Lieutenant General Baggavalli Somashekar Raju, currently serving as the 44th Vice Chief of the Army Staff has been honoured with the prestigious Param Vishist Seva Medal PVSM on the eve of Republic Day celebrations, this year. He took over as Vice Chief of the Indian Army on 01 May 2022.
A big list of accolades: Param Vishist Seva Medal PVSM is the latest feather in Lieutenant BS Raju’s proud cap. In fact, the number of awards he has received during his illustrious services in the mighty defence force so far makes too big a list. Perhaps the latest one, Param Vishist Seva Medal PVSM is a crown among them.
A glance at some of them: If, you would like to have a quick glance at some of them, here goes the shortlist: Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Yudh Seva Medal, Siachen Glacier Medal, Sainya Seva Medal, High Altitude Service Medal, 9 Years Long Service Medal, 20 Years Long Service Medal, 30 Years Long Service Medal, Indian Military Training Team Bhutan Medal, Videsh Seva Medal, 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal, Special Service Medal, Operation Parakram Medal and Ati Vishist Seva Medal AVSM.
Former Director General Military Operations (DGMO): Lieutenant General BS Raju, UYSM, AVSM, YSM and now PVSM is a former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). He had been the 49th Commander of the XV Corps (Chinar Corps) from 01 March 2020 to 17 March 2021, assuming the post from Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon. Much before taking over the charge of the Chinar Corps, he served as the Director General of Staff Duties. He is also the Colonel of the Jat Regiment since 01 February 2021 after taking over from Lieutenant General SK Saini, the Vice Chief of the Army Staff. He has been appointed as the Vice Chief of the Army on 29 April 2022 and took charge on 01 May 2022 succeeding General Manoj Pande (then Lt. General) on his elevation.
An alumnus of Bijapur Sainik School and NDA, Pune: Lieutenant General BS Raju, was born in Baggavalli village of the then Chikmagalur and now Davanagere district, near Ajjampura of Chikmagalur district. He is an alumnus of Bijapur Sainik School and the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune. He is also a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the Royal College of Defence Studies, United Kingdom. He also attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California where he did his Masters's program in Counter Terrorism.
Commissioned in 1984: Lieutenant General BS Raju was commissioned in December 1984 in the 11th battalion, the Jat Regiment (11 Jat). Later, he commanded the 15th Battalion, the Jat Regiment (15 Jat). He has served as a Directing Staff at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and at the Army War College, Mhow. While in staff appointments, he has served as the Brigade Major of the Infantry Brigade and as Colonel Military Secretary (Legal) at Army headquarters…
…On being promoted to the rank of Brigadier, he was appointed Commander of the Uri Brigade in August 2011. He commanded the brigade until 30 December 2012 and subsequently served as the Brigadier General Staff (BGS) at the headquarters of XV Corps and as Deputy Director General Military Operations (DDGMO) and Director General Staff Duties at Army headquarters.
Commandant of Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan: Lieutenant General BS Raju, before taking over as command of XV Corps, the General Officer served as Commandant, of the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan. Thanks to his postings in Jammu and Kashmir for a record five tenures ever since 1984, Lieutenant General BS Raju has an incisive understanding of Jammu and Kashmir.
Blooming Footballer Majid Khan returns to mainstream: Probably the repeated assignments of Lieutenant General BS Raju in the troubled Jammu and Kashmir valley provided him several opportunities to prove his mettle. He commanded the elite Counter Insurgency Force during the turmoil period from 28 March 2017 to 01 April 2018, post-elimination of Burhan Wani, dubbed as the poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen. It was also during this stint, Majid Khan, a blooming footballer who had treaded the terrorist path was given an opportunity to return to the mainstream. The efforts yielded positive results as Majid Khan surrendered. Not only that, but as a Force Commander, he oversaw the successful operation in which the killers of Lieutenant Umar Fayaz were eliminated in South Kashmir. He was the General Officer Commanding the XV Corps’ or 15 Corps and also known as Chinar Corps Indian Army, a Corps of the Indian Army presently located in Srinagar responsible for military operations in the Kashmir Valley.
