When Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth takes over as the Chief of Army Staff following the retirement of the incumbent, General Upendra Dwivedi, on June 30, an Armoured Corps officer will be at the helm of the world’s third largest Army after three decades.
Serving as Vice Chief of Army Staff at Army Headquarters since April 2026, Lt Gen Seth was commissioned into the 2nd Lancers (Gardner’s Horse) and later commanded 1st Horse (Skinner’s Horse), two regiments that trace their history to 1809 and 1803.
Incidentally, the first Chief from the Armoured Corps, General Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji Jadeja, who led the Indian Army from January 1952 to May 1955, belonged to the 2nd Lancers.
General Shankar Roy Chowdhary, who held the office from November 1994 to September 1997, was the last Army Chief from the Armoured Corps. He was from 20 Lancers.
Then posted as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army Training Command, he had succeeded General Bipin Chandra Joshi who died in harness in November 1994 after one year and five months in office. General Joshi was also an Armoured Corps officer belonging to 64 Cavalry.
Since General Chowdhary demitted office on superannuation, there have been 12 Army Chiefs, with nine from the Infantry, two from the Regiment of Artillery and one from the Corps of Engineers.
Of the 32 four-star generals who have been at the helm of the Indian Army post Independence, including two British officers in the early years, 20 have been from the Infantry, six from the Armoured Corps, five from the Artillery and one from the Corps of Engineers.
From August 1947 to June 1948, the top officer held the title of Commanders-in-Chief, Indian Army, which included Gen Sir Robert Mcgregor Macdonald Lockhart and Gen Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher.
From June 1948 to April 1955, the post was called Chief of the Army Staff and Commanders-in-Chief, Indian Army, with the then incumbents being Gen Bucher, Gen (later Field Marshal) Kodandera Madappa Cariappa and Gen Jadeja. It was during Gen Jadeja’s last days in office that the post was renamed as Chief of the Army Staff, making the the first holder of this post for a period of 43 days.
The next Chief from the Armoured Corps was General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri of the 16th Light Cavalry, from November 1962 to June 1966.
General Arunkumar Shridhar Vaidya, a highly decorated officer from 9 Horse (Deccan Horse) who had been awarded the Maha Vir Chakra twice in teh 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, served as the Army Chief from August 1983 to January 1986.
General Vaidya was succeeded by Gen Krishnaswamy Sundarji. Though an Infantry officer from the Mahar Regiment, he was closely associated developing and evolving concepts for and spearheading modernisation of the Army’s mechanised forces, and is credited with raising the Mechanised Infantry Regiment.
He was followed by General Vishwa Nath Sharma of the 16th Light Cavalry, who held office from June 1988 to June 1990. He was the second Chief from the same Regiment. The next Chief from the Armoured Corps after him was Gen Joshi.
