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General Bipin Chandra Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (5 December 1935 – 19 November 1994) was the 16th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army. He is the only Chief of the Indian Army to die in office, and until the 2021 death of General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash, the only full general and serving Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee to have died in office.
Bipin Chandra Joshi | |
|---|---|
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| 16th Chief of the Army Staff | |
| In office 1 July 1990 – 19 November 1994 | |
| President | Ramaswamy Venkataraman Shankar Dayal Sharma |
| Prime Minister | V. P. Singh Chandra Shekhar P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Preceded by | Sunith Francis Rodrigues |
| Succeeded by | Shankar Roy Chowdhary |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 December 1935[1] Pithoragarh, United Provinces, British India (now Uttarakhand, India) |
| Died | 19 November 1994 (aged 58) New Delhi, India |
| Awards |  Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Branch/service |  Indian Army |
| Years of service | 1954–1994 |
| Rank |  General |
| Commands |  Western Army Southern Army |
Joshi was born in a Hindu Kumaoni Brahmin family. He was the first Army Chief from Uttar Pradesh (Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand was a part of erstwhile Uttar Pradesh).
- Commissioned 4 December 1954 into 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse), Indian Army Armoured Corps.[2]
- Commanded an armoured regiment the 64th Cavalry in the Western Sector during the 1971 Indo-Pak operations.[3] He also commanded an Independent Armoured Brigade and an Infantry Division.
- Military Advisor in Australia from May 1973 to October 1976[3]
- Staff officer in the UN Force in Gaza[3]
- Brigadier General Staff in a Corps Headquarters[3]
- Commanded a Corps in the Eastern Sector[3]
- General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command.[3]
- Additional Director General of Perspective Planning (ADG PP) & Director General Military Operations (DGMO) at the Army Headquarters[3]
- Three tenures as an instructor in the Armoured Corps Centre and School, Ahmednagar[3]
- Directed Staff in the College of Combat, Mhow[3]
- Established the Army Institute of Technology in Pune (Engineering College), Maharashtra in August 1994 for the wards of defence personnel, either in service or retired.
Joshi also became Colonel of the regiment of the 64 Cavalry and 44 Armd Regt .[citation needed]
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Joshi has been a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service of the most exceptional order.
Joshi died of a cardiac arrest in New Delhi Military Hospital on 18 November 1994.[4] He was due to retire in 1995. He was the first Chief of Indian Army who died in harness. General Bipin Rawat, former Chief and the serving Chief of Defence Staff, also died in a tragic helicopter crash in December 2021 whilst landing at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington. General Joshi’s untimely death changed the entire line of succession for the post of Chief of Army Staff, which is typically decided on the basis of seniority. As a result, Lt. Gen. Shankar Roy Chowdhary was promoted to full general and appointed as the 17th Chief of Army Staff.
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The Gen. B. C. Joshi Army Public School was established in 1993 in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand in his honour.[5]
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| Insignia | Rank | Component | Date of rank |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Second Lieutenant | Indian Army | 4 December 1954[2] |
 | Lieutenant | Indian Army | 4 December 1956[6] |
 | Captain | Indian Army | 4 December 1960[7] |
 | Major | Indian Army | 4 December 1967[8] |
 | Lieutenant Colonel | Indian Army | 1 April 1974[9] |
 | Colonel | Indian Army | 19 October 1979[10] |
 | Brigadier | Indian Army | 1 April 1980[11] |
 | Major General | Indian Army | 1 October 1984[12] |
 | Lieutenant General | Indian Army | 2 June 1987 (seniority from 1 April)[13] |
| General (COAS) | Indian Army | 1 July 1993[14] |
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