Gopal Gurunath Bewoor

General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor PVSM (11 August 1916- 24 October 1989) was an officer of the Indian Army who served as the 9th Chief of Army Staff [Page 50, Where gallantry in tradition: Saga of Rashtriya Indian Military College, By Bikram Singh, Sidharth Mishra, Contributor Rashtriya Indian Military College, Allied Publishers (1997), ISBN 8170236495] . In a long service spanning four decades, General Bewoor saw action during World War II and later was involved in Indian Army operations during the 1965 as well as 1971 Indo-Pakistani war. He succeeded Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw as the Army chief in January 1973 and following his retirement from the army, served as the Indian Ambassador to Denmark till 1979.

Born at Seoni (Now in Madhya Pradesh) on 11th Aug 1916, Gopal Gurunath Bewoor followed his elder brother Madhav into Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun in 1928 and later the Indian Military Academy. A part of the Kitchener section, Gopal was appointed Cadet Captain in 1934. He also won Lord Rawlinson's trophy during this time. In July 1937, Bewoor was commissioned to the 2 Green Howards Regiment and saw action during operations in Waziristan. He was later transferred to 5th Baluch Regiment, with which he was posted and saw action in in Burma. In July 1945, he was transferred from the 5th Baluch and went on to attend the Staff College course at Quetta and then he was appointed as the Under Secretary (Military) to the Viceroy’s Coordination Council. He was the only Indian Officer to have achieved this feat. In October 1947, Bewoor took command of 2nd Dogra Regiment and in April 1948, he became the First Director General of National Cadet Corps.

His son Anant (Group Captain, retired) served in the Indian Air Force and saw action with the IPKF in Sri Lanka and during Siachin operations, and was the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 44th squadron, which flies the IL-76 heavy-lift military transport aircraft.

References

* [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Army-Chiefs/Chiefs-Army11.html Bharat-rakshak.com Biography] .
* [http://www.regiments.org/biography/defchiefs/in2CinC.htm Regiments.org]
* [http://www.defenceindia.com/defenceind/gen_gopal_gurnath.html Defence India] .

See also