Ex-Army Chief General Sundararajan Padmanabhan passed away at his residence in Chennai today. He was 83. The 20th Chief of Army Staff was born in Trivandrum, Kerala, on 5 December 1940.

He was an alumnus of the prestigious Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun, and the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, in Pune. He was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery after graduating from the Indian Military Academy on 13 December 1959. A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington and the National Defence College at New Delhi, his illustrious career included several prestigious command, staff, and instructional postings, besides participating in numerous operations.

He commanded one of the oldest artillery mountain regiments of the Indian Army, an Independent Light Battery, from August 1975 to July 1976 and later commanded the Gazala Mountain Regiment from September 1977 to March 1980. He participated in several wars and was a prolific writer who authored two books.