Army Chiefs
General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao
- Details
- Created: 12 October 2006
- Written by 1981-1983
- Hits: 12381
PVSM
COAS, 31 May 1981 - 31 July 1983
Infantry, Mahar Regiment
General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao assumed charge of the Indian Army, as the 12th Chief of Army Staff, on 31 May 1981. Born on 16 July 1923, he was commissioned into the Indian Army on 09 August 1942. He took over command of the 3rd Mahar on 14 July 1956. He commanded a brigade in the Ladakh Sector during the 1965 Indo-Pak War.
During 1969-70, he commanded a Mountain Division in the Jammu sector. He always displayed a gift for leadership under fire and the high point came during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, when in a series of brilliant manoeuvres, his division captured the Sylhet area and liberated the north-east sector of Bangladesh. He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) for his most laudable command of the Mountain Division. In 1974, he took over a Corps in Jammu and was later appointed as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (DCAS) in 1978.
Subsequently he served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command in 1979. He attained the highest rank in his military career when he became Chief of Army Staff in 1981. He was the Colonel of the Mahar Regiment from June 1968 to June 1983. He presently serves as the Honorary Colonel of the Mahar Regiment.
Post retirement, General Rao was appointed as the Governor of Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura from June 1984 to 1989. He helped restore order to what was fast becoming a chaotic situation, with rising insurgency and political disarray. He was then appointed as the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir and he served from 11 July 1989 till 19 January 1990 and then for a second time from 13 March 1993 till 02 May 1998.