The army is a friend of every civilian: Lieutenant General BS Raju while Commanding the Counter Insurgency Force (Victor) in testing times of 2017-18, his humanitarian approach in addressing the challenging situation enabled him to build a reputation of a person respecting human values. On taking over, he laid emphasis by claiming-“The Army is a friend of every civilian and that message has been conveyed aptly by my predecessor. My every attempt would be to continue this practice”.
Campaign to bring back ultras’ to mainstream: At the helm of affairs of the prestigious XV Corps of Indian Army, Lieutenant General BS Raju’s thrust was to allow all those misled youths who had taken up to guns to surrender and return to the mainstream. Luckily, such an approach paid rich dividends as it greatly triggered the young men who had abandoned their families to hide in the hilly terrain to return. Even the militants’ recruitment was fairly lowest in the last decade resulting in a significant drop in the numbers of ultras operating in the Kashmir region. His focus was on people as the centre of gravity and reiterated every now and then that the “Army is working on ensuring surrender rather than going for straight neutralization”.
India, Pakistan consent for Ceasefire along LoC: India and Pakistan agreeing to observe a ceasefire on 25 February 2021 as per norms of the Ceasefire Agreement of 2003 has been construed as a welcome move across the borders. The restrained measure by both sides paved way for the guns to remain silent while the locals across the borders got a chance to lead their normal life which had hitherto been hampered by any number of ceasefire violations. Lieutenant General BS Raju welcoming the move had asserted-“Observing ceasefire is in the interest of both, India and Pakistan and the need of the hour is for this truce to work”.
A Day with Company Commander: The interactive program A Day with Company Commander not only proved innovative but turned out to be a successful model for the Soldier-Citizen connects. Lieutenant General BS Raju says-“The intent is to break the barriers between the soldiers and the new generation. There is an urgent need that the new generation should get a different experience than the so-called Generation of Rage because they experienced terrorism and its pitfalls for the last thirty years. Hence the ‘Day with Company Commander' came to give the feeling of a friendly next-door neighbour and humsaya. This phenomenon became very popular across Kashmir and is being replicated at all the Company Operating Bases. Not only have the boys but girls also participated in these events in great numbers”.
Feedback and Grievances Helpline: It was during Lieutenant General BS Raju’s tenure as a Corps Commander that Chinar Corps established a Feedback & Grievances Helpline (9484101010) for the population of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. While inaugurating the helpline, Lt Gen B S Raju stressed that the "Helpline number has been started to strengthen connectivity between people, Army in J-K." This helpline is also accessible through the Telegram messaging app. This helpline over time has proved its worth and received hundreds of phone calls and has become a true "Madadgar" for the Awam of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Army reaching out to Awam: In order to assist the locals residing in remote areas Indian Army conducts Khairiyat Patrols. During Lieutenant General BS Raju’s tenure, this cause got a special impetus in view of the COVID-19 challenges. During the patrol, the Army reached out to Awam to know about their well-being and provided medical attention to those in need.
Sports and Cultural Programs: In an effort to strike a common chord with the local population Indian Army facilitates the conduct of sports and cultural programs in J&K. To extend the reach of the activities Lieutenant General BS Raju pushed for games at the village level which are being conducted across Kashmir valley. The village games were rustic games that were popular with the locals of the region and rejuvenated rural games. More than 100 such events were conducted in which more than 6000 children participated. The hardy youth of the higher reaches showed great enthusiasm for such events.
Digital learning in Army Goodwill School: The inclusion of digital learning in Army Goodwill School empowers the students by getting them to become more interested in learning and expanding their horizons. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd in continuation to its CSR sponsorship for 'Digitization of the Army Goodwill Schools' has sponsored 10 more schools for digitization. This project was executed by iDreams Social Edtech Foundation. Digitization has bought the AGSs to par with the best schools anywhere in the country. Teachers and students of these schools now have the access to the best instructional material on their tablets. The results of AGSs in the 10th and 12th Board exams have been improving every year. In fact, it is one of the best in the UT of J & K and now it would further improve the teaching-learning methods, to the benefit of the students of these schools. This initiative of Power Grid Cooperation of India Limited towards making a difference in the lives of Kashmiri students, mostly from the underprivileged section, is praiseworthy and it fructified under the command of Lieutenant General BS Raju.
Lieutenant General BS Raju is married to Shakunthala Raju, also from Karnataka, and the couple has a son and daughter.
-Manohar Yadavatti
Nice Article Sir
ReplyDelete