New Delhi: It was the peak of Covid-19 pandemic and then Chief Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat got to know that former Army Chief General S Padmanabhan was having a tough time handling the disease in his two bedroom apartment in Chennai. Gen Rawat sent a message to his former Chief that he could arrange a transfer to R & R hospital in New Delhi for his proper treatment. But the soldier Gen Paddy, as he was fondly called, declined the offer from another gem of the Indian Army. Gen Padmanabhan passed into military history on August 18 in Chennai.
Cut to 1996 winter when Gen Paddy was the Northern Army Commander that the then Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav decided to pay a visit to Siachen Glacier with his entourage. Mulayam Singh and his entourage decided to make an aerial survey of the Glacier upto Kumar Post amidst nice sunny weather. Clearly, the Pakistanis did not like the idea of the Indian Defence Minister and his military commanders surveying the glacier and as soon as Yadav touched down at the Base camp helipad, the enemy opened fire with artillery shells on the Indian positions in the glacier. Given that the Pakistanis are sitting on the other side of the Saltoro Ridge, the artillery shells were taking a parabola trajectory and landing near the posts on the glacier. Without telling anyone, General Paddy called the Siachen Brigade commander and within a few minutes all the 155 mm and 130 mm batteries erupted from the base camp as Indian riposte to Pakistani perfidy began. Gen Paddy believed in giving it back to India’s enemies.
Even as a 15 Corps Commander at Badami Bagh cantonment and as DG Military Intelligence, it was Gen Paddy who raised the counter-insurgents like Kuka Parrey to tackle the Pakistani jihadists during the early 1990s. This was the time when the Indian media was more sympathetic towards the jihadists and their Hurriyat leaders and was virtually towing the western line of Kashmir. But Gen Paddy had no time for the media and knew how to fight the terrorists and beat (or kill) them at their own game in Jammu and Kashmir. It was a treat to discuss Kashmir terrorism with Gen Paddy over smokes and drinks as the General despite being from artillery (considered less than armored and infantry at that time) knew his enemy and his men. He always believed in calling spade a spade and could be brutal to adversaries.
{{/usCountry}}Even as a 15 Corps Commander at Badami Bagh cantonment and as DG Military Intelligence, it was Gen Paddy who raised the counter-insurgents like Kuka Parrey to tackle the Pakistani jihadists during the early 1990s. This was the time when the Indian media was more sympathetic towards the jihadists and their Hurriyat leaders and was virtually towing the western line of Kashmir. But Gen Paddy had no time for the media and knew how to fight the terrorists and beat (or kill) them at their own game in Jammu and Kashmir. It was a treat to discuss Kashmir terrorism with Gen Paddy over smokes and drinks as the General despite being from artillery (considered less than armored and infantry at that time) knew his enemy and his men. He always believed in calling spade a spade and could be brutal to adversaries.
{{/usCountry}}He took over as Indian Army Chief on October 1, 2000 and retired on December 31,2002. It was during his tenure that India faced the worst terror attacks from Pakistan ruled by dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf. The J & K Assembly attack in 2001, the Parliament attack, the Kaluchak massacre and the unprecedented mobilization of Indian armed forces under Operation Parakram. Gen Paddy was ready to take on the enemy from the word go but the Vajpayee government at that time decided to let coercive diplomacy win. Gen Paddy simply was never afraid.