Indian Army on 30 September 1997, after 40 years of military service.

Post-retirement

After retirement from the Army, General Roychowdhury became a member of the Rajya Sabha, where he highlighted defence related issues. Since 21 January 2008, he has been a Director of Indian Metal & Ferro Alloys Ltd. His autobiography titled Officially at Peace was published by Penguin Books in 2002.

Honours and decorations

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date of rank
	Second Lieutenant	Indian Army	9 June 1957
	Lieutenant	Indian Army	9 June 1959
	Captain	Indian Army	9 June 1963
	Major	Indian Army	9 June 1970
	Lieutenant Colonel	Indian Army	1976
	Colonel	Indian Army	24 October 1982
	Brigadier	Indian Army	12 April 1983
	Major General	Indian Army	2 January 1988
	Lieutenant General	Indian Army	1 July 1991
	General (COAS)	Indian Army	22 November 1994