- Pran Nath Thapar
General Pran Nath Thapar (1906- 1975) was the fifth [ [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/ARMY/Army-Chiefs/Chiefs-Army07.html B-R] ] Chief of Army Staff of the
Indian army .Personal life
General Pran Nath Thapar was born on
May 6 ,1906 . After graduating from Government College, Lahore, he JoinedRoyal Military Academy, Sandhurst in 1926.Career
He was commissioned into the 1st Punjab Regiment in 1926. He did his regimental duties with the 1st Punjab Regiment for ten years and later attended the staff courses at Quetta and Minlay-Manor in England. [ [http://indianarmy.nic.in/coas07.html Indian-Army] ] He served in Burma during the second World War in 1941 and later in the Midddle East and Italy. He was appointed as Assitant Military Secretary in 1945. He commanded 1st Battalion of Punjab Regiment in Indonesia in 1946 and later went on to serve as the Commander of the 161 Indian Infantry Brigade in East Bengal. During the Partition of India, Thapar officiated as the Director of Military Operations and Intelligence. In November 1947, he was promoted to the rank of
Major General . He served as the Chief of the General Staff for a few months and later as Military Secretary till August 1949. He was appointed Master General of Ordnance on August 1949. He commanded an Infantry Division for four years till 1954 and was promoted to the rank ofLieutenant General in 1954 as Commander of aCorps . He was selected to attent the Imperial Defence College, London in 1955. After successful completion of the course, he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command. He became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Command in 1959. Thapar took over as Chief of the Army Staff on 8th May 1961 and served till 19th November 1962.Later life
After retirement he was appointed as Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan from August 1964 to January 1969. He died on 23rd Jan 1975 at the age of 69 .
References
External Links
[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/ARMY/Army-Chiefs/Chiefs-Army07.html Bharat-Rakshak]
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