NEW DELHI, India, Feb. 16, Reuter: Lieutenant General Vishwa Nath Shama, a 57yearold armored corps officer, was named on Tuesday as Chief of’ Staff of India’s 1.1 million man army.
An official announcement said Sharma would succeed General Krishnaswamy Sundarji, who retires on April 30, his 60th birthday, Sharma currently heads the Eastern Command.
Sundarji has served as the Army Chief since 1986. In June 1984, he oversaw the Indian army assault on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest shrine of the Sikh faith.
Sundarji’s predecessor and Chief of Staff during the temple assault, Arun S. Vaidya, was assassinated in August 1986 near his retirement home in Poona, a Sikh group claimed credit for the murder.
Sharma was commissioned in June, 1950.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 19, 1988
